Camp Bestival. Oh how we do love thee.
We couldn’t make Camp Bestival this year – so we sent our intrepid roving reporter WitWitWoo. Who quite frankly did a better job than we would have done. She camped and EVERYTHING. This is her account of her first ever festival – grab a coffee before you start, you may be here some time…
I have officially made it back from my first ever camping trip in one piece. Quite frankly, I surprised even myself because, let me tell you, if you’ve never been before, camping is not easy!
Camp Bestival is considered the most family-friendly festival out there and after going, I can understand why.
The plan was that I would drive our two boys (7 & 16,) down to Dorset on the Thursday morning and my Other Half would meet us at the campsite that evening. Of course, best laid plans and all ….
We had intended to leave at 9am and ended up eventually leaving at midday – par for the course when you have children. It took us four hours to get to Dorset from Kent, including the obligatory stop-off at the motorway services where I had to trade in a child just to afford a Starbucks latte. Twenty quid down already and I hadn’t even got to the festival.
We arrived at 4pm … complete with crampy ankles, an irritable teen and a hyper 7 year old. All quite normal really. The original plan was that we’d obviously be able to park really near our tent, it would take probably an hour to pitch the tent and before you could say, “Mine’s a double vodka & Diet Coke,” we’d be cooking the rapidly warming sausages before you knew it. As I said earlier, all good plans …
In reality, because the site was already so busy (it had taken us nearly two hours driving through the town of Wareham and onto the site before we managed to park up,) that we were directed to park at the top of a very big hill. Me and hills do not get along. We hadn’t really thought through the whole ‘transporting luggage’ issue and found ourselves miles away from the first area of spare land to camp on.
This is my main gripe about Camp Bestival. You end up parking so far away from your tent that the round trip to bring luggage down from the car ended up taking an hour. Times that by three and suffice to say, I was a little hacked off by Thursday evening.
My teen gallantly offered to do the last two trips on his own and Dexter, my youngest, and I, attempted to look like we knew what we were doing with the tent and airbeds back at Base Camp. We didn’t. For a start, we’d forgotten the foot pump and it wasn’t until after forty minutes of manually blowing up a double airbed that a fellow camper finally took pity on me and lent me their foot pump. Good job I’ve got a good pair of lungs on me.
The whole putting up the tent thing didn’t work either but thankfully, someone else offered to help.
Next problem was getting my Other Half into the campsite when I had his wrist band. Which brings me onto my second gripe of Camp Bestival.
I know I’m not the only one who felt this because believe me, when people are hacked off, they talk, but every steward I spoke to over the weekend did not have a clue whatsoever as to where anything was on the site. It really was a case of, “Errr … sorry, but if you ask Bob in the Magic Meadow, he might know.” You get the picture.
To cut a very long story short, I managed to finally find my Other Half by the castle. By fluke more than anything. We finished pitching the tent, we ate scrambled eggs by candlelight and we slept hard … on a rapidly deflating airbed.
The best thing about Camp Bestival is that there is so much to do. This can also be the worst thing because you can’t see/do everything. There were things I wanted to see but completely epic failed all over the place because I went to CB with the ethos of not getting too hung up on cramming everything in. However, if you have military precision like planning, you’ll fare better. But be warned. The site is massive. I mean … it took us over half an hour to walk from the first part of the main festival area back to our tent. And this is where the trailers come in handy again.
Now I obviously didn’t get the memo about a trailer being necessary not only for transporting too much luggage across mountainous terrain but for schlepping your kids around from one field to another to make sure you don’t miss out on anything. In fact, most canny parents not only decorated their trailers but padded them out with blankets and pillows and their kids slept in them whilst Mum and Dad partied all evening. (Some people just have too much time on their hands quite frankly.)
At the main ‘Hi-Di-Hi’ stage, children’s TV presenters, Dick and Dom, did a great job compering the children’s entertainment, introducing such live acts as The Gruffalo, Zingzillas and Mr Tumble (Mr Tuuuuuuuuuuuuuuumblllllllle!)
We had watched The Gruffalo live before, (it’s great, catch it if you can,) so we decided to have a lazy morning. I hadn’t slept well but the world always looks better after a fry-up – even one cooked over a single ring stove. Granted, it may have taken slightly longer to cook this way but when you consider that a bacon roll was more than £4, and there’s four of us, you’ll understand why we tried to cut corners where we could. Besides, cooking outside is what you’re meant to do when you camp, right? I’m sure it’s in the Camping Rulebook. So I sat on my camping chair, with my little stove, and cooked breakfast every day. I didn’t mind as my Other Half did the washing up. The kids? Well, they just ate the food, so nothing new there.
