It’s set in the beautiful grounds of Weston Park, close to Wolverhampton, and took about 3 hours to drive from Malton. The festival runs Thursday to Sunday night, you can just get a day ticket or you can get a camping ticket and stay as long as you like. We were in Camping Plus, this meant you get an allocated pitch (great if you want to go with other families and can pick pitches together), there was also a block of flushing toilets and a block of showers in that area. Standard camping you just arrive and choose where to pitch your tent in the field you have been allocated.
Not being campers, we borrowed a variety of equipment from some very kind friends and family. In hindsight we really did need a bigger tent! We had two 2-man tents for the four of us which didn’t leave much space for anything else, especially after it had rained and we had a lot of wet stuff! Some people had brought some very impressive, huge tents which we had tent-envy over. We arrived Friday morning, parked the car and then walked into the camping fields carrying our camping gear. We found our pitch and put up our tents, and then went straight into the festival main arena to explore. We went with another family which helped as we could share some of the camping equipment and we could split up to see and do different parts of the festival that best suited the ages of our children.
There was so much to see and do in the arena and we didn’t get around all of it during the 3 days we were at Bestival. There was a main stage with the headline acts on and a second ‘big top’ tent for other acts, plus lots of other smaller tents and stages. Everywhere we turned there was something to listen to or watch. There was also a fairground and loads of kids activities, from all types of crafts to tree climbing and building a playground. The site has a huge lake within it and you could also do activities on the water, including wild swimming. There was even a spa!
Everything is aimed at families and so much thought and planning has clearly gone in to making it the best experience possible for families of all ages. There were activities and acts to suit all age children, from babies to teens. My children are 9 and 12 and I thought they were a really good age to get the most out of it all, from the activities and shows as well as the bands and DJs that played into the evening (they finished around 11pm so we almost stayed up for all of it but not quite!).
The staff were outstanding, with people everywhere ready to help. On one hot afternoon we’d got to the front of the main stage to dance and the security staff at the front were passing cups of water out to all children. There was a welfare tent who were helping with everything from giving out sun cream to helping me get glitter out of my daughters eye! They also had some ear defenders which we bought as my daughter doesn’t like loud noises (it wasn’t too loud at all but she won’t go near a hand dryer so we really should have thought about ear defenders before we went!). There was a first aid tent and also a neurodiverse tent where children who found any of it overwhelming could go and relax in the calming, quiet space.
All of the music, shows and acts are within the ticket price. The CBeebies tent was also free to meet and great some of the characters and stars of their shows. We also did family yoga, some crafts and the roller disco free of charge. There was a charge for some activities and for the fairground rides but we didn’t spend much. We saw some fantastic bands and acts, and left quite literally blown away by what we had experienced as a family. Our highlights were dancing along to Rudimental, Sara Cox and Groove Armada on the main stage, laughing along to Dick and Dom’s 90’s disco, and just hanging out in the sunshine eating churros soaking up the atmosphere.
Both of my children loved the festival, and the camping experience. We camped Friday and Saturday night, for me 2 nights was enough (I am not good on little sleep!) but my husband and son would have happily stayed for the full 4 nights. The toilets were much better than I had anticipated, the portaloos in the main arena were mostly really clean, and were being cleaned regularly. I didn’t queue for a shower (I had taken baby wipes!) but my son and husband did and said they were really good.
On the Sunday morning it was the women’s football final so that was shown on the main stage and we stayed to watch that before packing up and heading home. I am so pleased we went, it was our first festival and camping trip but it certainly won’t be our last. My 12 year old is still saying its the best thing he has ever been to and has told us that we are definitely going again next year!
Here are some of my top tips if you are thinking of going next year:
Camp Bestival will return to Shropshire next year, 15th-18th August 2024, early bird tickets go on sale soon so if you fancy going check out their website here.
NB For the purpose of this review tickets were gifted free of charge by Camp Bestival Shropshire, but the opinions are all Liz’s own.