Camping I O W

REVIEW: 2011's Camp Bestival is first and best for families once again

ASIDE from my husband’s spotting of former wild man Keith Allen in the crowd for The Gruffalo main stage appearance, our trip to the wonder that is Camp Bestival (CB) at Castle Lulworth in Dorset was not very rock ‘n’ roll.

Now that we are parents, trips to festivals are going to be focused on our young daughter, not on our desire to drink pints in the sun and reminisce about our wild youth.

For families of any age, this safe, welcoming and fun-filled few days must surely now be established as an annual must-do. Since starting in 2008, an off-shoot of Rob Da Bank’s Isle of Wight’s September celebration Bestival, it has gone, to borrow a cliché, from strength to strength, its programme an unparalleled combination of credible music, book talks, live theatre, children’s entertainment and much, much more.

It won best new festival in its first year, and has been crowned best family festival for the last two seasons. Surely it will win again in 2011.

Because our daughter is, for want of a better expression, high-maintenance, camping was out of the question, but our two hour drive to the gorgeous setting was filled with excitement – mostly ours. On cue the rain stopped and after a swift park in a supervised field, reasonably priced at £5 per day, we headed through the campsite on a mission to make the most of it.

We’d missed Friday’s headliner Blondie – Mark Ronson and Primal Scream were the other two top billed evening events – but we followed the crowds past the glorious Big Top to get to the main stage before the afore-mentioned Gruffalo was about to begin. I was slightly tempted to step into the Top and watch Labyrinth (David Bowie as goblin king Jareth being one of my earliest crushes) but thought it best not to separate early.

We watched enthralled as CBeebies’ Zingzillas performed some tunes to a crowd of thousands, among them our favourite of their songs Bhangra Beat, before Mr Tumble had everyone on their feet doing actions and then Dick and Dom took over to MC the rest of the proceedings.

By this stage my bad back issues were causing drama, but CB has the answer to that, too. It was straight off to the lower kids' garden for me to have an instant massage whilst the rest of the family savoured the soft play tent, book reading session, and the jingle jangle workshop in the Little Big Top. Later we saw the amazing Amoeba to Zebra here; a band wittily and winningly played their way through the evolution of species, adopting relevant masks and costumes throughout. And it was also where Shrek and Fiona carried out their singalong and meet and greet later in the day.

The Best Times to Go Camping on the Isle of Wight ...

Throughout the summer when the weather is at its most kind on the Isle of Wight, people come across in great numbers from the UK mainland. Isle of Wight camping offers a great holiday experience for everyone including couples looking for a quiet retreat, to families wanting thrills and spills. But camping is also the preservation of teenagers looking to have their fun at some of the best festivals in Europe. The Isle of Wight is the home of the legendary rock festival that bears the same name, and the slightly cooler gathering that is known as Bestival which take place on the island in June and September respectively. Both festivals have areas where it is possible to pitch your tent and enjoy the atmosphere is that is unique to attending a festival. If you are intending camping outside of the festival weekends, there are plenty of sites that offer pitches at competitive prices. You can even show up without any camping gear, as many places offer a ready made solution with all the mod-cons.

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