Site Opening & Closing Times/Rooms Empty Time on Sunday
The site opens at 14:00 on Wednesday June 14th and closes at 12:00 on Sunday June 18th. Please do not arrive before 14:00 on Wednesday, as we will not be ready to welcome you before that time, and please note the 12:00 departure time on Sunday is firm, the site needs to be able to prepare for their next group arriving later that day.
If you are staying in a bedroom please note the rooms need to be cleared out by 10:00 on Sunday to allow the site cleaning crew to begin cleaning. Please strip the bed and put the used linens in the linen baskets in the hallways.
Travel Information/Pickups & Dropoffs
Please see the travel information for info on how to reach the site. Please note- the bus company has changed the number of the bus that travels to/from Venlo station and the site, it is now number 377. The bus runs every half an hour until ~19:00 on weekdays, then hourly after that until ~23:00, and runs hourly on Saturday and Sunday. We have contacted the bus company and they have confirmed that they run a larger bus on that route on Sunday. Please note on Sunday there are only 3 buses you can take to ensure you are offsite by time - 9:42, 10:42, and 11:42.
Due to the size of the event and number of attendees, we are not offering pickups and dropoffs to Venlo train station unless you have medical needs or other limited reasons to need this service- if you need a pickup and/or dropoff, please contact us at dw30year@gmail.com with your travel information and any other relevant information as soon as possible, and we will be in touch.
Otherwise we encourage you to ask on the DW mailing list or on Facebook to see if others are traveling at the same time as you and want to book a taxi together or travel together.
Safety
The site has informed us that they will be setting up some beehives on site by the time of our event. The hives will only be in one area which we will clearly signpost, and is not near camping or central event activities. If this presents an issue for you and you need to cancel your reservation please urgently let us know at dw30yearres@gmail.com
Please note the site is also surrounded by open water, so children should be monitored closely to ensure their safety.
For those with allergies, please note the site has one cat and many chickens, ducks, and geese.
Meals Info
Meals will be prepared for us by the castle kitchen staff and served buffet style. Please bring feast gear. There will be a station set up for dishwashing. Coffee, tea, and hot water are available 24/7 via machines located around the site.
There is a very large hall (1200m2) where we can all eat together. The site is offering the use of this hall to us in addition to what we agreed to rent, so please note that we are only allowed to use it during mealtimes and for court (the court area and dining area are separated by a large floor-to-ceiling heavy curtain). Please do not use this room outside of these times and for these activities.
Brunch
In the morning there will be a brunch served from 9 am to 11 am. Brunch will consist of bread and rolls with cheese, meats and sweet spreads, and something warm like an egg dish.
Because prices have risen, and we did not want to raise the originally determined price for the event, the decision was made to serve one brunch instead of a separate breakfast and lunch. Please consider if you want to bring extra food or snacks to keep yourself happily fed until dinner.
Evening meals
Evening meals will be served buffet style from 18:00 to 20:00. We are working with the castle kitchen staff to come up with menus using medieval recipes and ingredients. Each meal will consist of a vegetarian main dish and a main dish with meat, some vegetables and salads, bread and another pasta, rice or grain dish and a soup or a dessert.
Due to the size of the event and cost considerations, please note there will not be a multicourse SCA feast on Saturday night. The meal that night will be similar to the previous evenings’ meals described above. We are however looking into how we can make the last dinner of the event a bit more special - stay tuned.
Dietary restrictions
Dietary restrictions will be taken into account in the planning of the menus so that there will be something to eat for everyone in each meal. Due to the size of the event it will not be possible to provide alternatives for each dish. For those who put dietary restrictions on their reservation, THL Hilde will be in touch to give you detailed information closer to the time of the event. If you have not informed us about any dietary restrictions or allergies, please urgently let us know as soon as possible at dw30year@gmail.com.
Tavern & Alcohol Policy
We will have a tavern at 30 Year! Please see our tavern information for more information, info on the alcohol policy and site requirement re drinking in public bar areas, and the possibility to purchase tavern cards in advance!
Camping & Facilities
Both modern and period tents are allowed (they will be in separate areas.) If you have not yet done so, or your info has changed, please fill out the short questionnaire to allow us to plan the campsite.
Please note no fires at all are allowed in the campsites, whether on the ground, in a firepit, or used for cooking. The site has one large firepit we can use for social fires if we wish. Wood may be retrieved from the surrounding woods.
There is one electricity outlet available in the modern camping - if you plan on using this, please bring a power strip and extension cord so others can also share in using the electricity. There is no electricity available in the period camping area.
Showers and toilets are available in a small building in the campground, you don’t need to walk to the main building for the facilities.
