Thousands of riders welcomed to Ragley Hall for Europe’s Greatest Ever Celebration of Adventure Biking

• ABR Festival returned to Ragley Hall Estate on the 23-25 June 2023; the sixth and most successful show to date
• Record-breaking, sell-out festival with over 12,500 adventure riders in attendance
• ‘Bigger and better’ visitor experience with more live music, guest speakers, test rides, exhibitors and food caterers than ever before
• Packed-out talks from legendary adventure motorcyclist Ted Simon, YouTube mega star Itchy Boots and TT icon John McGuinness, plus an improved 30k Bridgestone Trail
• Over 130 of the world’s leading motorcycle and adventure brands in the Exhibitor Village
• 45 motorcycle manufacturers in attendance, facilitating over 1600 test rides in three days
• ABR Stage delivered a full line-up of the UK’s best party and tribute bands, including headliners The bEAT
• Overwhelmingly positive visitor and exhibitor feedback from the event
• A limited number of 2024 loyalty weekend tickets now on sale for only £89

This past weekend, the Adventure Bike Rider Festival returned to the magnificent grounds of the Ragley Hall Estate, Warwickshire for three sun-soaked days of biking action and festival entertainment. 

Adventurize, the organisers behind the festival, have declared this year’s event as their most successful show to date, with a record-breaking number of visitors passing through the gates. The sold-out festival welcomed over 12,500 bikers, plus festival crew, surpassing all prior attendance figures and marking 2023 as the finest event in the festival’s history.

Billed as the Glastonbury of the motorcycle industry, the festival promised to deliver their ‘best ever’ visitor experience, with even more special guest speakers, live music, test rides, off-road tuition, motorcycle exhibitors, and food caterers than ever before. 

An incredible line-up of special guest speakers was on show, with the biggest names from adventure biking world present. Talks from the ‘Godfather of Adventure Biking’ Ted Simon, and YouTube Superstar Noraly Schoenmaker, aka Itchy Boots, were particularly well-received with packed crowds seen at the Ténéré Speaker Stage. Interviews with Enduro Champion Chris Birch and TT racing icon John McGuinness also entertained large crowds within the Bridgestone Campfire Stage.

Within the Adventure Arena, the Exhibitor Village had over 130 of the world’s leading motorcycle and adventure brands, showcasing the latest accessories, clothing, luggage and hardware. Visitors were presented with an ideal opportunity to see, try and shop the latest gear, as well as to speak to industry experts – all in one location.

All the major motorcycle manufacturers were also in attendance including Yamaha, Ducati, BMW, Honda, Triumph and Suzuki. Over 1600 test rides were taken by visitors over the weekend, a festival test-ride record, with the new look Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Rally, Suzuki V-Strom 800DE and Honda XL750 Transalp amongst the crowd-favourites.

The ever-popular ABR live music stage kept the party going throughout the weekend. As the sun went down, visitors were treated to performances from a spectacular line-up of the UK’s best tribute and party bands including Mercury (Queen), Definitely Mightbe (Oasis), Quo’d (Status Quo), Red Hot Chilli Peppers UK (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and the Detroit Soul Collective. Iconic ska / 2-tone outfit The bEAT opened the festival with an exclusive show for VIP ticket holders on the Thursday evening.

The jewel-in-the-crown of the festival though is the Bridgestone Trail, which returned once again for 2023. Even more sections and trails were added for this year, increasing its size to over 30km of exclusive closed-road trails through the stunning Estate grounds, it provided the perfect off-road riding experience for all abilities. The beginner-friendly 5km loop was also back, offering bikers an ideal an introduction to off-road riding, over gentle, confidence inspiring terrain. 

Even with a record amount of festival-goers at this year’s event, the incredible welcoming, friendly, respectful and fun atmosphere, synonymous with the ABR Festival, remained. Everyone who turned out was there for a great time, brought together with a common interest - bikes. A real sense of community resonated throughout the festival over the weekend, with each person there to make new friends, create memories and to have a great time on and off the saddle; a sentiment supported by overwhelmingly positive visitor and exhibitor feedback. 

Commenting on the success of the event, ABR Festival founder Alun Davies stated, “From the outset the ABR Festival was all about offering the industry a premium platform to meet face to face with the customer.  Our aim was to show respect to the rider by providing a 1^st class venue, 1^st class services and 1^st class value, and judging by the overwhelming feedback (and volume of ticket sales for ABR 2024) it’s an approach that the motorcycle community wants. It’s said that the ABR Festival is now the largest motorcycle festival in the UK, and I’ll not argue with that. 

As I like to say ‘think Glastonbury, with motorcycles and posh toilets and that’s the ABR Festival blueprint’. But we can now go one better. So, that’s a big thank you to all ticket holders, exhibitors and staff that made ABR Festival 2023 such an absolutely wonderful experience. See you all in 2024.”

The ABR Festival will return again to Ragley Hall Estate on 28-30 June 2024, promising an even greater event yet again. Loyalty tickets for 2024 are now available for only £89 (holding the price from last year) from the ABR Festival website at www.abrfestival.com. Loyalty tickets will guarantee attendance to next year’s festival and include three-day access to the festival, as well as two nights of camping. This will be the lowest price available for a ticket but limited in numbers. General tickets go on-sale shortly at an increased price.