We’re a pretty laid back family and so there was no pressure on any of us to have to do anything. Our eldest had already made friends with the kids from the tent next door and so we barely saw him all weekend – apart from when he wanted money or feeding. Typical. But we were happy with that because we really didn’t want him cramping our style, (or is it the other way round?) Our youngest is seven and I had specifically not told him about any of the acts that were appearing because I didn’t want to feel beholden to be anywhere at a specific time. However, you could buy a programme, which came with handy lanyard, which outlined who was on and when. Would have helped if I’d bought myself one really.
Three things Dexter loved:
1. Jousting: In fact, he loved it so much that he not only watched it three times, but watched it on the Ferris Wheel to get the perfect view. Now that’s dedication.
2. Bubble Guns: They were everywhere. You couldn’t walk a metre without being smacked upside the head by a giant bubble or five. At £9 per gun (I say gun, more of a sword really,) they’re not cheap but the kids loved them.
3. Fancy Dress: Every year, Camp Bestival has a theme – this year was medieval. If your child is anything like me, they love dressing up. Most of Dexter’s costumes are so small now that the trousers are ¾ length and the tops are crop tops. He doesn’t care at all. Dressing up as a knight at Camp Bestival was a whole lotta fun for Dexter. If you’ve forgotten to bring an outfit, there’s even a fancy dress shop on site, Smiffy’s – but get there early because they soon run out of the most popular items.
Three things Teen loved:
1. Ed Sheeran: One of the many strings to my ever-expanding bow, is that I’m also a music reviewer (as is the teen now,) and so there were some acts appearing that we definitely had to see. Ed Sheeran was one of them. Not only was his main show amazing but I managed to find out about a secret gig that he was playing straight after the main show. After managing to blag our way past security (“You’re name’s not down ….”,) we were privy to a gig to no more than 100 people and Ed played us his new songs. A really mellow affair, in the middle of the woods, apparently at someone’s wedding (!) and we felt privileged to be there. The teen could barely speak when he came out (he was front row,) only to tell me that I was the best mum in the entire universe. Hey – tell me something I don’t know!
2. Girls: Nuff said. Lots of teens were at Camp Bestival and I know some people were a bit upset that they seem to have been able to allowed in on their own, without an accompanying family. But the certainly didn’t cause me any bother – but then I’d deliberately camped miles away from them!
3. Chilling: He felt safe enough to wander about on his own without any hassle. These days, just walking the streets at home, there’s some little runt that wants to have a go. There wasn’t that vibe at Camp Bestival at all. Everyone was there to listen to music and have fun and there was absolutely no trouble at all (that I saw.)
Three things Other Half and I loved:
1. Atmosphere: No, they’re not a folk band (although that’s a great name,) but my Other Half and I lead pretty hectic lives, we haven’t had a holiday for over four years and so Camp Bestival was the first chance we’d had in years just to ‘be.’ So, for us, just spending time together in a place that felt like a mini community full of like-minded people, was wonderful.
2. Dancing: My Other Half and I met dancing – in a salsa club to be specific, and it was what brought us together. Nine years on and … well, we don’t get to dance much these days. At Camp Bestival there are lots of dance classes put on and everywhere you look, there’s always music to dance to. We took full advantage and really let our hair down. Our eldest was grateful he wasn’t around to see us raving and after initially not knowing what to make of it, our youngest just joined in! It was good for him to see Mum and Dad letting their hair down. At least I think it was.
3. Happy Kids: When we’re at home, there’s always some squabble going on between our boys. It’s normal, right? (Please agree!) At Camp Bestival, admittedly because they weren’t in each other’s space all the time, they were just happier when they were with each other. Yes, there were a few disagreements, but overall, they rubbed along together nicely. Both got to do what they wanted to do (within reason,) and that led to a relaxed atmosphere. Most of the time. Happy kids = happy parents.
