Last weekend was honestly one of the best weekends I’ve ever had- it was amazing. On Thursday we headed into Dorset to experience our first ever festival. I didn’t expect a family friendly festival to be my first one but my goodness I’m pleased it was- we went to Camp Bestival and I would 100% recommend going.

We pitched up our tent in the field and then used the afternoon to get our bearings round the many areas around the castle setting and also started trying some different foods before settling back at the tent for our first night camping as a family. It was quite an experience.

There was a warning of a bit of wind that night but oh my god no-one in that field was ready for the actual storm that hit instead! Henry and I woke in the middle of the night to find the tent trying to blow away- thus began the start of Henry’s next few hours of re-pegging it back down every hour. Several tents around us weren’t quite so fortunate. Polly woke for a couple of hours as the noise was horrendous, Seb woke for about 10 minutes then conked out again but the miracle was Clara-bear who incredibly slept through the whole thing!

Friday morning, after about an hours sleep, I woke up as a woman in my 30s, feeling like I’d been on a week long bender. We were very casual about getting moving as the wind was still pretty rough so all activities and acts were on hold till 11. So I opened some cards and we got some breakfast.

Luckily as soon as things got going they really got going. The first act we enjoyed on stage was Mister Maker. I have to say dancing to the shape song wearing fairy wings with 3 (4 counting Henry!) children was not how I envisioned celebrating my 30th but honestly it’s a moment I will treasure forever.

Clara conked out for a nap in the carrier just before S Club Party but that did not stop the party thanks to the last minute buy of ear defenders for the kids. Looking forward to sharing this memory with her when she gets older!

Clara was definitely in her element all weekend and loved any chance to have a little boogie. One of my favourite moments was dancing with her when Heather Small took to the stage on the Saturday.

The other big hit that day was of course Mr Tumble. I think he was actually Henry’s favourite act! It was very surreal watching him singing and shooting confetti guns everywhere.

Seb had his starstruck moment when we met Bluey in the CBeebies tent that afternoon. He was so amazed that it took 10 attempts to get him to face the camera for an actual photo bless him!

His favourite area was definitely the wooded area where there were mud kitchens and potion making areas and bamboo water slides for cups and bucketfuls of water- basically a chance for the kids to get absolutely filthy while being creative. Seb would have happily stayed there all weekend!

This whole area was then lit up at night time with coloured lights and glitter balls, making it even more magical for a night time walk.

To be honest apart from the Thursday storm we were really lucky with the weather. It wasn’t the warmest and we did get the odd shower but a heatwave would probably have been horrendous to deal with. Plus the one proper rain spell we saw did give a glorious rainbow right over the castle which was amazing on its own.

Another area that proved a big hit was the circus area. They had loads of circus equipment and games and trick bikes scattered around for the kids to try their hand at different things. Polly loved this area. They also had some giant inflatable things that I can’t describe very well (they looked a bit like the haahoos from In the night Garden) basically the kids could run and jump at them as they floated and bobbed around.

Polly was also very at home in the giant craft tent- if you’re not a fan of glitter you would have avoided this area like the plague as it looked like a bomb had gone off in The Works inside it- paint, glitter, glue just everywhere!

The toilet situation was the only thing that wasn’t ideal and Polly is still laughing a week later about us having to poo in basically a wheelie bin with a seat on top! Henry very quickly found the fancier Water Aid toilets that were managed by volunteers who cleaned them in between every use- long story short we’ve definitely donated enough to the charity that I can safely avoid their charity collectors in the street as Polly clocked on very quick to the cleanliness and the sticker you got each time, so every time we were in that area- “Mummy I need a wee!”

Something that was ideal was the food situation. So much choice! We were very naughty all weekend and tried lots of different stalls. I’m still raving about some incredible spring rolls I had and Henry is still banging on about some burger that he had. The kids were pretty happy with 2 pizza nights and so many chips that I think we’re out-chipped for the next month!

Most of the activities were included in the ticket price which was great. The fairground rides dotted around everywhere weren’t so we decided on one ride each day or you very easily have blown your whole budget on them. I loved the Ferris wheel with the big 2 as it gave amazing views and Henry had a blast with them on the carousel. Clara didn’t miss out and had her first ride on a little aeroplane which the big 2 thought hilarious to watch as she went round and round.

We did do a slight naughty with the Biggest bouncy castle in the World (it really is!) as it also had the biggest queue in the world and was only for ages 5 and up, so we told both the big kids that they were both too small to go on it. To be honest after the epic queue for the face painting I don’t think they were that bothered about missing a queue twice as long anyway.

There was so much to do and so many quirky little things that there honestly wasn’t a dull moment. From the giant robot at the entrance that all the kids turned into a giant climbing frame, to the random pianos dotted around to encourage impromptu performances from anyone. The weekend went off with a bang- quite literally- with a huge firework display that the little 2 loved. Sadly the green ones were too loud according to Polly so we had to watch the last bit walking backwards on the way out as she’d had enough by then. We then headed home straight after, Henry had packed the tent up straight after breakfast while I took the kids into the festival alone that morning.

So will we be heading back at some point- absolutely! We’re already planning what we’ll do in 2023 to make it an even more amazing experience and can’t wait to add more amazing memories to the bank!