WOMAD comes to Wiltshire - nearest station, Melksham, July 2026

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From the Melksham News

Renowned music festival WOMAD will be establishing its new home near Atworth this summer, after being granted a licence by Wiltshire Council.

The festival, founded in 1980 by Box-based musician Peter Gabriel, was held at Charlton Park near Malmesbury from 2007 but left the site in 2024.

Now organisers say they are “thrilled” to have been given a licence to move to Neston Park, near Atworth, from 23rd to 26th July.

“We are thrilled to announce that we have been granted our licence for WOMAD Neston Park,” said the organisers in a statement on social media.

“We want to express a profound thank you to Wiltshire Council and local residents for being extremely supportive through this process, believing in our vision and helping sustain our beloved independent festival in our new home at Neston Park.

and noting ...

The licence covers live and music performances until 4am, although organisers say the performances will run until midnight on Thursday and 2am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The licence is for a maximum of 29,999 people on site although this includes staff, contractors and performers.

Fifteen thousand adult tickets are being offered for sale in the first year at Neston Park.

Neston Park is just under 4 miles (just under 90 minutes to walk) from the nearest railway station, which is Melksham, contrary to the online information that says it's Chippenham which is about 7 miles away.

For the 2026 WOMAD festival (23–26 July), which is moving to Neston Park in North Wiltshire, people primarily arrive by car, train, and bus, with specific options for accessibility.

Here is how people get to the festival:

By Car
Location: Neston Park is near Corsham, Wiltshire.
Parking: A purchased car parking ticket is required to park.
Routes: Attendees typically take the M4 motorway, with potential traffic delays noted near Junction 17.

By Train
Nearest Station: Chippenham is the primary train station for the festival.
Shuttle Bus: A dedicated festival shuttle bus service runs regularly between Chippenham railway station and the festival site in Neston Park.
Alternative Option: A free shuttle car sometimes operates from Kemble Railway Station for those arriving from other directions.

By Bus
Local bus routes are available to the nearby village, and organizers work to ensure these routes are safe for pedestrians.

Tips for Traveling to WOMAD
Trolleys: Many attendees bring trolleys to transport camping gear from the car park to the campsite, as it can be a 15–20 minute walk.
Liftshares: Participants often use Facebook groups or similar forums to organize car-sharing, particularly from locations like Bristol or London.
Accessibility: Accessible tickets and shuttle services are arranged through Nimbus Disability and the Access Card system.
Arrival Times: It is recommended to arrive early to avoid long shuttle queues or to secure a good camping spot.

[JohnM]

Although the title is "Nearest Station", it does say "Chippenham is the primary train station for the festival", perhaps based on the free shuttle bus that will run from there (which makes sense given the relatively infrequency of the Melksham train service). But it would be helpful to also state what the actual nearest station is.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Alternative Option: A free shuttle car sometimes operates from Kemble Railway Station for those arriving from other directions.

From Kemble? 

That's about 20 miles! 

[eightonedee]

From Kemble?

I think someone copied last year's message. WOMAD was at Malmesbury for many years, having moved from Reading back in the noughties.

As an aside, these festivals don't seem particularly good at picking "sustainable" locations, from a transport of view. See also Glasto!

[grahame]

To help me with local planning stuff, does anyone have any data about what proportion of people headed for a festival go by train (and by bus, by car, by other means) ... if the 15,000 adult tickets on sale are all sold, how many rail passengers into the area should be planned for?  1,000, 10,000, or somewhere between??

[John D]

Does anyone know where Womad will actually be at Neston Park, there is the bit nearer the house, but the whole estate goes lot further south.

There has been a military vehicles show at Neston Park, but it is actually in fields nearer South Wraxall (and Bradford on Avon station is nearer that site).

Does seem to mention various camping fields, so presumably is grassed pasture and not fields with crops that would be used

[grahame]

Does anyone know where Womad will actually be at Neston Park, there is the bit nearer the house, but the whole estate goes lot further south.

It describes Atworth as the nearest village ... I am in "learning" mode at the moment, though, as regards the travel and transport ...

[JohnM]

The description/pictures/video on the WOMAD website
https://womad.co.uk/new-2026-site/

appear to imply it's based around the mansion, just outside Atworth as per Graham's original post:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/mg31mKiGK52kf62W7

[ChrisB]

To help me with local planning stuff, does anyone have any data about what proportion of people headed for a festival go by train (and by bus, by car, by other means) ... if the 15,000 adult tickets on sale are all sold, how many rail passengers into the area should be planned for?  1,000, 10,000, or somewhere between??