I missed out hearing any comedy, (ahem, bar my own of course,) Sara Cox speak, James Vincent McMorrow and Ms Dynamite. But we ate at River Cottage, loved Katy B and had a great time on the Helter Skelter. We didn’t see Shrek, the Insect Circus or Nero (they cancelled twice – the teen is still vex!), but we ate some great food, I had the best facial ever at the Khiels stand and we saw some amazing bike tricks at the Skate Park.
Camp Bestival is host to 30,000 people and if, for some reason (*cough* money *cough*) they make it bigger next year, I think that would adversely affect the whole experience. I’m hoping they don’t.
There are things that could be improved at Camp Bestival – it’s not perfect – but what is? Overall, I have to say, I’d recommend it to anyone.
Camp Bestival 2011 rocked – even though I barely slept, spent a fortune on food and felt like I’d walked a thousand miles.
Read MorePandamonium in the Park – Awesomeness…….
On Saturday we headed over to Althorp Park for Sainsbury’s & Dreamwork’s grand Pandamonium in the Park event, celebrating the launch of the Kung Fu Panada 2 film. We had a really good time, especially the kids.
We were very lucky to be given VIP passes too which made it oh so very nice – Pimms on tap, what could be better? Much fun was had at the various activities and the kids particularly liked the throw-wet-sponges-as-hard-as-you-can-at-adults game, the Cadbury Spots v Stripes Minute to Win it Games were great (they are apparently linked to a new family game show on ITV2) and the Crusha Milkshake Bar was rather tasty too.
Getting Ready to Play a Minute to Win It Game - Team Spots or Team Stripes?!
Being fans of the first Kung Fu Panda film, meeting Po was pretty cool too – photos were taken and will be emailed to me, I’ll post them when they’ve landed.
The best bit of all tho’ was the Hans Zimmer concert at the end. The opening act; Big Time Rush, I must confess I’d never heard of before but my eldest had and thought they were cool. Sitting back with a glass of bubbles in the beautful setting of Athorp Park whilst the music from Hans Zimmer and his orchestra wafter over us was just lovely.
Thanks Pretty Green PR!
Read MoreThe Larmer Tree Festival- are you coming?
I’m lucky that the Larmer Tree Grounds are less than 30 minutes away from me – but families come from all over the UK to enjoy one of the best Family Friendly Festivals, in its unique setting. Are you coming too this year? If you’re meaning to, then be quick – tickets are scarce, the festival is Sold out, without fail, every single year
(you can see what Emma thought of it when she visited for us last year by clicking here),
13th-17th July 2011, held at the lush Larmer Tree Gardens, near Salisbury, on the Wiltshire/Dorset border.
Est 1990 • over 70 diverse artists • 6 stages • Comedy Club • 150 free workshops • street theatre • carnival procession • intimate crowd of 4,000 • voted Best UK Family Festival 08 • tickets sold out for 16 years • The perfect escape from it all!
On top of the late night shenanigans, all-star comedy club and international heavy weight musical line-up Larmer Tree is bursting from the seams with extra activities to enthral, educate and entertain in equal measure! So without further ado let’s take a trip around Larmer Tree’s extensive activity programme to get a taster for what’s on offer…
The Carnival – One of the highlights and most unique aspects of the festival, the Carnival gathers over 500 Larmer Tree attendees in an explosion of colour, papier-mâché and flamboyant outfits to process throughout the festival site showcasing their workshop made creations. This year the theme will be Recycled Safari, with workshops and expeditions running throughout the festival to create the outfits and teach the dance moves!
Lostwood – Wander the winding woodland paths and discover gripping storytelling, poetry, spoken and written word sessions and performances for all ages in sun dappled glades surrounded by trees. Look out for the Song Factory where attendees will be given the opportunity to put their own words to music with expert musicians, including folk legend Rory McLeod.
YouthZone – The YouthZone for 11-17 year olds is the place to make new friends, catch up with old ones and learn a new craft, musical skill, or just chill out. With as an eclectic amount on offer as the rest of the programme, youth ticket holders can immerse themselves in a world of streetdance, mud sculptures, song writing, T-shirt making, jam sessions and much more.
Kids activities – An extensive array of activities, workshops and shows for the little ones, including puppet making, animal hat creations, tie-dying and picture frame making. This year there are some extra special activities for the kids including an interactive show hosted by headliners Ozomatli in OzoKidz.
Water Garden – Experience different drop-in sessions over the weekend, where you can learn about weaving, crocheting and natural dyes.
