New age: Details about 'New Age Travellers'
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New age travellers or Peace Convoy are a peculiarly British social phenomenon consisting of people who often espouse New age and Neopagan beliefs, and who travel between music festivals and fairs in order to live in a community with others who hold similar beliefs. Their transport and homes consist of vans, lorries, buses and caravans. In the 1980s these were driven in convoys, sometimes without the necessary tax and insurance. They also make use of improvised tents, tipis and yurts. The movement originated in the free festivals of the 1970s such as the Windsor Park Free Festival, the early Glastonbury Festivals, and the Stonehenge free festivals. The movement has faced significant opposition by the British government and mainstream media since the mid 1980s, beginning with the authorities' attempts to prevent camps at Stonehenge at midsummer and the Battle of the Beanfield in 1985, the largest mass civil arrest in English history. This culminated in the Criminal Justice Act of 1994 making trespass a criminal act, largely aimed at this group, and also traditional traveller groups like the Roma people. Members still congregate, but describe themselves as being forced to keep a low profile. Other travellers have emigrated to other parts of Europe. See also
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