I saw a post on Instagram recently that really made me smile. I’m paraphrasing but it said something like, “Having kids hasn’t stopped me doing the things I love, I still do them but now they’re shit.”
I love going to festivals, and have even played quite a few in my rock and roll girl band days, so am happy to say that going to festivals doesn’t have to be shit when you have kids. So long as that festival is Camp Bestival.
Is Camp Bestival for families?
Camp Bestival kicked off in 2008 and was billed as the little sister of Bestival (now, sadly, defunct). It’s curated by Rob da Bank and his wife Josie. They have four children and it shows.
First up, quite literally, events start at 8:45am – heaven for families with little kids and the kind of detail that would only be thought of if you had them. And the latest of late bars closes at 1am. Which is at least two hours after my festival bedtime, and about four after my normal lights out.
There’s a CBeebies tent, this year curated by Ben and George from the channel, and with HUGE names reading stories including Bluey and Justin Fletcher. And the Phil Hartnoll from Orbital reading turned into an afternoon rave. Beautiful.
Justin also had a slot on the Park / main stage as Mr Tumble, plus Hacker T Dog and Horrible Histories.
There’s lots of free activities for children in the daytime including parkour and skateboarding lessons, but you’ll need to move quickly to book them. Plus many, many, walk up activities like s’more toasting in the woods, circus skills, and outdoor games to play.
It felt to me like everyone there had kids with them, so there is a lot of understanding around buggies, picnic blankets, and trolleys. And the toilets are in the best condition of any festival toilets I’ve ever seen. Seriously, don’t bother with the loo lounge pass, you don’t need it.
Is Camp Bestival for adults?
Um…no. I mean, you could literally buy just adult tickets but if I was going to a festival without my children in tow, I’d choose one without a CBeebies tent.
Having said that, my husband booked himself onto a three-hour Wim Hof method teaching session that was just for adults. And there’s massages on offer, for a price, but they were all booked before I got organised.
Camp Bestival line-up
The line-up is…eclectic. Look, I’m just going to say it, Camp Bestival is aimed at families rather than music lovers. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of music to enjoy: the 12 and seven year old loved Paloma Faith and Rick Astley but the latter is a stretch as a headliner, in my opinion. Faithless was banging, and I discovered a new band in Electric Shakes but the music is more an added bonus to a festi-holiday with the family rather than the reason to go.
Food at Camp Bestival
This year, organisers introduced a ‘kids extra pass’. For £35, your kid could have three meals, unlimited fruit, and a sweet snack a day. I think this is good value. And each food vendor offers a £6 kids’ meal which is great.
In an ideal world, I’d like to see a Co-op on site because you simply can’t beat a £5.50 meal deal and at ‘Tom The Shop’s’ general store a tube of Pringles cost a fiver. £5!
However, and I really think this is amazing, like at Glastonbury – once you’re onsite, you’re onsite. There’s no difference between camping and the festival arena meaning you can bring in as much alcohol as you want, if that’s your vibe, or 0% beer and kombucha if you’re a (mostly) sober punk like me. Speaking of which, there was Lucky Saint on tap at most of the bars (glory be!) plus a non-alcoholic spirit and wine. A pint of Lucky Saint cost £6.80.
Ooh, and I must give a shout out to the Ramble On café in the Makers’ Market that sold the nicest coffee I’ve had in a long time, plus crumpets for a very reasonable £3.50.
Camp Bestival tickets
There seemed to be perks for buying tickets through various organisations, for example, if you bought through the Mum Club you got what looked like a fancy bag of delights. But tickets can also be bought via the Camp Bestival website.
Georgina Terry is group editor of Closer online and heatworld. She spent her 20s playing in bands, and at festivals including Bestival, and is these days a mother of two. She's been working in entertainment journalism for over a decade but would give it all up if her almost-made-it band got back together (for big - BIG! - money).