Circus workshop and skills – A range of drop in workshops with a huge variety of circus fun on offer! From plate spinning to tight wire, juggling to unicycle riding, there is something for everyone and all abilities.
Theatre and Talks – During the daytime Club Larmer turns into a space for talks, film, theatre and a little bit of comedy, all aimed at adults, one of the highlights will be a special talk from Cole Porters’ frontman Sid Griffin on Bob Dylan.
Adults Hands On! –Tap in to the craftsperson within and choose from a multitude of expert guidance in a huge variety of skills, from fascinators to basket weaving, jewellery to candlesticks there is so much to create!
Woodland Crafts – Explore the weaving canopies of the woodland and join in with the group of artists and master craftspeople in beautiful handmade yurts nestled under the trees.
Adult Workshops – Take a trip around the world in this extensive programme of dance and music workshops. From Cajun to Bollywood, Charleston to Rock ‘n’ Roll dance classes, didgeridoo and djembe workshops, Tai Chi and Yoga on the lawns, there is a new skill or hidden talent just waiting to be discovered!
Read MoreCamp Bestival – just bloody brilliant.
Camp. Bestival.
Is over for another year.
I have to review… but it was such a monumentally HUGE weekend, it would be difficult to be concise. I couldn’t tell you about everything, it’s just not possible, Camp Bestival is too huge an experience. For those who don’t know, it’s the first proper real grown up festival – that’s actually aimed at families. You know, those of us who grew up on the 90′s, have now got sensible jobs and partners and children… They say it best themselves, actually –
“Mix in entertainment of the highest order, splendid music, the biggest boutique campsite ever, excellent facilities for the outdoor life and a generous sprinkle of Bestival magic and you’re in our world.”
Think Glastonbury – set in a Butlins camp. We pretty much spent the weekend just meandering around. The programme told us there was no way in the world we would get to do everything we wanted, so we decided on the gentle approach and just waited to see what would cross our path.
Which was how we joined the Air guitar competition, spent a fab half an hour furiously wheeling and dosey-do-ing to Skinny Lister, watched Shakespeare become rap, stretched out in a family-sized hammock, made head-dresses out of the strongest leaves in the world… and simply discovered so many amazing things.
The food. Oh, my, the food! So much, and so varied. We sampled some, but would have quite happily stayed right in the food alley and tried lots lots more. Pies and mash, fish and chips, burritos, beef burgers, lamb burgers, veggie burgers, fish burgers, jacket potatoes, curry, chilli, Greek, Italian, French, Indian, Chinese, Japanese… Oh, and not forgetting some of the very finest hot chocolate ever to be tasted.
There was a rather fabulous Pimms double decker bus (right next to Boden’s pavilion. Such fortuitous planning). Stacks of activities for the children (a lot you had to plan in advance for, as they are in group sessions, so our just-mooch-round approach went against us there), tumbling acrobats who were genuinely hilarious, the tiniest caravan in the world who held a group of beat-boxers which I physically had to manhandle the husband away from, The Gruffalo, Mr Tumble (OH! SO wonderful!), the Penguin Books tent, the Victorian circus, the English National ballet… Of course, this is a festival for families, and children need to be kept entertained, so every corner may hold a surprise – box forts, medieval jousting, a slippery slip, ,puppet shows, madly-put-together bicycles to ride backwards, giant blank statues and free paints – all available to delight and keep quiet whilst mum and dad slip off to the Pimms bus watch proudly.
We are lucky enough to live right on the doorstep (ish…), so we had day passes, which are only available to local people and headed back home at night. But next year we plan on Family Camping – we felt we were missing out by going home, despite the lure of the hot shower. And I have my eye on one of the Yurts, or maybe hiring a ready-built tent in the Tangerine Field. Saturday was much busier than the Friday, and not quite as relaxed in atmosphere – but still a wonderful, amazing place to be with your family.
Standing on the castle wall, looking out over the festival grounds was a perfect place to stop for a sit down and a bite to eat – you could people watch for hours. So very many people laughing, shouting, dancing, singing, meeting and greeting… Everywhere there were men dressed as fairies, ladies with rose head garlands (where from? I never did find out, and I SO wanted one myself), people in wigs, waving fairy wands, faces painted with butterflies and red toadstools and children of all ages running around wearing wings and mad colours. We felt quite under-dressed in our jeans, to be honest.
