r/TheRestIsHistory

So thought I’d do a brief write up of how I found the festival this weekend.

Atmosphere
First thing to say, it was a lot of fun. That many TRIH fans in one place is just lovely and I really enjoyed how friendly everyone was.

It also didn’t feel over crowded which helped as I’m not great in crowds most of the time.

Lucky with the weather which helped though I did get pretty sunburnt today (Sunday!) so if happens again I’m hoping for slightly cooler weather!

Plus great to bump into Tom :)

Venue
Amazing place, the grounds are beautiful and so well kept. Staff were great too. Location spot on in my opinion.

Merchandise
Not a bad selection - T-shirt designs were great. Jumper was a bit basic but the most popular item was the baseball cap - sold out first morning! Need more of them!!

Managed to get myself a T-shirt though to remember the weekend.

Talks
These were good though not incredible. Not sure if due to the venue but the two that focused on the Tudors were my favourite. I felt the 40 mins format didn’t work for some as the topics were too broad. For that amount of time I’d rather they focus on a specific story.

The best ones however were just Tom and Dom on stage together. More of that next time!

Value for money
This I feel was the main gripe. It was very expensive for what it was. £150 for a day ticket, £270 for weekend, or £995 for VIP(!).

Food and drinks also looked to be overpriced though I brought everything with me so didn’t buy anything myself. Can’t comment on quality / value.

I’d be asking for a refund if I’d paid for VIP - you get access to the seated area and free food but that seems about it? Might be more but that cost is ridiculous!

Compared to similar events I’d expect tickets to be closer to £50 for a day and £100 for weekend. With maybe a VIP ticket at £200 including a meet and greet with the pair.

Hopefully future events get a sponsor so tickets can be cheaper.

Next time?
At this price I prob won’t go again. Not to say it wasn’t fun just not value for money.

I’d also suggest they look at the selection of talks and work out how to make it work better. Perhaps they could host a couple of episodes about a specific topic? Could do four episodes (2 each day) of a four part series about the location (so Tudors of here again) for example with guests for each episode. I’m sure people here can come up with some good ideas.

Summary
Fun but too expensive for what it was. Needs more Tom and Dom together on stage rather than taking it in turns.

Knowing there’s been some differing views on the festival, I just wanted to post my short thoughts.

The location was beautiful, helped by the glorious weather, and this no doubt added to our enjoyment of the talks and strolling around the small but well judged site.

The talks that I caught were great, especially those on Elizabeth I, India’s golden road, the queens of Henry VIII, and the Weimar Republic. Mary beard’s was too rambling and Adam Smiths on 3 presidents misfired I felt on 2. The combat was a highlight, with Tom & Tabby making an ‘immersive’ appearance.

The crowd was lovely - I actually hung out for the two days with a great guy I met on this Reddit (hey Stefan!) - and the food and drink was good quality and acceptably priced.

Tickets … I was happy paying £270 for the two days just about, though could see perhaps £220 being nearer the mark to encourage me to attend again.

Overall, boosted by the amazing weather, I had a fun & memorable time.

What did you think?

I just wanted to add my rave review to the list of some mixed reviews I’ve seen to balance things out a bit haha, but also because we did have such a brilliant day at the festival!

The atmosphere was fantastic from start to finish – such a lovely day out. I guess it also helped that it was also our first full day out together without our toddler, and we couldn’t have picked a more perfect date day: getting to completely geek out over our shared hobby - history together.

Some of the highlights for me were Helen Castor’s talk, getting both of our questions read out, and joining in a bit of Elizabethan dancing. As a huge history of fashion geek, I also loved the demonstration of the ritual of the queen getting ready (we mixed it up a bit and looked around during some of the talks).

Huge thanks to everyone who organised it. Tbh I thought the price was comparable to a lot of live events/concerts one can do around London. However, I understand that it’s a lot in the grand scheme of things. Personally completely worth it given we don’t do much of going out lately haha.

I do agree that it had some teething issues, given it’s the first one they’ve done, but I hope it becomes a regular event!

I hope the others who went also enjoyed their time ☺️ It was such a lovely crowd and everyone we met was very friendly.

Today happened to be my birthday, which was the justification to spend £150 on attending TRIH Festival.

Although generally I enjoyed myself, the cost left me with a bad taste in my mouth - on its own merits it was a £50 event honestly, and I don't think that's a controversial opinion.

At this price point I was expecting multiple points of interest, more interactive talks and, honestly, some sort of complimentary shirt or snacks, or at least not having to pay for chairs or something

The talks were generally good, Tracy Borman being my surprise favourite - although (controversial) I don't thing Mary Beard is well suited to this format, found her talk rambly and boring. I know it's kind of what you sign up for but the day felt like I was paying a fortune to listen to the podcast in a field.

Not sure what others think, but I personally will not be going again unless their the price is significantly less, or there's significantly more to see/do.

We are loving it!