Belladrum, Pyjamas, and What Accessibility Actually Looks Like

Our co-founder Kirsty had an unexpected moment of local fame last weekend, featuring in the P&J in her pyjamas, sat with her friends Hugh and Julie at Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival. A lovely, slightly chaotic way to start a Friday morning.

It also got us thinking about something we talk about a lot at Fractly: what real accessibility planning looks like when you actually see it in action, and Belladrum gave us plenty to point to.

Belladrum is doing the work

This year's festival has clearly had real thought put into accessibility, and it shows. There's a brand new calming space for 2026, built with softer lighting, reduced sound levels, comfortable seating, and sensory supports like ear defenders and fidget toys. Accessible entry lanes run at both the Tartan and Heart gates, wheelchairs are available to borrow through Able2Adventure, and accessible toilets are provided by AccessoLoo, back for a second year running. There's accessible camping, a Digital Access Pass system, and the festival is working towards the Attitude is Everything Bronze Award for inclusivity.

That's a genuinely well-rounded package, the kind of planning that takes real budget, real consultation, and real intent, and it deserves proper credit.

The small stuff still counts

Where a festival this size can still trip up is in the details that don't make it onto a poster. For us, that meant a bit of confusion on arrival, along with not knowing where to collect accessible toilet wristbands or that the accessible entry lanes existed until we'd already queued the normal way.

These are small, fixable things, but they're a useful reminder that the big commitments and the day-to-day details need to work together for access to actually land.

Why it matters

Nearly 1 in 4 working-age people in the UK are disabled, so getting the big, visible stuff right, like Belladrum has clearly done this year, is exactly where it starts. The next step is making sure the everyday details keep pace with it.

That's the whole idea behind what we call the Living Way at Fractly: not just the headline commitments, but the small stuff built in properly too.

Belladrum's ahead of a lot of festivals on this already, and we're glad to see it. We hope the last few details catch up with everything else they're getting right.

*photo credit: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/7071863/live-blog-belladrum-festival-2026-updates/