I’m 100% a summer girl. I can’t stand being cold, I hate the wet dark weather and I don’t drive so our days are limited. I want to be out in the court yard sunning it up whilst the kids are splashing in the pool and eating lollies again. Most importantly I want to be drinking cans of prosecco with my best blogger pals dancing to Big Fish Little Fish family rave in a tent wearing everything glittery at Camp Bestival. We had such an amazing summer! Fast forward to now stressing about how long I have to roast a turkey for, wrapping up scooters and constantly feeling like it’s night time is not what I’m about.
So I’m planning our festival trip already for another fabulous summer. If you have children the Camp Bestival is the most family friendly festival in the UK over the last weekend of July (25th-28th) set on the grounds of Lulworth Castle in Dorset.
2019 is set to be bigger and better than ever with a Heroes V Superheroes I’m already planning outfits with capes.
Whilst the line up has some very big names booked in. I can’t wait to see Jess Glynne and Mel Bs 90s mixtape is a dream come too for any 90s kid right? There’s also a part of me dying to see Mr Tumble and check out the CBeebies bedtime tent. All these little details with children in mind is what makes festivals still possible (tiny voice inside your head- “you ARE still cool Sophie”). I’d given up hope of cool summers spent having a laugh, drinking cocktails and dancing to music in a field but after having kids that dream was a bit dead and buried but my youth was lifted again and I learned that family holidays don’t have to be a caravan club.
The details?
The Camping Bestival 2019 Monthly Payment Plan is on sale now. Use our 7 month payment plan to spread the total cost of your tickets over seven monthly instalments. Book online via Ticketmaster online.
I promised Polly tickets to see Chicago for her birthday months ago but things aren’t how they used to be and we are juggling a lot at the moment so we FINALLY got round to booking it for the weekend and planned her trip.
The lovely people at The East London Hotel kindly gifted us a night at their new Bethnal Green hotel which was only a short tube from Central London and the show. The East London Hotel is an affordable hotel serving breakfast, lunch and dinner plus the have a great stock of gin!
The rooms are compact, easy and clean with all amenities (even a little desk!). Unfortunately they had a few teething problems like the coffee machines in the rooms weren’t installed but the staff were more than happy to bring you up anything you needed. Their hotel line is operated via a WhatsApp number so it was easy to text them for anything you need! However if you was a guest without a phone or use of WhatsApp it would be tricky.
We was also lucky to be on the second floor because the lift was still being fitted. God knows how we would of coped in heels! Everything was to such a high grade despite being an affordable hotel! The soap to the jam was a good brand and no corners were cut, they even had air con in the rooms! The towels were lovely and flurry, there’s nothing I hate more than thin crappy towels at hotels.
We checked in, got ready and headed to Leicester Square for dinner and cocktails at Ruby Blue, a roof top bar, then went to the Phoenix Theatre. Duncan James was staring as Billy and Alexandra Burke had staring role as Roxie Hart. The singing performance was amazing and we loved singing along however we was a little disappointed that there was barely any acting. The staff were amazing with letting us skip the que and helping us to our seats after explain mine and Polly’s mental health problems which made it smoother though.
Once we got back to Bethnal Green we sampled some of the nightlife then headed back to our room to snuggle in bed watch Love Island on the flat screen. When we got in they had tidied our room, remade the bed and fluffed out the bed which was so lovely.
We had set an alarm for the following morning to ensure we woke up and I’m glad we did. The blind completely blacked out the room and ensured an excellent nights sleep. I was expecting a bit of noise because of the great location but we didn’t hear anything. After a week of Indiana reverting back to sleeping like a newborn I was desperate for sleep and felt super refreshed despite a little hangover.
After a delicious breakfast we checked out and left the suitcases at the hotel and got the northern line to Camden for the ‘day for Amy’, a bite to eat and a little shopping. Girl time was so overdue and it was nice to browse without having to push a buggy or trying to control a dancing Delilah.
We then called it a day, went back for our cases and heading to the tube. She went to Victoria and I went to Stratford so parted ways from my little peach. I will super miss her now she’s off to Brighton in a student house! Roll on the Christmas holidays!
You can find the East London Hotel in Bethnal Green a short walk from the tube where prices start from £85 a night!
Naturally the process, build up, preparation etc of your little ones starting school is scary. No doubt it, you could be the coolest cucumber and still shit your pants at the thought of your baby girl/boy holding a book bag. It’s also the biggest memento rushing in the morning to get everyone washed and dressed (even though you carefully organised everything down to their socks!), out the door to the gates for the obligatory first day at school snap before your baby is torn out your hands sobbing their eyes out shouting “TAKE ME WITH YOU”. You rush out the gates all teary, feeling awful for leaving them but secretly relieved to have some bloody peace, with nothing to do. It’s a bit of an “ohh shit that’s no biggie” moment.
