Press Invite - Something New Magazine!
By Sebrina Drew
We are always so eager and excited to attend Camp Bestival, It's a hit for families and the highlight of the year for so many. I think even more so as you attend year on year. Each year you get a bit more clued up, you know the drill and it gets easier with the kids...
You get in to the rhythm....
Getting ready...
Our kids are always excited to go to Camp Bestival. We all do our part and contribute in the getting ready... It is a very exciting time...It's our daughter; Acacia's task to get the glitter and gems for the event! This is a must to get in the festive spirit. Our youngest daughter Ophelia decides the dress up outfits to match the yearly theme. This year it was "Animal snap" and Ophelia wanted us all to be Leopard's, so we all went in leopard print . Me - Mummy I am in charge of the list and to ensure that all the 'fun sponge agenda' does not go amis. Max - Daddy is incharge of the festival cart and decorating that and all the camping entire.
Because this year we went with three children 5 and under plus a teenager we actually invested in some air tags. link here - https://www.apple.com/uk/airtag/Luckily the children are so engaged with the activities that they don't really wonder off. But just incase for peace of mind, they all had one each attached to the inside of their clothing.
Arrival...
We arrived on the Thursday this year, we were in camping plus, we highly recommend this as the toilets are nice, they flush, the showers are clean and you have a designated pitch space and I would say 6-8 minutes walk to where the festival starts. On the camping plus site there is also a little shop with lots of things to buy, such as essentials incase you have forgotten anything. The all important breakfast items - bacon, tomatoes etc! There is a coffee and tea stall that sells an array of hot drinks and also a little stall that sells hot items such as sausage rolls and a variety of pastries. At the entrance of camping plus from the festival they have electric boxes to charge your items (for a cost).
On arrival you park on a hill and have to walk down, then up a hill to get to your camping plus area. This is quite a task with the kids and all the camping stuff however we see it as a positive, a workout in advance for the yummy festival food we are going to consume.
So we always walk up and down and do the trips... everyone is in good happy spirits. You can however get the tractor (It's free on Thursday) Or you can get taxis up and down at a cost. You can also hire the festival wagons at the entrance. All pithes are clearly labelled so you can easily find your tent.
When we are planing our camp Bestival trip we decide, shall we just take camping sleep stuff and get everything at the festival or do we go all out and commit to taking all the camping stuff and cook. If you are going to take all the camping stuff and are committed then you may as well make the most of it and cook at your tent. This year we took all the camping essentials and then just the stove and kettle so we could make teas and coffee (A priority for me) We had cereal each morning however the rest of the time we ate festival food and spent all day and all night at the festival.
Arriving at the festival...
On arrival of the festival we always seek out the first aid tent, the well-being tent, and gauge a meeting point in the event of anyone getting lost. Thankfully we have never utilised these so far. It is good to have a walk around and get your bearings, there is is much going on, so much to see and do, its overwhelming in that good exciting way!
What to bring...
There are so many activities going on that every time we come home, when looking at pictures my reaction is always the same 'awww damn I didn't see that, or know that was there'
So Invest in a lanyard, the lanyard has every stage timings, a map of the area - it looks snazzy and you can wear round your neck.
Print your Maps at home prior to coming so you don't need to keep using your phone battery!
What you need...
torches
festival cart
flip flops
toilet roll
wipes
antic wipes
antic gel
carry potty
rain coats
wellies
suncream
water bottles to refill They have water stations everywhere!
fold up chairs
Thursday...
On thursday we did the trips back and forth setting up the tent, the kids played on the grass and met other fellow festival children, all were running around, talking, the spirits were high. When we were ready we had a little gin and tonic and sat on the camping chairs watching the kids interact with others. What is nice is that you are overlooking the festival, all the hype, the fairy lights - what a view! This is home for the next few days for us.... We were pitched next to our friends as well which was really nice, as we went together into the festival with our cans on gin pulling our festival carts :)
First stop - Mac and cheese - it's a must for our daughter Acacia who has been dreaming about the camp bestival Mac and cheese since the last time she went in 2022 - apparently no one does it quite like the stall at Camp Bestival.
We then went to one of the many kids area's down In the woods, where they had a walk route with 'orchestra of instruments' interactive instruments, ribbons, art in the trees, mud kitchens, climbing frames, which lead to a calm area of yoga huts, hot tubs, and so much more....
We explored the site and then headed to the stage where we watched......
A performer who came down by a Crane in a heart. We watched whilst cuddling the little ones where they fell asleep In our arms watching the music, the atmosphere, bubbles and Laser lights in the air and all of this made the first evening spectacular. The kids were asleep and we headed back to the tent to call it a night after a very fun jam packed day.
Friday....
We were woken up by our normal alarms , the kids!! About 7am - We had cereal with the kids and a nice cup of tea. We went to shower block with the kids, small queues for the shower blocks, goes quickly and they are so clean, warm water and big enough to get ready in - we then leisurely got ready playing with our friends children running in and out the tents, chatting to one another.
After a leisurely chilled few hours we head down for more fun! We head to the lower gardens for a day of exploring with the kids (there is so much to do), ...... after this it's nearing the kids bedtime, so we head to the MainStage for Scouting For Girls, Sophie elispector, Ella Henderson, where we danced the night away with glow sticks, kids on shoulders till they just could not keep their eyes open and heads up anymore and fell asleep in the festival carts. What a way to fall asleep hey..... Friday night was incredible.... with friends and their kids. Eating waffles, more macaroni cheese, and I couldn't wait to see the KOOKS....
Saturday....
Saturday am we got up....But our alarm clocks were a bit later due to them gradually having later nights, we did our normal of cup of tea, cereal for the kids, showers with kids - cue was a bit longer today just because I think we were a bit later, we headed out a bit earlier today - dressed in our animal snap theme. The outfits today were the best! Here is our favourite.... The bees's the keeper and all that inbetween. Saturday am we had a meet up 9.30am for influencer, bloggers and Press. We went to the literature tent, on arival we were greeted with breakfast alcohic cocktails - I mean it would be rude not too hey!! There was dancing, games, prizes, badge making, in the literature tent upper gardens.
After all the fun in here we walked around and then headed to find our spot on castle stage for the best act..... Mr tumble - this is always the best - the whole crowd are involved, kids adults, dancing, signing, doing the okey okie... Mr Tumble knows how to get a crowd going!! We had Pizzas, bubbles, ball playing, thatchers and some gins! The sun was shining we watched, Bluey, hey Dougie, Mr tumble, Cosmic Yoga! Omg the kids loved it and so did we. We then left our stuff in our little area and wondered around the festival for kids to explore some more. We kept going off and playing and then coming back to watch the acts. The kids had so much fun, soaking up the atmosphere, I can't express to you in words, just how much there is going on at Camp Festival, no words or pictures describe and explain the sheer awesomeness of Camp Bestival! We continue to watch the performances, dance get soaked up in the atmosphere with the kids till gone midnight. on the way back to the tent the kids want some more waffles!!! Most food stalls close at 12.30am
Sunday...
So sad we had to leave early, our ferry to Guernsey had been bought forward so we had to leave at 1pm Sunday - next year we are staying till the very end! So Sunday am we did three trips to the car with the contents from the tent, we then left the tent up headed into the festival for one more time, went on the Ferris wheel, had a boogie, had some churrios felt the atmosphere for the last time and then headed back to pack down the tent and go to the car,,,,, all the way in our thoughts thinking that was bloody AWESOME,, we already cant wait till next year!!
Camp Bestival 2024 -
Book here to join us in 2024....
Early bird prices which you can spread your payments! We cant wait for Camp festival 2024
Comments