News
Press Release March 2026
4th Mar 2026
"Sore Fingers Week 2026”
10th April, 2026
Date: March 1st, 2026 | Re: SFSS Week, 6th to 10th April, 2026
Hey Guys and Gals, time for another update.
STOP PRESS: REMINDER - WE HAVE MOVED!
The event takes place at:
Lord Wandsworth College
Long Sutton, near Hook, Hampshire – RG29 1TB
CONTENTS
GENERAL NEWS
PRACTICAL REMINDERS
INFO FOR THOSE TRAVELLING BY PUBLIC TRANSPORT
PROVISIONS FOR CARAVANS, MOTORHOMES AND TENTS
GENERAL NEWS
🏘 ️Recent Site Visit
The team gathered at Lord Wandsworth College (LWC) on Wednesday and Thursday 18 and 19th Feb for another site reccy and some inductions from the school staff. All went swimmingly and Moira and I really appreciate the dedication shown by the team in approaching this move to a new place.
What is really re-assuring is that LWC is an instant hit with everyone and the potential for the future of Sore Fingers is evident. It’s a much better-appointed facility in so many ways.
We face some small challenges dealing with a completely new layout and different buildings which I’m sure together we can all overcome. The event will probably feel a bit different in some areas, and it will be interesting so see how we all settle in. Having seen it I’m sure we will soon feel at home there and appreciate the new spaces. The LWC staff have been most welcoming and have done their utmost to make sure we will be comfortable. At strategic short notice they have excelled and must be congratulated on achieving the associated legal, financial, staffing and logistics demands for an event this size.
🎂ANNIVERSARY!
We have somewhat overlooked the fact that this year marks 30 years of Sore Fingers Week! The very first event was held in April 1996 featuring three courses and 50 students. Little did we know how things would develop. We’ve been through the financial crash, BREXIT, several changes of Government, the COVID Pandemic… and we’re still here!
️ Your enthusiasm for coming year after year despite the scares when things were seemingly against us is the main reason for this longevity. Thank you for attending Sore Fingers Week and of course the October Weekend. Now heralded as one of the best Bluegrass and Old-Time camps worldwide, you are part of that history. We hope the move to LWC refreshes the event ready to go onwards into the future.
Statistics show we have accommodated over 5000 individual students, employed over 200 individual tutors including over 180 from the cream of Bluegrass and Old Time players from North America and beyond. Nowadays we are also proud of the high number of students coming to us from Europe. This year it’s approaching 35%!
📝 A FEW PRACTICAL REMINDERS:
For those arriving by train, the nearest station is Hook on the mainline between London and Basingstoke.
It would be very useful for us to know who is travelling to Hook by train so that we can specify the shuttle vehicle and how many trains we need to meet. A quick email with your anticipated arrival time would be great. Please address these to john@sorefingers.co.uk with “Travel Times” as the subject.
- We will be running a bus shuttle on Sunday 5th April between LWC and the station.
- If you are flying into Heathrow Airport, go to the bus station and book a ticket on Rail Air Link to Woking Station which is just a few stops away from Hook.
- ️ You can book a through ticket on the South Western Railway website
(https://www.southwesternrailway.com/buy-train-tickets/ticket-search-results?openQTT=1) by entering station codes HWX (for Heathrow) and HOK for (Hook). The journey is by bus from the airport to Woking and then by train to Hook. Buses leave from Heathrow Terminal 5.
Journey time is 1 hour approx. I’ll get some more detailed travel information on the website shortly
🚙NOTES FOR CARAVANNERS
Please note we cannot offer electric hook ups of any description. So, please check your leisure batteries in advance to make sure they are fully charged. There will be a stand pipe for water and a chemical disposal point close to the caravan, camping area.
🚶♂️ARRIVALS
As we will all be encountering the new venue for the first time, we have deployed extra personnel on Arrivals Day (Sunday 5th April) to help you navigate the new site.
All traffic wardens and receptionists will be identifiable by Hi-Viz yellow vests and SFSS branded sweatshirts.
You will be greeted at the main entrance gate by two traffic wardens who will give you directions to registration or where to park up if you are towing a caravan, driving a motorhome or camping.