With all that going on I needed a Mums night off (can we get an amen sister?) and I was buzzing because Hanna (@the_savvy_mummy) had arranged for the girls to take a boat trip (curtesy of Go Boat London). It’s conveniently round the corner from Paddington St and near M and S where we stocked up on a picnic of treats to accompany our Mirabeau wine (also kindly gifted).
After a welcome message, quick lesson and set up we set sail down to Camden lock.
We passed through a really gorgeous quiet part of London through Little Venice and past London Zoo (we even saw some of the animals which would be fab for kids) drinking wine, eating snacks and having a good giggle. It was hilarious when we got stuck luckily we managed to get out and had a fab little trip!
The company was fabulous and can’t wait for the next trip, now time for work and a sore head whilst I do the whole school run again eckkk!
This was a gifted experience kindly arranged by Hanna (the_savvy_mummy) in exchange promotion but we had a fab time and will be back!
Being a teen mum meant I missed out on a few things. I didn’t go to UNI (I just scraped through qualifying from Hairdressing college whilst I suffered with morning sickness in between perms), I didn’t go travelling to India like I planned, I was in feeling my baby dancing in my belly whilst my friends were dancing in the club downing vodka… all these things I didn’t miss at all but not going on the annual festival trip stung majorly. I was 18 and all my friends were finishing school after getting their results and heading to celebrate at Reading festival like we did every year. I had sold my ticket and was laid up in bed teary with FOMO and feeling sick. I never regretted my decision but it was normal to feel a bit of FOMO. I thought my days of visiting festival was long behind me until I discovered Camp Bestival!
Camp Bestival is a five day festival in Dorset’s wonderful Lullworth castle grounds with families in mind. There’s performances from the clean bandit and basement jaxx to the likes of Mr Tumble! They had a fabulous range of free activities, meet and greets with famous characters like Peter Rabbit right down to circus acts, big fish little fish raves, silent discos and much more! We dragged Vicki (@thehairstylist_vc) and her 2 year old Maggie with us.
Things are very thought about with them having an NCT tent with baby facilities, a child toddler play area, kids compost toilets and fun free things too do. It was totally cool and acceptable to let the kids sleep in the wagons whilst parents carried on partying.
Unfortunately in the wee hours of Saturday morning Vicki and I woke up with the horrendous storm and MAD winds. I had a huge panic attack and got totally freaked out! Luckily the girls stayed asleep but it was scary. Lots of families were packing up or leaving demolished tents! Our tent was damaged in the front but we powered on through and got glittered up as it was being fixed in the evening for us. Decorated up as mermaids we drank gin in the Gin tent, raves at BFLF, went on some rides. We headed back to get glittered up again in a sequin dress and feed the kids to find the wind was on an amber warming and going at a 45 MPH our tent wasn’t going to stay put and it didn’t feel safe to stay with the kids. We agreed that if we didn’t have the kids we’d of stuck it out and would of been too pissed to care but the kids safety was at the forefront of concern. With solid 36 hour rain scheduled we loaded the buggies up with all our stuff and made a dash for the car. How we physically managed too with the kids is nothing short of a miracle but we got loaded up and set off home with the roads clear. In the morning sadly the guys of camp bestival decided with the safety team that they couldn’t open the arena again. It was sad but ultimately the right choice to make.
Here is my advice
food + drink
Pack a cool bag with snacks, drinks and easy breakfast and lunch bits to save on forking out on food vendors whilst you are there. We brought a little gas hob to do the essential coffee in the morning, 100% bring mugs from home as it’s much nicer than a paper cup, we also bought easy breakfast bits like apples, chocolate brioches, bananas and porridge pots. Lunches we had Chewymoon goodies, biscuits, crisps and general snacky things. For dinner we got things from the vendors like chips, pizza etc. There was plenty of organic, vegan, health choices too. It was very hard to find a kids meal as such especially since it was a family friendly festival so be prepared to split your food with the tots. On the way down we stopped for Burger King and then at the camp site we had a little picnic.
transport
SUPER unpopular opinion but pushchair over wagon. It is far easy to push than pull and they are ridiculously heavy! We rented one to transport our stuff out the car to the site and it was majorly heavy going. On the way pack to drop it back off Delilah came with me and dragging it with just Delilah was horrendously hard. On the dash home I loaded my buggy up (mothercare nanu so not particularly off road material) with ALL our stuff including Delilah in it and pushed it back to the car against the wind which was easier. Its also a familiar place for them to nap in.
