An unforgettable weekend of fun

Round & About

Camp Bestival proved the perfect blend of summer family fun, creativity & a galaxy of stars including Mr Tumble and Tom Jones. We can’t wait for next year!

Basking in the glorious sunshine all weekend, Camp Bestival, presented by Debenhams, delivered an unforgettable weekend of festival fun. 

There were countless activities and things to entertain the kids (both free and paid for) great music in a great mix of genres on the many, many stages from Castle Fields to the Big Top, and lots of fancy dress, bubbles and glitter-making.  

Artists including The Sugarbabes, Basement Jaxx, Annie Mac, Tom Jones all brought impressive and enjoyable performances into the night. And firm family favourites the mighty Mr Tumble, Dick and Dom, Mr Maker, and the World’s Biggest Pyjama Party meant that each day, all day, the castle fields were packed, with the other stages all creating magical experiences throughout the site. 

Away from the stage was spellbinding theatre; immersive shows; circus spectacles; workshops, demonstrations and talks spanning science, arts and crafts, food, nature and the outdoors, parenting and family wellbeing.  

We spent lots of our time in Little Town, where we loved the Wild Workshop area full of scheduled activities, a mud kitchen, and then crafts on tap for little hands to keep busy. Like many festival parents, I was grateful for the addition this year of The Baby Den and under-fives play area which was perfect for letting littlies have a wiggle in a contained space away from the bustle of the centre.  

Beyond the main stage was Navigation Town, which felt like another world full of creativity, curiosity and exploration. There was Art Town full of crafts, Josie’s Post Office and stations to get stamps, plus meet the “navigators” who were characters full of fun who led games and activities, much to the delight of our four-year-old. One of the tents here was the Earth’s Crust, helping visitors reconnect with cooking, fermentation and getting back to hearty, wholesome and minimally processed cooking, which was unexpected, but brilliant and we thoroughly enjoyed making flatbreads, pasta, and learning about sourdough throughout the weekend. 

In Magic Meadows, the main festival activity area, we returned again and again to Planet Debenhams, taking part in many of their activities, from bushcraft skills to Family Olympics, and then the Cbeebies Tent, as my girls’ excitement for hearing Bluey and George read a bedtime story and meet Duggee equalled my excitement for enjoying Annie Mac later in the evening. 

There was also space for Slomo, a wellbeing festival-within-a-festival that elevated the weekend experience further. It created a haven of calm amidst the festival buzz. Here was a chance to breathe, reset and rejuvenate away from the busyness and excitement of the magic meadows and castle fields stage, with breathwork, meditation, yoga, sound baths, contrast therapy sessions, and more.  

It’s clear why the weekend has won Best Family Festival at the UK Festival Awards six times and is an event that performers such as Dick and Dom, and families alike come back to year after year.