Yesterday I arrived back from an exhausting but very fun four days at Camp Bestival at Lulworth Castle in Dorset. Camp Bestival is a kind of music festival but with loads of entertainment for children and more family friendly facilties than your average festival. This is the perfect combination for me as the children get to do what they want all day and later on we got to listen to some top music. The festival is organised by Radio 1 DJ Rob da Bank through his empire Sunday Best. It had a magical atmosphere partly created by the design of the site by Josie da Bank which included the Bollywood tent which was handstitched in India and housed a bar and DJ's and was surrounded by canopied day beds on the grass outside.
The highlights of the festival for me were dancing the night away to Groove Armada whilst children were safetly tucked up and asleep with their ear protectors and piles of blankets in a trolley, seeing and hearing Mark Ronson including a tribute to Amy Winehouse, dancing around the picnic blanket to The Wonderstuff, one of my favourite teenage bands and the headline act on Sunday night Primal Scream playing their iconic Screamadelica album, another favourite from my teens.
It wasn't just about the music though, there was so much to do that I only managed to see a fraction of it. I did have a go at pilates in the English National Ballet tent, the girls tried on the most amazing tutu with beautiful embellishments, I had a temporary fairy tattoo, the girls had their faces painted and we made pom poms which gave me some inspiration for some DIY accessories that I might try making. We also watched the medieval jousting which was spectacular and featured the horses and riders that are used for the stunts in many big films including the most recent Pirate of the Carribean.
I also really enjoyed just chilling out, people watching, munching on a very tasty burrito and swilling back a few bellinis whilst soaking up the relaxed vibes. The theme of the festival was medieval which was perfectly fitting with the magical backdrop of Lulworth castle which was lit in changing colours once the sun went down. Everybody was incredibly relaxed and friendly (accept for the carnage at the Peppa Pig meet and greet!), the weather was perfect and everywhere there were huge bubbles floating up into the sky.
I love the fact that you could wear pretty much whatever you liked and no one would bat an eyelid. Apart from princesses, knights, monks outfits that were worn for the medieval fancy dress, there were also all sorts of other random fancy dress outfits. There was the usual army of girls in the same sort of uniform of denim shorts, blouses and flower garlands or trilby hats. I especially loved all of the eclectic and colourful clothes that I saw and the crazy accessories. I took the opportunity to wear my fairy wings which were a bit old and battered as I borrowed them from the girls. Next year I will definitely be investing a bigger and more sparkly new pair.
A big thank you to all of those who have commented and shared their festival tips. My prepared outfits worked well, but I was just lucky it didn't get cold or wet as I realised after arriving that I wasn't that well prepared and unusally for me had only taken exactly one outfit per day. My advice for festivals is to make sure that you have a small bottle of sanitising hand gel and tissues or toilet roll in your bag. I aslo thought the £5 shower and £25 shower tent that we took with us was a worthwhile investment as I got to have a shower every morning which made me feel so much better.
I hope you had a good weekend
With warmest wishes
Ceri X
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