The whole weekend battered our senses at every turn. one minute we were in a room watching a 3D film preview, and then ten minutes later we were gawping at BMX-ers flying over our heads. The children learned circus tricks and rode wacky vehicles. We sat quietly under a tree, drinking long cold cups of fresh orange juice whilst we listened to Ellie Goulding. And as the sun went down on Saturday evening the magic really came out and sprinkled everyone. 
Walking back from the Freestyling Sports Field, watching the flags snap in the breeze, bubbles floating seemingly from nowhere and everywhere, lit by the golden rays of the summer sunset, my tired family content to walk in silence, smiles fixed to their faces.
After a brief fling with DJ Yoda (I wish we’d seen his Disney set on Sunday), we headed for the main stage area, the field right in front of the castle, and threaded through the children-nodding-on-blankets-filled crowd towards the front (ish) so the boys could watch The Cuban Brothers – and jump, and roar, and sing, and dance and be enthralled. Finally, the smallest had had enough – I headed out to the sidelines with them whilst husband and No.1 son set their shoulders and dug further in to the crowd to see Madness.
And so, I rounded off my night with a 3yr old asleep in her pushchair, two boys lying on a rug 
listening to classic ska and watching the stars through the fluorescent lights of the food vans. Looking around me I realised I was in a bank of pushchairs, laden with rugs and water bottles and small children as Mummies gathered contentedly to watch and enjoy and avoid the crush in the middle with their sleepy offspring. To my right was a rather elderly couple in their striped fold-up deckchairs and flask of tea – who got up and danced to It Must Be Love with their grandson.
And that was exactly everything that Camp Bestival is all about. Families, music and fun – topped off with a whole heap of quirk and happy-mad-ness. I’d show you – only I left my camera in the rucksack which I thought was adorning the husbands back. But which was actually being used as a step for the boy to see Suggs. When they finally made their way back to me at the end of the (stupendously excellent) concert, No.1′s radiant beam of joy at his very first live concert was reflected in the husband’s Madness-inspired euphoric grin – and pretty much made up for the broken phone and camera.
Next year we’ll be a little better prepared – we’ll take more cash (there are cash points, but there’s a queue and they charge), and a big Radio Flyer wagon to pull around tired children, a big blanket and more water. Plus, of course, next time we’ll be wearing fairy wings, tutus, flowers and sparkly wands aplenty.
Brilliantly Weird and Utterly Wonderful; Camp Bestival. We can’t wait to ‘do’ you again.
Read MoreCamp Bestival. Oh yes.
Exhilarated. Exhausted. E…nope, can’t think of one beginning with E. Filthy about covers it.
So. When I have the strength, I shall put down into some words the sheer awesomeness that was our weekend at Camp Bestival.
But in the meantime – here y’go. Have a sneak peek at what we did.
Blue skies, a castle and giant tulips. What more do you actually need?
Random acts of spontaneous dancing. Just Marvellous.
Every where we went someone was doing something to capture our attention
But there were comfy queit spots aplenty, too.
And then the sun went down.. (oh, so pretty)
Boy gets to see his very first concert (note small 8yr old fist punching the air).
And to finish up, just a le-e--etle bit of Madness. *happy Daddy*
The Larmer Tree Festival Review – what we really thought
When Laura asked on Wednesday if I wanted to take her place at the Larmer Tree Festival for five days she didn’t have to ask twice. I imagine she chose me because I had easy access to four enthusiastic children. What she might not have considered was my previous experience working at numerous festivals in the past, delighting children with a huge inflatable bouncy dragon, and more recently taking my own children to experience the fun for themselves.
So it was that Rob and I found ourselves on Larmer’s main lawn that same evening watching Jools Holland, having roped Granny in for some impromptu babysitting (it was a school night after all). Jools did his best to dispel the rain showers but no one seemed to mind them. People were well prepared with raincoats and golfing umbrellas…. at times a bird’s eye view would have revealed a giant sea turtle of colourful umbrellas. With his Rhythm ‘n Blues Orchestra and impressive guests, Jools gave a wonderful show, and after a raucous encore we joined the flow of the crowd to take in the beginning of Newton Faulkner’s mesmerising set in the Arc marquee before reluctantly heading home to return the next evening.
