Bygrave Woods (Herts)

The Facebook page for Bygrave Woods in Newnham describes the venue as “An uninhabited woodland ready to host your events”. Current adverts (September 2024) are for the Menhirs Fate 2025, a “brand new high fantasy fest larp coming to the UK in 2025.” Most controversially (according to supporters who emailed us asking us to add this venue) Vegan Camp Out (VCO) will be held there in 2025. Controversial because the owners, the Farr family and cousin Ed Wainwright-Lee, own a poultry processing facility, have a history of shooting, and the latter was featured in a photo-op and article of him riding with the Puckeridge Hunt. VCO say that Bygrave Woods per se “has nothing to do with animal activities/chicken farming. There is animal farming much further afield…but not on that land at all. Every single outdoor venue in the country unfortunately is connected with animal agriculture in some way, either as one of the land owners involved with or connected to animal agriculture… or that the land itself is used for animal farming/shooting/hunting etc – Zero outdoor festival venues are vegan, however no animal farming/shooting/hunting is done at this site at all…it’s about as close to being vegan friendly land as you can possibly get for an outdoor festival venue in the UK.” We understand VCO’s point about the land itself (land has no say in how it’s used of course,) but given the owner is ‘as close’ close enough…?