Hertford’s long-running Rock at the Castle returned this summer as a free three-stage music festival with a local family-support charity collecting at the gates.
The event at Hertford Castle mixed emerging and established local performers across main, island and garden stages. Organisers also provided a dedicated inclusive area for people with .
Home-Start Hertfordshire was selected as the event’s beneficiary charity. Its volunteers provide practical and emotional support to families with young children facing difficulties including isolation, poor and postnatal depression.
A free festival asking people to donate what they can is a pleasantly simple arrangement: nobody is priced out of the music, while the crowd can still help a local service doing serious work beyond the castle walls.