Enjoying the main lawn
Danny was my companion for Thursday evening, my relaxed eleven year old who, having been to Glastonbury a few times, wanted to try something different. We started off with a circuit of the site and he was heartened by the manageable size and how quickly he got his bearings. We sampled three bands, one crêpe and an ice cream, and I could sense Danny’s excitement at the prospect of coming back on Friday to enjoy as much as we could pack in to the weekend. I honestly haven’t heard him talk so positively about a family weekend away.
Friday afternoon saw our return, with Rohan (14), and our huge tent. Not the ideal tent to take for two nights’ stay so I was glad of a teenager to help me lug our car-full to the large open space we found a few hundred metres from the car. There were carts available for this “lugging” but they were located some distance from the parking and involved hefty deposits and hire charges. Surely at a small and friendly festival such as this the carts could be used as needed and returned to locations dotted along the length of the parking.
With beds made we headed up to the Village to choose some tea. There’s so much wholesome, well-made and interesting food on offer at reasonable prices that this wasn’t difficult. Rohan chose a perfect cheese burger, Danny had a mushroom pizza made to order and I had pie mash peas and gravy, washed down with an ale from the bar. All delicious! Now I’m no connoisseur of such things but the selection of beers and ciders seemed as well-chosen as the food outlets.
Replete, we joined the crowd of people in the sunshine of the main lawn. This really is a beautiful lawn, framed by masterly mature trees which are colourfully up-lit as darkness falls, creating an awesome setting where whole families were gathered together with the party-goers. DJ Derek was playing from the smaller garden stage and this was the highlight of the weekend for Rohan. Yes he enjoyed the reggae, ska and rock steady blend but the dichotomy provided by this man’s appearance, born in the 1940s, wearing shirt and waistcoat, dancing and speaking with a Jamaican lilt, had him transfixed.
Standing in the crowd later, dancing to Toots and the Maytals with my lovely boys, summed up the atmosphere of the festival for me. In front was a large group with children on shoulders and snuggling in blankets on camping chairs. When revellers stumbled forward to get to the front they were easy to divert to a different route when I pointed out the smalls. Everyone was so considerate and friendly. Toots set was summer bliss and rounded off with a fifteen minute encore, involving dozens of the audience being welcomed up on stage to dance with the band. Truly a night to remember!
A popular new dimension to the festival this year was the comedy sessions in the Arc. Rohan was keen to see Russell Howard so this is where we went next. We laughed our way through the compère’s and Steve Hall’s “adult humour” as Danny called it, but we just couldn’t cram in comfortably enough to stay for Russell.
Saturday was our first “doing” day. We arrived early at the Woodland crafts area, nestled under trees and beautiful wooden and rush
Danny whistle-making in the Woodland Crafts
Toot-toot!
sculptures, where adults and children could watch demonstrations and make crafts of their own. We watched the making of a whistle carved from a length of green wood using hand tools. Children queued patiently for their turn to make their own and Danny came away with a fully functioning treasured whistle, after an hour and a half wait. The clear guidance and calm assistance given by the man running the workshop as well as the exemplary behaviour of those watching and waiting, made this as pleasant a wait as possible, and I’m sure that they will be better prepared for the demand next year. We knew we would be back to try our hands at some rush crafts and wooden mobiles Danny had spotted, but for now we had some hoola hooping to try. 
Later in the day the other half of our troupe arrived in the form of Rob and his twin ten year old girls who were keen to attend their first festival. A tractor ride transported their camping essentials virtually to our tent door; then we showed them around the site and ate another delicious selection of meals, before absorbing the excited atmosphere of the main lawn with a brilliant performance by the French band Babylon Circus.
On Sunday morning we ventured up to the Larmer Parler marquee. Organisation was slick as we were greeted at the entrance by helpful ladies with clipboards who described the activities on offer and found free spaces or gave us an idea of waiting times
.
The girls utterly engrossed in the Modroc workshop
They added Emily’s and Laura’s names to the list to join the Modroc workshop and ten minutes later they were happily modelling dragonfly and kangaroo from wire, newspaper and masking tape, then covering them in plaster of Paris bandage before a final lick of paint. The operation was very impressive: three different tables for the various stages of production with crafts people helping and advising with such enthusiasm you would have thought that it was their first make too. At no point did the girls feel pressure to move on and they came away with accomplished models to be proud of. Other workshops in the marquee looked similarly proficient and inspiring. Children could try their hand at making jewellery, hats, ornate lavender bags, tie dye T-shirts and bunting.
