Fans give verdict on new T in the Park site

AT times it was a struggle, as many mud-splattered revellers will testify, but the fans’ verdict on T in the Park’s first festival at its new home was a tentative thumbs up.

Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Over 85,000 festival-goers made the journey to Strathallan Country Estate over Saturday and Sunday to see a host of acts which culminated in Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds bringing proceedings to a close.

The event moved to its new home from Balado, 20 miles away, where it had been based for the past 18 years.

Elisha Davey, Shona Craig and Kirsty Allan, all 17 and from Swindon, chose T in the Park as their first festival to attend and say they haven’t been disappointed.

Elish said: “It’s been amazing. We’d give it ten out of ten. We’ve made a lot of friends and most people have been nice. I’m not surprised there has been a bit of trouble but for every bad moment, there’s been ten good ones.”

Spells of rain dampened the scenic arena for periods over Friday and Saturday, leaving much of the festival site resembling a large mud plain yesterday, when the sun shone for most of day.

Husband and wife Kirsty Gilmour and Ian Mcdougall, of Edinburgh, said: “There’s been a few organisational issues and bottlenecks. We had to wait for an hour-and-a-half on the bus getting out as the roads weren’t up to it. If they put a bit more effort into organisation, it would be perfect.

An electronic-themed Friday saw Kasabian, Rudimental, Annie Mac and David Guetta receive glowing reviews, with veteran DJ Fat Boy Slim the surprise package. His animated performance was lapped up by an enthusiastic King Tut’s Wah Wah Tent.

The same theme continued on Saturday with Avicii’s crowd-pleasing techno on the main stage tempered by the anthems of a reformed Libertines who finished with a belting rendition of Can’t Stand Me Now.