Difficult to answer that question, without knowing how much effort the organisers are putting in to helping people attend. Gren Coaches for example from major cities direct to site would attract many; more coaches from many different towns & cities attract even more out of their cars. An expensive parking ticket with free camping if coming by public transport is another example.

Check their licence conditions as its quite often a condition that they put on/encourage public transport over cars. But otherwise keep an eye on their website for the amount of encouragement. I suspect that there are more than 15,000 adult tickets in a 30,000 capacity - certainly at most festivals.

[JohnM]

https://womad.co.uk/

Starts on Thursday, although that's not a full day. The FAQs^▸ (Frequently Asked Questions) https://womad.co.uk/festival-information-faqs/ include "site map and getting here", with what3words locations for the entrances along the A365 Bath road on the Bath/Box side of Atworth. The main entrance is here:
https://what3words.com/addicted.disco.laughs

It's less than 2 miles from us, so it might be audible with the wind in the right(?) direction. Or as a 'local resident' I could purchase a 4 day ticket - reduced from £275 to £187 It would certainly be a chance to listen to something new - I don't recognise any of the names in the lineup...

https://womad.co.uk/lineup-2026/

(apart from Barrington Levy, although not sure why)

[JohnM]

Faresaver are running a shuttle bus between the site and Chippenham station, timetabled as 30 mins; £10 for a single:
https://womad.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/WOMAD-W1-2026-PUBLIC.pdf

[JohnM]

Faresaver are running a shuttle bus between the site and Chippenham station, timetabled as 30 mins; £10 for a single:
https://womad.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/WOMAD-W1-2026-PUBLIC.pdf

...or alight at Bath and only pay £3 for the regular 27x bus. Although you've got to walk from the station to the (temporary) Guildhall bus stop, and from the Atworth Neston Park Lodge bus stop to the site; both are less than half a mile I think.

[Chris from Nailsea]

Perhaps rather belatedly, I've now added this topic to the Coffee Shop forum calendar.

CfN^▸ (Chris from Nailsea, an administrator on this forum). 

[Ralph Ayres]

Faresaver are running a shuttle bus between the site and Chippenham station, timetabled as 30 mins; £10 for a single:
https://womad.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/WOMAD-W1-2026-PUBLIC.pdf

...or alight at Bath and only pay £3 for the regular 27x bus. Although you've got to walk from the station to the (temporary) Guildhall bus stop, and from the Atworth Neston Park Lodge bus stop to the site; both are less than half a mile I think.

It wouldn't take many festival-goers and their camping gear to fill the 27X, which wouldn't go down well with its normal users.

[grahame]

Faresaver are running a shuttle bus between the site and Chippenham station, timetabled as 30 mins; £10 for a single:
https://womad.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/WOMAD-W1-2026-PUBLIC.pdf

...or alight at Bath and only pay £3 for the regular 27x bus. Although you've got to walk from the station to the (temporary) Guildhall bus stop, and from the Atworth Neston Park Lodge bus stop to the site; both are less than half a mile I think.

It wouldn't take many festival-goers and their camping gear to fill the 27X, which wouldn't go down well with its normal users.

One of our (MTUG^» (Melksham Transport User Group - site) - Kev our treasurer) members is going to walk across to Melksham Station for train arrivals / redirect people who arrive un-encouraged at the nearest railway station to WOMAD.  We know it would not cope, nor would the local taxi / private hire / even bus operators is we made a song and dance about being closest.   But at about 4 miles from the site, Melksham is the closest, and the only one I would walk. We regularly get arrivals who have found Melksham  Station based on it being closest to their final destination (from online research) and stand outside the station looking lost asking "where are the taxis" ...

It's a real "shout" that Information at the Station" is needed ... though failure to gain CCIF^▸ (Customer and Communities Improvement Fund) funding has allowed that project to revert to proper timing; you will hear more in the late summer and autumn rather than us rising for an "al done" by 31st Match 2027.   New timescale makes more sense, not us forcing ourselves into out funder's stipulation.

Bus fares away from scheduled local services are interesting; the shuttle to the festival is not the only fare here in Wiltshire to be substantially higher than the £3 cap.  The £3 capped fares are regular services and allow the costs to be spread over a daily year round operation, where a festival weekend is a short, sharp and awkward series of journeys for bus operators. 

Yes - by all means people can catch the 271/2/3 and I expect a few will ... but it would be irresponsible marketing on our part to promote the option widely for the process out-of-area.