Meanwhile back at the Woodland crafts area Danny had finally got to the front of the queue to make a greenwood mobile, involving the use of intriguing bench horses and tools. This was Danny’s fourth attempt at lengthy queuing for this activity so a big relief when he wasn’t turned away holding back tears. And it was worth the wait as he learnt to use some impressively sharp tools. We all made some simple but gorgeous bracelets and dragonflies at Rushworks which I found so satisfying I’m determined to get the materials and do some at home. Finally Laura and Emily learnt to make woollen friendship bracelets in the craft yurt with the patient whistle-making man, before having to head home. 
Larmer Tree really is unique. Its setting, with landscaped gardens and wandering peacocks, gives it a feel of sophistication. We stumbled upon secluded areas beautifully decorated with fairy lights and crafts. People are friendly and take the time to strike up conversations so you find out about what they’ve been up to and can recommend.
Rob was a dab hand at the stilt walking
Camping is civilised with ample grassy fields and excellent flushing loos with decent showers, if you’re prepared to queue. Music may not include top names but has the essentials of a top festival, with tight musicianship that gets the crowds dancing. Above all the workshops are brilliant. Ambitious, and perfectly planned, they enable everyone to make fabulous memories to take away.
Since our return home I’ve been browsing through the programme, noting all the things we couldn’t fit in this year. The literary performances in the Lostwood appeal as do all the adult workshops, and one of the many holistic treatments available certainly wouldn’t go amiss to ease muscles weary from camping. Rohan should definitely check out the teens youth zone and next time I’ll go prepared for the dress-up days! It may not be the cheapest festival to take the family to, but many see it as an annual holiday which really has so much to offer to every member of the family. Thank you Littlestuff!
Port Eliot winner!
Hurrah! We managed to raise £166 for the Joseph Salmon Trust, and in the process the (very lovely when I spoke to him!) Mr Adefope gets to take his family on a surprise weekend away in Cornwall. Win-win-win!
Thank you so much to the original winner Claire from BeingAMummy for so sweetly offering up her tickets to the charity, it was a wonderful thought.
The festival begins tomorrow, and there are still tickets available.You can’t purchase online now, but there are ticket sales at the gate, and I’m assured you’ll not be turned away. It really does look like it’s going to be a wonderful festival (we’re hoping the winner of our other competition – Danielle Connors from Wales – will come back and tell us all about it).
Bid to Win Port Eliot Festival Family Pass
We recently ran a competition to win two family passes to the Port Eliot family festival (worth over £360). The oh-so-lovely Claire from www.beingamummy.co.uk was the winner of the Twitter comp, but sadly she can’t make the festival. Now, being oh-so-lovely as she is, she had a brainwave, and decided to donate the family pass to the Joseph Salmon Trust (everyone in blogosphere has heard that name, yes?).
Well, they gladly accepted the offer, and so the tickets are now there, sitting, waiting for your bid, on ebay. Right now. This minute.
Oh yes they are.
But – no one’s bidding. Really? NO one wants to go to one of the UK’s top family festivals in Cornwall later this month, two adults, two children (under 8′s are free) and a full five days camping pass?
Bidding ends at 12.50 Tuesday lunchtime.
So Go! Bid! Make some money for a wonderful charity – and maybe win yourself a great time too…
Please do use the links and share this post on Twitter, even if you don’t bid yourself.
Read MoreLarmer Tree Festival – Day 3
Here’s the latest from Emma:
Toots (Toots and the Maytals) were LEGEND last night! Families packed into the crowd, dancing together. People at the front were welcomed onto the stage by the man himself during the 15min encore – never seen that before.
Caught some comedy in the packed marquee before bed too.
We all loved our meals which cater for every taste – great pizza cafe where you can sit down in comfort eating wholesome food and home made lemonade.
We’re at the woodland craft workshop now with D eagerly waiting to make a whistle.
Chance for me to sit under this tree and relax and plan the day with the help from the programme.
