Don't want to appear unchristian but i do work and can afford a shrewsbury ticket but getting to shrewsbury for me is a nightmare arranging cover at work and then paying people back for their time.
I have akso stopped going to another festival on the grounds of cost and therfore voted with my feet was anybody bothered I don't think so. There are plenty of little festivals and weekend gatherings all over the country, a fine example on another thread is Mrs Duck attempting to get a weekend together and good luck to her. The harsh reality of life is it costs X to get performers and infrastructure together and it is not as its a multi national is trying to screw you it is folkies doing a festival as a hobby for a lot of pain a job I certainly would not want.