Beginners guide
We’ll be welcoming many people to their first event at 30 Year! If you’re new to the SCA, please have a look at the info in these links to help familiarise you with terminology and what to expect - thank you to the Double Wars team and the ID web team for these lovely resources!
Insulae Draconis newcomers guide Double Wars beginner’s guide
Kids’ Activities Programs
To all parents and children - we will have dedicated childrens’ activities at Drachenwald 30 Year! These will be led by Lady Wendelmoet. You can see them in the schedule under “8: Children’s Activities”.
View Children’s Activities on the schedule
Site Amenities & Usage of Lift/Elevator
The site provides all bedding, a pillow, a towel, and all bed linens for all attendees staying in any bed in the castle (dorms included), so you do not need to bring any of those items if you have a bed booked. If you are camping please ensure you bring all your own bedding and towels as there are none available for rent.
The site does have WiFi - it is an open network with no password protection.
The site has a lift, however please note they have requested that this only be used by those who need it, due to previous groups damaging the lift through inappropriate usage. As we have several attendees with mobility restrictions, please respect this rule and take the stairs if you are able to do so. Also please note the lift is slow, you really won’t save any time taking it if you don’t need it.
Food, Local Shopping, & More
The site is cooking all meals for us - as a result, please note this means that if you arrive outside of the scheduled mealtimes, you will need to ensure you make your own arrangements for food, we will not be able to go into the kitchens and get food for you.
These shopping and amenities such as ATMs available in Baarlo (a short drive or ~25 to 35 minute walk from site):
- ATM: Napoleonsbaan Zuid 1 Baarlo (2 km; 5min. by car, 26 min. walk)
- Supermarket PLUS: Grotestraat 11 (2.4 km; 3 min. by car, 24 min. walk)
- Supermarket ALDI: Diepenbroeklaan 1-3 (3.1 km; 4 min. by car, 37min. walk)
- Baarlo is a small town. Its main shopping street is small-scale, but cute. One shop of interest to some may be Slijterij Wijnhandel van Bergen (Grotestraat 28, open weekdays 09.00/9am-20.00/8pm, Saturday 09.00/9am-17.00/5pm, Sunday closed.). It sells wine and liquor and boasts about selling 360 kinds of whiskey.
What do I need to bring?
Bedding/towels/linens?- NO if staying in bedroom or dorm in castle, YES if camping. Please note the site charges 1 eur per towel if you request extra towels, otherwise the one towel per person is for the whole event.
Feast gear? – YES, and there will be washing up facilities.
Cash (euros?) – YES, the tavern cards can be purchased with cash only on site and there will be a market on Saturday.
Arrival/departure
Please carefully read the information for the arrival and departure procedures. It is very, very important that you follow these instructions carefully to avoid causing traffic jams that will block site traffic and also require you to do some tricky driving to get out, as several of the roads are narrow.
We have added some accessibility info, but as we do not know the details of how every person who might need assistance is arriving or departing, we ask that you please contact us at dw30year@gmail.com if these procedures will not work for you, you need any support, or have any questions for your situation not covered in these procedures.
As a reminder- do not arrive before 14:00 on Wednesday unless you have arranged this with the event staff- we will not be ready to welcome you on site until 14:00 on Wednesday.
Site maps and info
You can see floor plans and maps of the site and grounds. The site can be a bit of a maze to navigate, so it’s worth looking over these before the event if you can, but don’t worry, the site is also very well signposted and we’ll be adding additional signs and info as well.
Please note there is also info on there about nearby walks and attractions, including castles, a waterpark, and a golf course.
Please note smoking and vaping is only allowed at the area indicated on the map. Please be respectful of your fellow attendees and do not smoke or vape anywhere else.
There will be a lost and found table in the chapel for the whole event, so if you find or lose any items please check there.
There will be a charging station for your phones set up in the chapel.
There will be separate marked containers for paper and glass on site, please ensure you put your paper and glass waste in the appropriate containers and everything else in the regular trash cans.
If you are camping please make sure you use space efficiently - we have people arriving Weds, Thurs, and Fri to set up camps, and while there’s a lot of space, we want to make sure it is used efficiently so the setup is easy for people who arrive Thurs or Fri as well.
Contacting the event team
This is a large event, with over 300 attendees and many moving parts. Event staff will begin traveling to site from midday Tuesday.
If you need to reach the Event Stewards from midday Tuesday June 13, please contact them via:
- Email at dw30year@gmail.com
- WhatsApp or call [phone numbers removed]
- Facebook Messenger (not preferred, will be slower on responses)
If you have questions during the event, please make sure you check with the person/people in charge of that activity first if applicable before going to the Event Stewards.