Camp Bestival is one of the UK’s best-loved and most successful festivals, combining action-packed adventures with a family camping holiday - something they like to call a Festi-Holiday.
So, when given the opportunity, me and my 10-year-old son jumped at the chance of our first festival experience and packed up the car.
Camp Bestival Shropshire 2022 took place in August - a second site for the event previously only held in Dorset - and we quite literally had the time of our lives.
We headed to Weston Park on the Saturday afternoon, allowing us to catch the last acts of Saturday evening and look forward to a fun-filled Sunday.
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I found it very easily accessible and the park had great facilities to set up camp from the minute we got there.
I was quite concerned I wouldn't manage with getting our tent and other bits and bobs into camp but, with a late arrival, the security team who were at the gates came to my rescue and helped me pitch up (they must have sensed my growing panic as the sun was setting and Tyler was becoming more and more restless watching me attempt to pitch up alone).
But, we made it to the festival with plenty of time to enjoy the rides, and eat some stone-baked pizza and heavenly vegan churros with chocolate dipping sauce.
While it felt a huge place to get around, it was certainly easy enough, with perfectly placed toilets in close proximity to most kids entertainment areas and everything well signposted.
We weren't short of things to do from the get go. Tyler went straight on the fairground rides including slides, swings and not forgetting the world's biggest bouncy castle OR the exhilarating axe throwing stand.
There are tonnes of educational activities to get into with young ones, but parents fun isn't cast aside. The acts featured across the weekend were all purposefully staged for the adults to enjoy some tunes and get their kicks too.
We loved going to see Fat Boy Slim on the Saturday evening and enjoyed more acts the following day, including a set by world renowned Sister Bliss of Faithless. Feeling the energy at the main stage was euphoric.
And plenty of kids and other families were all just as excited as us, with everyone dancing, laughing singing in unison. It was all quite emotional for me to be honest, getting to enjoy some family time, just the two of us.
Also, a special mention has to be made for the wonderful stage presence of Nick Corston, the UK Ambassador of Makedo Discover Cardboard Crafts. Without guys like Nick, family festivals would not be so enticing. He brought so much energy to what could have been quite a slow burner of a Sunday morning.
We headed to get breakfast and came across Nick on the H&M Science stage. He was quite excitedly setting up to do a rocket launch out of cardboard - needless to say we were sat front row immediately waiting for the show to start.
What we didn't realise is how interactive, playful, fun and creative our morning would turn out to be. This is the great thing about a family festival - I could watch Tyler playing happily with other kids and being creative, while I basked in the sun drinking my morning coffee.
You can head to Amazon to purchase one of the wonderful Makedo craft boxes here. The idea is to bring kids' imagination to life and create wonderful things with cardboard, which is free and any of us can get a hold of.
I really loved this concept so much, and we got to using our £19.99 box the minute we got home to build different things with.
Headlining Sunday evening was none other than the powerhouse voice of RagNBone Man and it actually blew Tyler away. Despite complaining of not wanting to stay after being battered by rain, he was soon bopping in the VIP section to the artist's biggest hits.
Tyler amazes me every time I take him places like this. He may have been out of his comfort zone, but he absolutely loved every minute of it and we made memories we will never forget.
I highly recommend Camp Bestival for your first family festival, no matter what age your children. It's great to get around, so many fun stalls including axe throwing, trapeze shows, party tents and just plenty of wildly adventurous areas kids will love to explore.
See below for details on tickets.
Early Bird tickets are on sale on Ticketmaster here - limited numbers available
Weekend Camping (Early Bird prices):
Adult Weekend - £170 (+booking fee)
Age 13 to 17 Weekend - £135.00 (+booking fee)
Age 10 to 12 Weekend - £110.00 (+booking fee)
Age 5 to 9 Weekend - £90.00 (+booking fee)
Age 2 to 4 & Weekend - £70.00 (+booking fee)
Babes In Arms (1 & Under) - FREE (but ticket required)
Extras:
Weekend Car Parking: £21.50 (+booking fee)
General Campervan Pass - £97.50 (+booking fee)
- please read T&Cs here before booking
General Caravan / Trailer Tent Pass - £107.50 (+booking fee)
- please read T&Cs here before booking
Front Row Campervan - £250 (+booking fee)
Front Row Caravan - £260 (+booking fee)
- please read T&Cs here before booking
Festival Programme - £10 (+booking fee)
(reserve your festival programme to collect at the festival)
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