The first day of the Boardmasters 2025 Music and Surf festival. The first direct rail service from Paddington disgorges fans into a co-ordinated pen system for processing. A large police and security presence on the concourse watches over the proceedings. Fans, some clutching pillows to enhance camping comfort. are directed to a fleet of buses to complete the last few miles to the Festival site at Watergate Bay. Over 50,000 fans are expected over the coming days. The town of Newquay has come to expect the major road detours in place around the resort. Primarily a coming of age ritual after summer exams, the crowd is predominantly young, for many perhaps the first festival experience. After crowd crush injuries at the main stage in 2024, Organisers insist that safety is improved. Opinion is divided on the overall benefit to the town, however, and positively, significant charitable donations are distributed throughout the town from the Boardmasters Foundation.
Newquay Rail Station, Cornwall, UK.