Once registered, you will be given directions to your accommodation house and there wating for you will be a couple of receptionists to take you to your room and show you where the house recreational and sanitary facilities are.
You will be issued with a map for orientation and finding the central hub where most of the activity will be taking place over the week and where you can get some refreshment from our tea and coffee stall 🍵.
📢We will be running induction sessions after dinner to show you around and give you safety, fire evacuation, and other critical information that will be useful. These sessions will be compulsory this time around and you will be given appropriate instruction when you register. These new provisions are designed to make your introduction to LWC as comfortable an experience as possible!
EASTER TREASURE HUNT 🐥
We’re very excited to let you know that the Easter bunny is back! He’ll be hiding an array of music-related goodies around campus and leaving some clues to help guide you. This was a great addition to last year’s event, so keep your eyes peeled! More information will be given at the morning assembly.
🆕COURSE/TUTOR NEWS
It’s getting full!!! but not quite sold out, and we still have about 40 places available across courses. Moira is also doing a sterling job managing the accommodation. We haven’t quite cracked the target of 300 students just yet, so please help us achieve that in our thirtieth year.
🎵COURSES:
Here’s a list of courses that still have spaces available
AUTOHARP: SEVERAL PLACES
BANJO (LEON HUNT): SEVERAL PLACES
BASS: SEVERAL PLACES
DOBRO: 4 PLACES
BG FIDDLE: 4 PLACES
GUITAR (ROSS MARTIN): 2 PLACES
MANDOLIN (MIKE COMPTON): SEVERAL PLACES
MUSIC DEVELOPMENT: SEVERAL PLACES
SINGING: 1 PLACE
SONGWRITING: 1 PLACES
UKULELE: SEVERAL PLACES
FOUNDATION CLASSES: SEVERAL PLACES
Quite a lot of room yet. If a course is not listed, it means it is full.
🏠ACCOMMODATION:
Here is what we have left:
SINGLE ROOMS suitable for FEMALE accommodation: 8
SINGLE ROOMS suitable for MALE accommodation: 8
TWIN ROOMS: 11
DORMITORY SPACES (In Triple Dorms): 14 for Female Accommodation
DORMITORY SPACES (In Triple Dorms): 24 for Male Accommodation
*Note: Some of this accommodation is in rooms with High Beds (access up a little ladder). The low beds will be allocated on a first come first served basis. This means getting your booking in ASAP is essential if you want a low-level bed.
⛺🚙There is also availability of Tent camping and Caravan/Motorhome space which may become limited if the Venue puts a cap on it. Again, booking ASAP is essential to avoid disappointment.
🪕THE 2026 SCRATCHBANDS
If you haven’t registered for a scratchband, please do so without delay. Please remember, there are two streams, one PERFORMING in the concert and the other NON-PERFORMING who go through the same mentoring but do not perform a spot in the Student concert on Thursday night. The log on credential is below:
Username: sbandsEs26 – Password: sfsbEs26 (type exactly as shown)
This latter stream is particularly recommended to students on the foundation classes and anyone who is less confident about joining sessions. This stream will get you playing with a group and beginning to understand band dynamics and how to play with others. On a related subject, Peter Earle has done some great work to the “How to Play in a Session” electives we launched to great acclaim last Easter - Monday through Wednesday. The pilot was a success and is destined to be even better this time!
🛍️MERCHANDISE
We have always had a merch stand at S.F.Week set up to sell tutor merch, CDs, Books, etc and some goods of our own. We are pleased to re-introduce the fashion store with a selection of garments embroidered with SFSS logos. We will have a small sample stock so you can check the quality etc. Of course, if you want something we haven’t got on display, it will be possible to order the item online and there’s a whole range of other types of clothes in a range of colours on sale.
These will be visible from the website and the goods are available to order in small quantities all year round, perfect for Xmas and Birthday presents!
We will also have a stock of strings, and other bits and pieces to cover those emergencies, all sourced from sponsors D’Addario.
Card Payments will be accepted.
AND FINALLY…
We have just put in a reservation to LWC for the now famous October 2026 weekend dates:
The dates are Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th October, 2026 and as usual, it will coincide with the clocks going back! ⌚
Tutors will be announced at or shortly after the Sore Fingers Week.
Best wishes,
John, Moira and the SFSS team.