Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Flamstead Scarecrow Festival held?

The Flamstead Scarecrow Festival is held each year throughout Flamstead Village. Residents display Scarecrows on their property or around the village. There will be a map of Scarecrows posted on the website before the festival starts, although some scarecrows do have a habit of popping up unannounced too!

Our villagers have spent months working on their scarecrows and have worked very hard, so please support the festival by giving generously to our village stalls, village businesses and external stalls and exhibitors supporting the festival.

 

How much does the Festival cost?

Entry to the festival is available by Suggested Donation:

£4 per Adult

£2 per Child (Age 3+)

£10 per family

Entry includes a Festival Programme with Voting Form per Adult Ticket & Voting Form per child ticket.

Please make your Suggested Donation in advance via Eventbrite, and show your ticket or email confirmation upon entry.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/flamstead-scarecrow-festival-2023-tickets-665729513897? 

 

What time is the Scarecrow Festival open?

We know how much you love our Scarecrow Festival, and we love our visitors, but this is a small plea to

PLEASE OBSERVE OUR FESTIVAL OPENING TIMES!

The festival is manned by volunteers, and we would hate to not be around to help you during the weekend if you visit outside of our opening times!

Additionally on the Friday morning, residents are often still busy finalising their creations, so if you visit before 12, then you may find that not all of our Scarecrows are ready for viewing!

Opening times are:

Friday 16th August 2024 – 12pm-5pm

Saturday 17th August 2024 – 10am-5pm

Sunday 18th August 2024 – 11am-5pm

If you decide to just come for a drive to visit the Scarecrow festival, and you aren’t intending on stopping, please come and visit outside of festival hours as having people driving slowly and stopping unpredictably during festival hours is dangerous to pedestrians and other vehicles.

 

Where can I Park my Vehicle?

We are providing a free Festival Car Park in the village within walking distance for patrons of the festival to park in. The vehicle Entrance to the Car Park is via Delmerend Lane. The Pedestrian Entrance  to the Car Park is on Trowley Hill Road and brings you out in a good spot to visit the festival.

DISABLED CAR PARKING: There will also be disabled Car Parking available for Blue Badge Holders at Flamstead Village School, located down Trowley Hill Road AL3 8DJ.

Please follow parking signs and traffic attendants who will direct you to the car parks.  

The Car Parks will be locked at 6pm sharp each night.

No large vehicles including coaches, caravans, camper vans, or large vans will be admitted into the festival car park.

There is no overnight parking allowed in the Car Parks.

Please note that Vehicle Owners park at their own risk.

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE 

NO VISITOR PARKING IS AVAILABLE ON THE ROADS AROUND THE VILLAGE.

FESTIVAL CAR PARKS ARE PROVIDED FOR VISITORS TO THE FESTIVAL. THE VILLAGE HAS WORKED HARD TO PUT ON A GOOD SHOW FOR VISITORS, SO PLEASE RESPECT OUR VILLAGE AND IT’S RESIDENTS AND REFRAIN FROM PARKING AROUND THE VILLAGE OTHER THAN IN THE DESIGNATED PARKING AREAS.

PLEASE DO NOT BLOCK RESIDENTS ACCESS, HOMES OR DRIVEWAYS. PLEASE ALSO BEAR IN MIND THAT EMERGENCY VEHICLES MAY NEED TO ACCESS THE VILLAGE DURING THE WEEKEND FOR RESIDENTS OR FESTIVAL PURPOSES, SO PLEASE KEEP THE ROADS CLEAR FOR THEM.

GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF PEDESTRIANS IN THE VILLAGE, PLEASE DON’T BLOCK PAVEMENTS WITH YOUR VEHICLE AND DRIVE CAREFULLY AROUND THE VILLAGE.

VEHICLES CAUSING OBSTRUCTIONS WILL BE REPORTED TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES WHO WILL BE PATROLLING OVER THE WEEKEND.

 

What’s the best Postcode to put into my Sat Nav to get to the Scarecrow Festival?

2024 parking: The best Postcode to put in for signposts to the main festival Car Park is AL3 8ET so please put this postcode into your Sat Nav and follow signs for the festival car park left from Chequers Hill, or right from Singlets Lane, down Delmer End Lane where you will be signposted down to the car park entrance. The best route into Flamstead to get to the Car Park is left via Chequers Hill from the A5 rather than using Hollybush Lane or River Hill as the High Street will be busy during the Festival Weekend. Although the Car Park is adjacent to Trowley Hill Road, please note that there will be no entry to the Car Park from Trowley Hill Road during peak festival times. The entrance is via Delmerend Lane, following sign-posts.