X
Read MoreLarmer Tree Festival – Day 2
After her grown-ups night at the festival watching Jools Holland and Newton Faulkner, Emma revisited last night with her son in preparation for spending the whole weekend ‘Festival-ing’…
I took D for a couple of hours last night and it’s filled him with excitement to be spending a WHOLE weekend there. He loved the manageable size, the spacious friendly atmosphere and beautifully landscaped areas of garden (not forgetting the clean civilised toilets!). He ate a crepe with his dream filling – chocolate and marshmallow, and we wandered around all the different bits planning our activities, which bands we’ll watch in which places, all the stalls we’ll peruse and all the meals we are going to try – and a few holistic treatments I want to book in for too!
He found it reassuring that he could quickly get his bearings and there is a map at information to test his orienteering skills. If all else fails he knows there is always the lost children tent. He commented on the absence of overwhelming crowds and how you can take a gentle wander to see which bands you want to stay and watch. We sampled Frank Turner and Sweet Baboo but opted for Bob Hillary and the Massive Mellow for their hypnotic reggae.
We’re taking the tent later today and although its daunting to drag all the camping stuff down from the loft, I don’t need to worry about taking enough supplies as we “recc-ied” some stalls stocking everything you might want for some DIY camping, and at reasonable prices too. I’ll be glad when we’re there and we can relax and go with the flow of the weekend.
Camping toilet and shower blocks look ample and well maintained and D is even looking forward to taking a shower…
Can’t wait to groove to the Toots later!
x Emma
Read MoreFirst Night at the Larmer Tree Festival
…was apparently AMAZING!
Unable to go myself, I roped in Emma, who said she could probably be forced to sample the delights of Jools Holland, Alison Moyet et al if she HAD to.
Well, she did have to, so off she went…
And she had a blast! Here’s the quick text I had from her earlier:
“Jools Holland was as excellent as we expected, Alison Moyet was not what we expected (!), but was really good, Ruby Turner was a shining star, and to top the evening off we managed to catch the brilliant Newton Faulkners second set. Totally FAB night – can’t wait for the rest of the weekend!”
Me, Jealous? Much? *whistles*
There are still some tickets left for Sunday if you want to catch a day of this amazing Family Friendly Festival…
New chance to win a family pass to the Port Eliot Literary Festival
Just in case you missed the Twitter competition here, or are simply a non-Twitterer, the lovely lovely Port Eliot Festival people have given us a SECOND Full Family Pass (two adults, two children, under 8′s are free – worth £360) for you to try and win. That covers the camping, the full three days of the event PLUS you can arrive from lunch time on the Thursday and enjoy the Full-Pass-Only special Thursday night events.
Head over to the LittleStuff competitions page to snag yourself a chance – you can enter both, so even if you’ve already dipped your toe in the Twitter one you can enter the main site comp too.
This festival just looks amazing – we’re very jealous we don’t get to go ourselves, and think everyone should give it a try, it’ll be your family experience of the summer, we’re absolutely sure.
Read MoreWin one of two family weekend passes to the Port Eliot Festival worth £360!
Not heard of the Port Eliot Festival yet? Where have you BEEN?
“All the brains of a literary festival. All the soul of a music festival.”
And we have TWO family passes to giveaway. Not just a day pass – oh no. This is for the whole weekend, camping included – and you even get to arrive on the Thursday afternoon to enjoy special weekenders-only privileges. The pass is for two adults and two children (8-15) – but under-8′s are free, so if you’re a bigger family with small people, you’re in too!
The festival is on 23rd-25th July, and is an annual celebration of words, music, imagination, laughter, exploration, and – above all – fun.
An incredible array of performers have appeared at Port Eliot over the years – drawn by the festival’s laid-back approach, colourful atmosphere and friendly vibe. “Most festivals now, literature festivals in particular, are high pressure and high profile,” says Hanif Kureishi. “Port Eliot is a sort of upmarket pop festival… It’s fun… It’s nice for the kids. It’s a lovely place, it’s just very relaxing.”
“I want to go! Now! How do I win?” I hear you cry.
Well. Let me tell you.
Your first chance is a Twitter thing – follow us, RT the message, and you’re in-to-win! It’s that simple, it really truly is.
So – Follow us on Twitter (@LittleStuff) and RT the comp message to be In to Win – that’s it!
RT @Littlestuff Win a family weekend pass (£360) to the Port Eliot festival, just for a follow & RT (or an RT if you love us already)
But fret not, all you Non-Twitterers. There’s a second chance on the main site, coming very soon for you to enter and be in with a chance yourself.
Closing date is 8th July, one entry per household.
Read MoreFollow Us!
