Dusk on Sunday evening: a toddler was prostrate on the muddy woodland floor of the Dingly Dell, rigid in a rain suit as her parents tried to tune out from the apoplectic meltdown. Welcome to day three of a family music festival.
Don’t give up, I thought to myself. This was our third go at Camp Bestival, the family-friendly offshoot of Bestival, now in its 15th year at Lulworth Castle. And we had turned a corner.
I’ve been going to music festivals since I was deemed responsible enough by my parents. While I wasn’t allowed to miss school for Glastonbury, I’d persuaded them to let me meet a friend for her 16th birthday at Rock Werchter in Belgium, possibly because we’d have to speak French if we wanted chips or beer.
We’d been dropped off at the festival gates with a little tent and little else by my friend’s mother and awoke the next morning to find the tent decorated with rashers of raw bacon, silhouetted on the nylon rain-fly by the bright morning sun. Disoriented by the sound of rain, we soon discovered it was also being used as a urinal. Things improved immeasurably when we saw David Bowie and Radiohead that night, liberated from parental supervision.
Fast-forward through various editions of Glastonbury, V Festivals, Reading and other European events, I was doing the parental supervision.
With a one-year old daughter, my husband and I decided it wasn’t quite time to hang up our wellies. While we knew we weren’t quite ready to embark on the Kidzfield at Glastonbury, we gave the family focused Camp Bestival in Dorset a chance, having been regulars at Bestival on the Isle of Wight.
Carried away with the romance of the idea, we hired a chianti red 1972 Devon Moonraker VW camper van and drove it down to Lulworth Castle. “Don’t take the awning – it’ll be too much faff with the baby,” advised the owner. We’d already decided against camping for the same reason and deferred to his better judgement.
It rained all weekend and without that awning we were confined to the van from 7pm each evening with a one-year-old far too excited to sleep and a bed that repeatedly collapsed in the night. Tired and defeated after broken sleep and pushing a buggy through muddy fields, we gave up and left early.
Later, with two children – then aged three and five – we decided to try again, this time in a pre-pitched tent and no buggy. The sun shone and it worked much better, but our youngest found it all a bit overwhelming. And this time, carried away with the romance of glamping, we’d forgotten to pack much in the way of food and drink. We paid dearly.
A year later we were back, ready to strike third time lucky – this time with a VW Transporter camper van packed with plenty to eat and drink.
We’d chosen the van on a peer-to-peer rental site for its size (we didn’t feel confident maneouvering somebody’s beloved motorhome down country lanes), amenities (a stove and fridge) and location, collecting from its friendly owner in Bournemouth who explained everything we’d need to know about popping up the roof for the children’s sleeping area, where the secret storage cupboards were and how to make sure the roof was secured on the way back so that it didn’t fly off.
After our experience with the vintage VW, which required serious muscle power to shift gears and turn the wheel, this almost-new van was easy – the only noticeable difference from our car being that it was higher off the ground and we couldn’t hear the children asking “how much longer?” in the back.
Once on site, we pitched a small tent as baggage overflow, popped the roof and filled the fridge, setting up a camping table and chairs outside. So far, so stress-free. Dark clouds rolled in, but we knew we’d have a solid, dry retreat if things got too wild.
Sleep took some getting used to in the compact, pull-out double bed, particularly during windy spells when I worried needlessly whether the children would be safe and dry in the roof, but they slept undisturbed as I listened to Grace Jones in the distance.
After rustling up breakfast on the stove and filling a bag with drinks, snacks and lunch, we started our days in the Dingly Dell where the woodland playground, mud kitchen, potion-making stall, clay workshops and have-a-go “Orchestra of Objects” provided hours of free entertainment. Circus skills also proved a big hit, with magic shows, hula hoops, spinning plates, diabolos and a field full of crazy bikes.
Armed with children’s ear defenders and rugs for rest breaks, we soon found our stride. Unlike our child-free festival days, music was incidental, best enjoyed when we’d met up with friends the children could play with after an evening candy floss boost.
A giant robot slide was perhaps the biggest win of the weekend, positioned so we could watch the main stage while the children went up and down, on repeat.
“We get a lot of joy from seeing people having a really nice time,” explained Josie da Bank, the festival’s creative director.
When she and her husband, Rob, started Camp Bestival 15 years ago they had two sons – they now have four, aged between six and 17, the eldest of whom has been working as a crew member this summer.
“A lot of people choose to do this instead of a summer holiday” Rob told me, explaining that they have tried to put on as many free activities as possible. “I met a lady earlier who is here with her kids for the 13th consecutive year”, added Josie, “that’s not bad, is it?”
We didn’t get close to exhausting the 100-plus free activities, but did pack in a few bands, DJs, acrobatic shows and a turn in the sauna.
We’d all had a great time, but hadn’t pushed the children too far, taking their cue to rest when needed. And when the heavens opened on Sunday night, we were warm and dry in the van, knowing all we’d need to do was push back the bed, pop down the roof and drive away the next morning.
Getting there
The writer travelled in Anthony’s campervan “Barberella” (from £159 per day), booked through Yescapa, a marketplace for leisure vehicle rentals in the UK and Europe, connecting holidaymakers with local campervan and motorhome owners. With more than 12,500 vehicles in 84 countries, van rental starts at £55 per day including comprehensive insurance and support.More information
Camp Bestival Shropshire is at Weston Park from 17 to 20 August, tickets £190 per adult and from £75 per child, campervan passes £97.50.
