Traipsing around a field for four days and sleeping in a tiny tent with a stroppy teen, three hugely excitable little ones and a mud fearing husband would easily of been my idea of the worst holiday for my family. Â That was until our mind blowing stay at Camp Bestival.
This time last week we had just returned covered in glitter, a little smelly from the lack of washing but still walking on air from the fabulous holiday we had just been lucky enough to experience.
We had a good journey to Dorset and we’re really taken back with the vastness of the festival which covered the fields surrounding the beautiful Lulworth Castle.
I tried to be as organised as I could with the packing and we managed to get all our stuff down to the campsite in only two trips thankfully as the trip to and from the carpark is a bit of a challenge.
After struggling more than a little to set up our tent for the first time, my husband sheepishly asked two ladies that seemed experts in the field to give us a hand!
With his masculinity crushed we got everything in place and set off to investigate.
Although not everything is open on the Thursday it is the perfect opportunity to grab a bite to eat and get your bearings before the madness starts.
Tired from the drive we all got a surprisingly good nights sleep and were raring to go the next day.
With our timetable in hand we decided to take the next few days as they come and not stick to set routine. Â The inner hippie in me was out in force and routine was out the window!
We wanted to experience everything and with so much going on we didn’t know where to start. Â Yet we soon found some firm favourites we went back to time and time again.
One of which was the Dingly Dell, a little bit of magic in the woods that was perfect for the little ones to create lanterns between the trees, take part in as scavenger hunt or explore the adventure playground.
It is also home to the stupendous Lizzie’s Way where kids can really be kids and follow colourful ribbon covered pathways that lead you to a host of activities where they can create concoctions in the ‘mud kitchen’, dress up and give a performance on stage or hide out in the mini tipis.
The National Trust also had a great area where they had the ’50 Things To Do Before Your 11 3/4 Medow’. Â The children loved picking their own tools to add wood to the huge structure that was being created, climbing trees and having hill rolling competitions.
The big top was a great area to shelter in from the sun to listen to some great music or relax in front on the huge cinema screen. Â Mine all loved a bit of quiet time to sit and watch the fantastic new film Pete’s Dragon.
There were fairground rides aplenty from the traditional carousel to something a little different with the addition of the worlds biggest bouncy castle that my oldest two absolutely loved!
The main stage had something for all ages. Â The little ones were in complete awe when Mr Tumble took to the stage and sat captivated watching Aliens Love Underpants, the older ones danced along to Reggie and Bowlie and made me push my way to the front when Jess Glynne took to the stage.
The highlight for me was reliving my youth when Banannarama came on stage. I felt like a teenager again singing into my hairbrush!
My husband was excited all weekend to watch the legend that is Fatboy Slim. Unfortunately the youngest two were less then impressed so I moped back to the tent while I left my husband to enjoy the spectical.
I’m sure we didn’t cover everything but there was not a point in the day or the evening the children were bored.  They went from dancing on stage with Big Fish Little Fish to creating  masterpieces in the art tent, to honing their circus skills, running through bubbles and playing in the sand until dark.
My tummy is always a priority and food was on my mind long before we left. Â I wanted to save some money and enjoy the experience of cooking outdoors so we took lots with us to make a good breakfast to set us up for the day and then either had lunch or dinner back at the tent so we could take a bit of time out and enjoy the campsite as well as the festival itself.
The choice of food is immense and you are really spoilt for choice. Â We had traditional Spanish paella cooked in huge pans right in front of you, juicy beef burgers, ice creams a plenty and the best waffles I’ve ever tasted and believe me I’ve had a few!
All of this was washed down with fresh lemonade and a few to many G and T’s from the gin truck.
There was a surprise around every corner from cute characters to meet and great to elaborate parades.
Just when you thought things couldn’t be topped the most spectacular firework display lit up the entire castle for the grand closing ceremony. It was a real sight to be seen and such an apt ending to a truly fabulous weekend.
Camp Bestival was more than we could ever have expected and I will have more posts to follow as I have far to much to let you all know about in just one post.
If you are looking for a holiday that will have something for the whole family to enjoy, a place where you can try out countless new activities, listen to fantastic live music and just enjoy each other’s company in the most fantastic setting then this is the perfect trip for you.
Don’t waste time on thinking about booking for next year as there is the opportunity to pick up early bird tickets as of today!
Camp Bestival 2017 Early Bird Weekend Ticket Prices:
Adult Weekend Ticket – £175*
Student Weekend Ticket – £165*
Age 13 to 17 Weekend Ticket – £105*
Age 10 to 12 Weekend Ticket – £80*
Age 5 to 9 Weekend Ticket – £30*
Age 4 & Under Weekend Ticket – £10*
Babes In Arms (1 & Under) – FREE (but ticket required)*
All tickets include camping from Thursday or Friday.
Weekly Payment Plan:
Use our 30-week payment plan to purchase your tickets meaning that an adult ticket can now be bought at a payment of around £5 per week over 30 consecutive weekly payments following your initial deposit payment. Book online via Ticketline only: select ‘Camp Bestival 2017 – Weekend Payment Plan’. Once you have signed up to the payment plan, which basically means giving your agreement by ticking the bank mandate form on Ticketline’s website, they will automatically debit your card on a weekly basis. NB: Booking fees and a deposit (£25 per adult ticket) will be charged with your initial transaction.
*we were given tickets to Camp Bestival for the purpose of this review and they are all my own honest opinions.
