The Stokes Bay Festival - A History

Stokes Bay is situated close to Alverstoke, a small village between Portsmouth and Lee on Solent. The Stokes Bay Festival was held throughout Cowes Week, which takes place on the Isle of Wight.

About Stokes Bay Festival

Stokes Bay Festival was held over four days in summer and timed to coincide with Cowes Week in July or August. The festival launched in 2008, taking the place of the Wickham Festival which could not get a licence for its usual Wickham venue in that year. Since then, Wickham Festival has successfully moved back to Wickham and Stokes Bay has hosted a variety of festivals and achieved a reputation and identity of its own.

Festival goers will find plenty of room at the Stokes Bay site which also features amazing views of the Isle of Wight just across the Solent. The Stokes Bay Festival followed the lines of Wickham Festival and was a truly family-friendly extravaganza with events and entertainments specifically aimed at children and families. The shingle beach area is accessible and historic Fort Gilkicker with its gun emplacements is close by. The large campsite is in an ideal location, providing lots of space with no overcrowding.

Problems with camping at the site

Stokes Bay Festival has been faced with a number of problems when applications have been made to stage further events. The 2009 event was due to be staged, however the local council refused to allow camping locally as well as complained about disruption caused by car parking and were planning to take out injunctions to stop any camping in the vicinity. The case was taken direct to the Secretary of State for the Environment and it was confirmed that the campsite could be utilized, licences were granted just before the Stokes Bay Festival was due to begin.

The local Gosport Borough Council has cancelled festival bookings on occasions. The latest such cancellation was the GosFest Festival planned for 2015 which did not get the go ahead.

Wickham Festival returned to its home in the village of Wickham in 2010 and has taken place successfully since then, featuring hosts of big name performers and events. This festival has provided family entertainments for several years now and is a popular outing for families with children.