Disclosure: I was an official Camp Bestival blogger for 2015. My family and I were given tickets in return for our coverage and honest opinions of the festival. As ever, all thoughts, words and pictures are my own.
So there we are.
All the excitement, planning, packing and anticipation has been and gone.
And my head is full to bursting with memories made at Camp Bestival 2015.
It’s the second festival we’ve taken our littles to. The first was Shambala last year . And I *think* we can safely say that the apples haven’t fallen very far from the tree, in this instance ;)
They LOVED it.
As did we :)
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Our 2015 Camp Bestival Review
It was the first time my boy and I have been to Camp Bestival.
We’ve been to it’s (much) bigger sister ‘Bestival’ — on the Isle Of Wight.
But to be honest I didn’t really draw many parallels; apart from the fact that I had a ball at each.
Although there were people there with no kids; Camp Bestival is definitely the festival to go to if you have children.
It’s set on such a beautiful site; nestled in the grounds of Lulworth Castle in Dorset. And there are so many different areas to explore.
It was clean — very little litter. And the loos were some of the very best I’ve ever come across at a festival.
Even on the Sunday each toilet I visited had loo roll and antibac gel.
That is unheard of at a festival!
Very impressed.
Some Negatives
I’ve spoken to a few people, who’d been before. Who voiced their disappointment that this year the festival seems to have outgrown its home.
Speaking as someone who’s never been before, I didn’t feel that at all.
Granted, the amount of festival wagons was a little overwhelming at times.
Trying to navigate through a large crowd when you’re pulling two toddlers in a ridiculously unresponsive vehicle.
Past countless other vehicles of a similar size, is hard work. But until you have kids who are able to keep themselves upright until bedtime; pushchairs or trolleys are a necessary evil.
My only negative (and it’s a very minor one) was that the lanyards — which contained maps and line-ups — had run out fairly early on.
Happily, some kind soul in the Press Office found one for me. But if I hadn’t been there as an official blogger, we would have been stuck.
A map and line-up is vital bit of kit to ensure you don’t miss anything at a festival. And adding a few quid onto the ticket price and giving everyone a lanyard with their wrist-bands, as standard, would the best solution to prevent this from happening.
And Some Positives
As my last festival experience was Glastonbury, back in June, I thought that Camp Bestival was a lovely size. Not too big — or crowded. And not so small that you felt that you’d seen everything after one circuit of the site.
Quite the contrary in fact! I think we saw probably 10% of what was on offer. If that. There was SO much to see and do.
I wish we’d be able to go down on the Thursday and have another day there.
I felt that there was room to breathe; OK the area around the main stage was hectic. It was also difficult to pass through, when the bands were on.
But in all of the other areas you definitely maintained your personal space.
We sat on the grass on Sunday and had a picnic, with a 10ft radius around us. I’ve been to other festivals where other revellers would have been walking over the picnic rug; and trampling over our legs!
Camp Bestival; Fun for All The Family
Depending on the age group of your child, one family’s experience would be quite different to another’s.
I guess, as your child grows, Mr Tumble would be replaced by an animal demonstration with Steve Backshall.
Soft play would be ditched in favour of learning circus skills.
Whatever age — and that goes for adults too — I’m pretty sure Camp Bestival would have something on offer; to tickle your fancy.
A Video Of Our Camp Bestival Experience
I think this film shows that we had SUCH an awesome weekend.
We were treated to beautiful weather. And whilst that was certainly a contributory factor, to our glowing report; there’s simply not enough room in one post, to wax lyrical about everything I loved about Camp Bestival 2015.
It was the perfect mix of hanging out with old friends, meeting new friends. Eating good food — courtesy of The Feast Collective — and being entertained on every level.
It was a treat for all the senses.
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.
I have seen lots of tweets about camp Bestival and was thinking of adding it to my wish list of fetivals for next year. Your post has made me decide Im defiantely doing it. Xx #TwinklyTuesday
Aaah Tracey — that’s so lovely to hear!!! You won’t regret it, I’m sure. We had an absolute ball — with two two years olds in tow!!! ;) It MUST have been good ;)
I really enjoyed reading this, sounds like you had a brilliant time! Really practical tips too. I’d love to go somewhere like this where there’s fun for both parents and kids. Mim x #twinklytuesday
Thanks lovely — it was really brilliant. Can’t wait for next year!!! :)
Oh it looks so amazing! I’m really tempted just to buy a ticket now and work out the logistics later! I’m really looking forward to your posts…..#twinklytuesday
Aaah do it. Really. It was awesome — I wish I didn’t have to wait a whole year until the next one!! :)
It sounds fantastic. I’ve never heard of it before it looks like a general festival but a bit more colourful and the fact it’s got soft play and all things children love is a bonus! #twinklytuesday x
It’s fab Lizzie — the look and feel is very like a standard festie but there are so many things for kids to do!! It’s amazing — perfect for kids of all ages. Ours are only 2 and I look forward to seeing how our festival experience changes, year after year :)
Looks AMAZING, we did Pennfest this year without ours and swore we’d take them next year. ~twinklytuesday
Aaah Helen — it was brilliant, it really was. There are some festivals that I wouldn’t take my littles to — Glastonbury for one — but Camp Bestival is made for children!! :)
Looks like so much fun. I wish there were events like this in Thailand. Never mind, by the time we move back to Europe the baby will be big enough to properly enjoy them :-)
#twinklytuesday
Aaah definitely — it’s something you have to look forward to, that’s for sure :)
Wow it sounds like you had so much fun. You have really made me want to go next year… Thinking about booking my ticket. I think my children would absolutely love t both at the age of mr tumble and soft play x
It was amazing — we had SO much fun!!! I absolutely cannot wait to go again!! :)
Wow! you all look like you’re having so much fun with the lovely weather as well… I’ve not really tried going to a Camp Bestival, I don’t know if we have one the same here in Scotland, but it would definitely be a nice experience for the kids, same as your kids had! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much Cheryl — it was really, SO good. One of the boys had a tooth coming through, so he was a little more subdued than usual but, even so, he still had a ball :)
I’d love to go! It sounds really fun and the location is just beautiful #twinklytuesday
It was AWESOME Rebecca — I would highly recommend it! :)
So glad to hear you had a fab time, I missed it for the first time in 4 years this year – but reading posts about it makes me want to go back even more next year. Lovely pics, know what you mean the memories are mind blowing!
Aaah we really did!! My boy and I are such huge festival lovers — it makes me a bit giddy to see our little sons enjoying them too!! I literally cannot think of a better way I’d like to spend time with my family. I just loved it :)