As part of my husband’s ongoing mid-life crisis he booked tickets to two festivals this summer (I had no say in this but we’ve moved on). I was kind of dreading the thought of days on end up to our knees in mud and poo but I have to say as an overnight festival virgin I was pleasantly surprised and we’ll definitely be booking one again next year. We went to the kid friendly Latitude and the all about the kids Camp Bestival and both were great in different ways. Latitude was more organised and had less smelly loos, Camp Bestival had a more creative bent and better food. It’s hard to say which one was better.
Festival Fun. Hiring or bringing your own wagon is a must if you have small children. Ours loved the novelty of being pulled about and falling asleep under their canopy. There were no wagons left to hire at Camp Bestival as they were pre-book only and they weren’t as nice as the ones at Latitude. Point to Latitude.
Our wagon hired at Latitude and worth every penny.
After Camp Bestival we went camping in Dorset. This is the evening view from our tent! It was the best campsite I have ever been to in my life and considering I Eurocamped my way from Cornwall to Spain over an entire childhood (free welcome gift alarm clock and wine by the end) I consider myself pretty clued up.
The campsite was amazing. Free roaming Shetland ponies, guinea-pigs, piglets, goats, kittens and puppies were all about! You could have a campfire and arrange (for a small fee) for the campsite staff to drop off bales of hay to your tent for you to arrange around said campfire. The compost toilets weren’t too smelly, the solar showers were great and the farm courtyard and eating area was fantastic. All lit up with fairy lights and flanked by a well stocked farm shop, an organic bakery, ice-cream shop and a wood fired pizza takeaway trailer. Oh, and there was a yurt for massages and meditation and a hay barn for leaping about in. Basically idyllic camping conditions for middle class North Londoners. Apparently this campsite gets fully booked in a hummingbird’s heartbeat so please send gold, old mobile phones and any loose diamonds if you want me to reveal exactly where it is.
Confession time: I bought the Stella McCartney dress for her in the sale, wasn’t me, fingers slipped, can anyone recommend a prescription for this issue/section me? But I do love it!
Top camping tips:
(Based on what i forgot)
Remember to pack your knickers so that you don’t have to wear your husband’s boxer shorts for three days.
Pack a Lantern so you can see outside in the evening
Pack Mozzy cream/spray
Pack a small mirror
Pack enough blankets, sleeping bags etc to guarantee you will be warm.
Pack a washing up bowl for emergency wee-wees in the night
Pack a portable potty – for washing up in
(Based on what I remembered)
One of the best additions to our tent were two thick sheepskin rugs that turned out to make excellent mattresses for the kids who were forever sliding off their blow up ones. The sheepskins were also great for layering over hay bales to make a comfy sofa and for general coziness.
A set of oil pastels hastily thrown in the bag because i couldn’t find any felt-tips turned out to be a genius move as they were perfect for decorating stones which the kids loved doing when the grown-ups were tidying, cooking, drinking elderflower cider etc
Battery powered fairy lights (from Cox & Cox) and Bunting. Seriously important.
Essential camping equipment: Sheepskin Rug, £30, Ikea
