1. Finding Arcadia in Herefordshire - Our inspiration

We had long wanted to create a festival with our own slant long before we moved to the area nine years ago. We had always imagined it would be an event that gave a nod towards our own talents as well as our vision of what a music festival could be. What we hadn't bargained for was the extent to which we found a kindred spirit in Richard Payne Knight who built Downton Castle in north Herefordshire. We now live in what was his dream home. His aesthetic favoured the picturesque as it came to be known and he was an opponent of Capability Brown and his open parkland gardens. Hence the name of our music festival - Arcadia. It too favours a certain wildness over neatness, honesty over careful presentation if you like.