clothing
Next kindly gifted us some cool new threads to wear (anyone spot their pop up shop there?!) and anything else mermaid related, sparkly or comfy for bed was packed. I packed a fleeced onsie for Delilah because even though it was a scorcher leading up to the festival it still gets pretty chilly at night. I forgot to pack our raincoats stupidly but we survived whilst Delilah had her PomPom Poncho! I bought a toiletry bag with mini shampoos and that then another with make up and a life time supply of glitter. We got wellies and sandals too for foot wear.
camping
If you have #treayoself once in the year let it be Camping Plus. The hot shower, running toilets and guaranteed pitch of your own choosing plus a car park space. It is 100% worth it! Get a good quality tent that can stand the test of bad weather conditions too. Make sure you pack towels, water, sleeping bags and your own pillows! Pack earplugs and a sleeping mask to ensure you have a good night sleep. We was by a pretty noisy family so it was handy! I also got Delilah ear defenders to sleep with late in the arena.
exploring
If I can give any advice it would be to MAKE A PLAN! We missed out on so much because we was disorganised! I wished we bought lanyards with times on sooner because we missed a fair bit by being unfamiliar with timings. We did have a great time seeing Sara Cox and Rae Morris though! We visited the Girl Talk mag tent where we made some snazzy glitter badges and took a selfie in their photo booth. We saw a wedding and had a boogie in the inflatable chapel which was pretty fabulous! If I had brought Paddy we would for sure be getting married there. There was lots to explore and get up too, we really had a fabulous time especially visiting the Lickalix ice lolly van to cool us down after all the circus skills learning.
additional
It is totally fine and mega easy to take kids to festivals. Much easier than what you probably think! Kids are adaptable (Delilah and Maggie loved sleeping in a tent, staying out late and being silly), as long as you are prepared camping is soooo easy and they will have a great time!
Maggie stealing my moves
We had sooooo much fun it was just a shame to cut the journey short. We will be back next year! The show goes on and they are already making plans for Camp Bestival 2019, which takes place from Thursday 25th July to Sunday 28th July at Lulworth Castle.
This coming Friday 3rd August at 10am to say thanks to all Camp Bestival-goers for being brilliant, they are starting a very special 72-hour pre-sale with adult weekend tickets available to buy for the amazing price of £150!!!
For a little bit of clarity we was gifted these tickets, the clothing, lollies etc but we use these brands already and we would of bought tickets anyway because its a fabulous event.
Hanna (@the_savvy_mummy) is one of my the best people I met from social media and we talk regularly. Last week I was having MEGA holiday blues and was itching to do some more exploring so when she messaged to invite us to review The Park Cornwall I was packing my back already.
The Park is a stylish holiday resort just a stone throw away from the beach with tons of facilities! We stayed in a gorgeous little cottage (which was super child friendly and had great disabled features too!).
They also have other fabulous accommodation on site to suit all needs including the yurt village!
We got mega lucky with the weather so was able to enjoy the outside pool, lounge on the beds and eating pizza by the pool. There is a inside pool too in case it’s cold.
With three play parks dotted around there was tons of things to do, the kids loved the play yurt and we sat outside for Mum chat. It was convenient because everything was in easy walking distance versus other holiday parks I’ve been on which can be large and a big trek.
It is very out the way so we didn’t get any phone signal which as bloggers was annoying but it meant we spent good quality time away from the men to focus on our babies!
It started last week when I had a bad day, a bad day that would rival all bad days. I was ordered to go and get in the bath by Pat whilst he cleaned up the pig sty that was Thursday. I soaked in the bubbles and promised myself better things were coming. So imagine my surprise when Hanna (@the_savvy_mummy) messaged me invite to the #savvysleepover! It was exactly what I needed.
Emma (@mumofmadlads) and I set off out into the middle of nowhere and after a breezy drive down country lanes we spotted pheasants and tractors so we knew we had made it!
The land was simply beautiful with a huge farm house, 2 treehouses, a huge barn with a bar, coach houses, huts and barns to sleep in! With a cinema barn, outdoor play area, zip line, huge trampoline, teddy bear cottage, alpacas and peacocks to admire so the kids were perfectly entertained.
Hanna (@the_savvy_mummy) organised plenty for us to do from wine in the hot tub, afternoon tea, blow dries + hair braiding (thehairstylist_vc), pizza making (@notherndough) and even a lovely Easter egg hunt for the children!
The cinema barn was loaded with popcorn (@propercorn) for us to chill out too.
Indiana my wild child was set free to roam about and walk where he pleased which was lovely to see him enjoy the freedom of running and playing sticks. Delilah had her pick of the girl gang to play with too.
It was so nice to get out of town and breathing fresh country air and spending quality time with them. It was also nice to meet up with the mamas who you see on their tiny squares but not in real life!
Well done Hanna it was a hit! Can’t wait for the next ❤️
This was a gifted experience and the following companies sponsored the event including:
The Verrill Gang 