Festival season is well underway already! And — even though I’m missing Glastonbury this year — I’m already getting ridiculously excited for the other festivals we’re going to; Camp Bestival 2016 being one.
Last year, we were lucky enough to be official bloggers for Camp Bestival. For a festival lover like me (who’s been going to one festival or another for the last 20 years) — it is a dream job, to be honest.
So to hear that we’d been lucky enough to be trusted with the title for a second year was out of this world.
Apt, given that the theme for Camp Bestival 2016 is Outer Space!
CB is spin off of it’s bigger, noisier, more hectic sister — Bestival — which is held on the Isle of Wight ever year. And (I may be wrong but) in my mind Camp Bestival was originally created to cater for ex-ravers and hedonistic festival go-ers; who now have children, so they too can still indulge in a bit of festival loveliness. Only with their families in tow.
But because it’s such a fantastic weekend for everyone — not just die-hard festival lovers — it’s reputation has enticed thousands of families to come and sample the delights on offer, year upon year.
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What Can You Do at Camp Bestival?
It caters for literally every age group, from the tiniest tot, through to tweens, teens and adults.
You can go and see a live act; comedy — or theatre. Anything from Mr Tumble and Aliens Love Underpants. The Royal Albert Hall’s resident band and The Chuckle Brothers to Jasper Carrott.
Indulge in some poetry or go and catch a talk; How to Travel To Space with Stephen Attenborough is one that we’ll definitely try to see this year.
There are bars and cocktails, nature trails and play areas.
This year, you can go an jump on the world’d biggest bouncy castle, get ‘married’ in an inflatable church or try your hand at some Tudor Games (whilst wearing a Tudor costume from the dressing up tent).
Or if you fancy something a little bit quieter, you can get your craft on — in the knitting tent — or hang out in the Literary Institute, where you’ll find a wealth of inspiration from some of the country’s finest authors.
You’ll be able to treat your ears to a wealth of amazing music; this year they’ve got Tears For Fears and Jess Glynn. Plus KT Tunstall (who’ve I’ve managed to miss at every festival I’ve ever been to, so I’m definitely going to watch her play). Not to mention Turin Brakes and Squeeze — to name a few.
Or you can catch a DJ set; throw some shapes to Fatboy Slim, Altern-8, Lottie and Sasha.
And if none of those things floats your boat you can just kick back.
Eat some gorgeous food courtesy of the Feast Collective — bimble about — soak up the sights and have no agenda at all.
Scenes from Camp Bestival 2015
Just enjoy being there.
Because, if the sun is shining, there is nowhere more lovely than a festival field in the summer.
The sights, sounds and smells are a joy* to the senses.
*OK — I am most definitely not including festival loos in this round-up.
Sipping an icy-cold cider — or a cocktail — eyes half-closed; listening to a cacophony of music, laughter and the general hum of merrymaking. Or lazing about on a picnic rug, people-watching and marvelling at the colour and sparkle, is heaven on earth.
I LOVE festivals. They are — without question — one of my very favourite ways to spend a long weekend.
It’s something that my boy and I used to look forward to way before we had our children. And now we’re the proud parents of our much adored sons, to be able to introduce them to the delights of a festival — and ignite their enthusiasm for this sub-culture of our society, from such a tiny age — fills me with so much happiness.
They’re 3 years old and Camp Bestival 2016 will be their fifth four day festival — not bad going ;)
By my reckoning, by the time they’re 18 — if they carry on at this rate — they’ll have clocked up more festivals than I have managed in my entire lifetime!!
But if I still haven’t managed to convince you, what a wonderful, happy place Camp Bestival is, and why you should immediately book tickets for your entire family, then watch this.
Hopefully this will persuade you :)
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
