50,000 people will descend upon Stratford-upon-Avon this weekend for the Global Gathering dance music festival
Image copyright: Kevin Verkruijssen via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Ahh, Stratford-upon-Avon – home of the nation’s favourite playwright, a tranquil riverside town where you can row on the River Avon, relax by the waters, and be enthralled by history, art and architecture. The epitome of a peaceful English town…

Not this weekend!!

This weekend, the country’s biggest dance festival, Global Gathering, comes to Long Marston Airfield, just outside Stratford-upon-Avon. Expect heavier than usual traffic as thousands of ravers make their way through the town to pitch their tents, and more than a few neon-clad, tired-looking folk searching for a full English breakfast as a hangover cure!

Music festivals have traditionally been the domain of indie-rockers, but when the organisers behind infamous UK club night Godskitchen opened their first superclub CODE in Birmingham in 2000, it was attended by so many people that they felt the dance scene was ready for a full-on dance festival.

Neon and UV body paint is de rigeur at Global Gathering
Image copyright: Andreas Hunziker via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

The very first Global Gathering was held at Long Marston Airfield in the summer of 2001 and has gone from strength to strength, year on year. There are other Global Gathering festivals in countries including Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Korea, but the Stratford-upon-Avon festival remains the biggest and best.

This year, some 50,000 dance music fans will descend on Long Marston to enjoy world-renowned electronic acts such as Chase & Status, David Guetta, The Prodigy and Eric Prydz – but that’s not all: there are in fact over 150 different acts across two days and nights jam-packed with dancing, drinking and club-based revelry.

If you’re arriving in town for the Global Gathering festival and fancy a quiet day away from the noise and madness, why not book a tour with Go Cotswolds? We have availability for our tour this Sunday – we can’t promise there will be any glow-sticks or light shows, but we can promise a great day out.

2007 was a muddy Global Gathering! Hope this year is sunnier!
Image copyright: DeepBluC via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Alternatively, please join us for a tour if you’re in Stratford and aren’t going to Global Gathering – a day out in the Cotswolds is a great way to escape the noise and busyness that will no doubt descend upon Stratford over the next few days!

Book your Go Cotwolds tour online, or contact Tom by phone on +44 (0)7786 920166 or email at tom@gocotswolds.co.uk.