 

Can I bring my Caravan/Camper Van or Coach?

Due to space restrictions and location of the car park, the car park will accept cars and small vans only. No large vans, caravans, campervans or coaches will be able to enter the car park.

Given the number of pedestrians and cars already in the village over the weekend, and vehicles such as buses which still run throughout the festival weekend, we would ask you to refrain from bringing caravans, camper vans or coaches into the village as the roads are too narrow to be able to navigate in a larger vehicle. There are no facilities for overnight parking.

We suggest that coaches enquire with the local hotels outside the village regarding any parking opportunities for the festival.

 

Pedestrians

It’s extremely important to be aware that daily life is still happening in the village whilst the festival is happening, which means that vehicles will still be moving around the village during the festival. There will be a large amount of pedestrians in the village. Please note that some roads around the village have no pavements, and so on some roads, pedestrians may be sharing the road with vehicle – particularly at various points on Trowley Hill Road, so please be mindful of this.

Please exercise common sense and keep an eye on children/other vulnerable members of your party who may need help keeping safe.

Please note that children are the responsibility of their parents/guardians during the festival. Due to the high traffic volume, please don’t let children cross the roads without a responsible adult.

Please keep Dogs on a lead during the festival as there will be large crowds of people around.

 

Where are the Scarecrows? Where can I find a Scarecrow Map? 

Our Scarecrows can be found throughout the village, there’ are typically over 100 dotted around in all of the roads in the main village. This includes down Trowley Hill Road in Trowley Bottom.

Some of our Scarecrows have a funny habit of appearing at the last minute, so we don’t print maps. The most up to date map is available via our festival programme when you arrive.

 

Will there be cash machine facilities at the festival?

Please note that although we are planning on having card payment facilities, some stalls may not have card payment abilities, so please bring cash with you. We will have some contactless card machines on some stalls but not throughout the whole festival. The external businesses in the village have the facilities to accept card payments.

There is typically a cash withdrawal service available over the counter during opening times at the Village Shop during the festival. Additionally the nearest ATM cashpoints are in Markyate and Redbourn. There is no ATM cash machine in the village.

 

Are Toilets Available?

Public Toilets are available at the Village Hall by the Churchyard and Friends of St Leonard’s Church.. Toilets are also available at Trowley Hill Methodist Church, at the discretion of the Methodist Church during their opening times. Other toilets will be open during the festival in the village pubs and local businesses at the discretion of the business owner. We will also have portaloos in the main car parking field.

 

Are there Food/Drinks Available?

Yes! We have our Scarecrow Cafe in the village hall and BBQ and other stalls in St Leonard’s churchyard. Plus there will also be a cafe and refreshments being sold from the Methodist Church by the school on Trowley Hill Road . We also have two fantastic pubs – The Rose and Crown and The Three Blackbirds, all offering food, drink and entertainment throughout the festival which are definitely worth a visit!

 

How can I Vote for my favourite Scarecrows? 

Our villagers are a competitive bunch, and so they are relying on you to vote for your favourite Scarecrow at the Festival and let them know what you think of their creations!
 
Wondering how you can vote for your favourite Scarecrow at the Flamstead Scarecrow Festival?
 
It’s easy! You can find a voting form in our festival programme. Extra voting forms are available alongside festival programmes if there is more than one person in your party who wants to vote.
 
To vote, simply fill out your voting form and then post it in the voting form boxes situated in the village hall, in the festival car parks, and around the village. Any questions, please ask a festival volunteer who will be wearing a High-Vis Jacket. 

Where can I find more information on what’s happening during the Festival Weekend?

We have some very exciting entertainment lined up over the festival, including Live Music on all three days, performances from local traditional dancing groups and Bell Ringing Demonstrations. Plus we have a whole variety of Stallholders attending and lots more!

Everything you need to know about the festival, including info on amenities, traders and what’s on over the weekend is included in our Festival Programme which will be available at the Entry Points in the Festival Car Parks and in the Churchyard.

Programmes are included with our Entry Fee, along with voting forms.

There will also be a Raffle in aid of our charity being held in the Church Yard at the Friends of St Leonard’s stall, so please do support this and get your Raffle Tickets from our Churchyard Programme Stands or the FoSL stall.