Wow! Just back and fully recovered from a tremendous long weekend at Camp Bestival.  My six year old summed it up when asked what was her best bit and she said “Oh everything! Can we come back when I am 7? And 8? And 9? And 10? And 11? And 12? And 13?”

Where else can you witness Howard Marks and Keith Allen sat together, not drinking, not smoking (anything) but reading kids bedtime stories?

Prior to that, Radio 1’s Sara Cox had us in stitches over her ‘Helen Daniels from Neighbours’ Mummy Tummy, and that was after a wood oven cooked bacon sarnie from the River Cafe Canteen.

But the best thing about Camp Bestival has to be the fact that everyone, young and old, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying every minute of it. Whether it was milling around in the baby and toddler zone, complete with toddler soft play and baby chill out zone, to the fancy dress parade and Zing Zillas in the big top, or thousands of kids and their grown-ups singing “Valerieeeeee” at the top of their voices as Mark Ronson completed what he himself called his best ever UK gig, despite a week that had been bad (well he said a word beginning with ‘s’) for anyone who loved music.

Kids Go Wild For Mark Ronson Set!

Lessons Learned for Next Year…

Packing – Wipes for washing,  potty (no late night tramping to the loo!), loo roll, sun lotion, dry shampoo, bin bags, extra blankets (sunny days meant cold clear nights), steriliser bags, ear plugs, and cart. Parents who’d transformed carts into fairy bowers,  with cushions, blankets, lights and canopies, for little ones to be towed around in and snooze in, got to stay up late and soak up the electric atmosphere whilst headline acts played. Also, don’t forget snacks and drinks for little ones as food stalls are far from cheap. Although, download the Camp Bestival App for free kids meals vouchers.

Arriving/Departing – The only less than glorious moments were arriving and departing with heavy gear, two little kids and an uphill trudge to find a camp spot. Next year, at the very least, we will park in the car park with trolley and sherpa hire, or if we are feeling flush, go the ready-made route with boutique camping , and if we feel really rich, hire a campervan with shower…. heaven!

More info: www.campbestival.net

We have recovered from the mighty family knees-up Camp Bestival with a suntan, grubby knees and an assortment of festival paraphenalia.  Rob Da Bank has put together an incredibly fun, crazy, colourful, musical family weekend that attracts droves of the middle-class raver generation with their Boden wearing off-spring.

The sheer scale of child-friendly activities was mind-boggling – from live music, to circus delights, to balloons, hula-hoops and bubbles, fancy dress, mini-discos, story-times and the legendary Mr Tumble -  all mixed up with delicious food and washed down with Pimms and ciders.

To be honest I had a pretty low expectation of enjoying the weekend. I couldn’t see how festivals and kids would mix. As a mother, festivals involve all the things I try and avoid – noise, crowded places and over-tired children. Yet from the moment I arrived the good vibes, the colourful jolliness and laughter was infectious and we pretty much were in good moods all weekend (which can be quite rare in our family!)

Obviously there were a few dark festival moments. The arrival was a serious endurance test – lugging all the gear up a steep hill and trudging miles to find a camping spot, with two hungry children in tow, was a truly hellish experience.  And my two year old getting his hand stuck in a portaloo door (nasty). Yet the highs outweighed the lows and we enjoyed the weekend soaking up the atmosphere  in the sunshine, cheering along to the Cuban Brothers and Mr Tumble, catching The Gruffalo, the musical delights from Parliament, Ellie Goulding and Seth Lakeman and relaxing in the Little Big Top while a crowd of kids clapped with pleasure at a triple bill of Peppa Pig. We will be back next year for sure although we might book the Boutique Camping or copy one clever mum who brought her babysitter along for the ride.

Here’s my edited highlights from Camp Bestival.

Festival transport for the boys equals serious cardio work out for parents

Put four rappers in a small box and you've got the hilarious, quirky The Dukes Box

Happy camper Jasper climbing up the flagpoles

The Insect Circus - so good we watched it twice!

Hi De Hi

The gorgeous Pamper Lounge. Massages, reflexology, facials provided an unbeatable break

The colourful Camp Bestival crowds

Madness headlined this year's Camp Bestival playing hits like Baggy Trousers

The stunning Lulworth Castle

Managed to get the boys to finally sit down and eat at the wonderful Kids Kitchen. Serving up tasty child and baby-friendly meals at little tables.

Festival goer Rory rolling around on the grass

30 July to 1 August

The Bristol Harbour Festival is a three day cultural event with music, food and theatre set against the backdrop of the stunning and historic harbourside.  There is masses of offer for everyone at this fun, free festival – with music, food and theatre and heaps of child-friendly activites.

Highlights include:

Circus and children’s area - Castle Park  is the new home for the festival’s Circus Stage, the largest and most popular collection of circus acts in the UK. Cirque Bijou are returning to dazzle the crowds with amazing aerial and static trapeze performers, juggling and acrobatics. The area also offers a fabulous array of children friendly activities including; storytelling, making activities, swing boats and other rides.

Music for all - The city’s stunning Queen Square features a music stage programmed by Colston Hall alongside a delicious continental food market, while Cascade Steps stage offers a chilled out vibe with acoustic musicians and slam poetry.

Dance Village - Programmer Ashley Russell attracts renowned dance artists from around the world to perform on the festival’s dance stage in Millenium Square. Highlights include New York City Ballet, performing for the first time ever in Bristol, Netherlands Dance Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and top flight BBoy artist from Bristol Wilkie Branson.

The Bristol Village Fayre - featuring a West Country food market and bar, community garden and street theatre from the Invisible Circus.

Interactive live theatre - The cobbled streets of King Street will feature an outdoor theatre stage, with performance and participatory events from the famous Bristol Old Vic’s Young Company. Over 100 members will be performing two specially commissioned pieces, ‘Run’ and ‘Fallen’.

This year will also see the involvement of the first ever Tate Movie, a national project organised by the Tate collaborating with Aardman to create an animation film made by children across the UK.

Fireworks – Historic boats and tall ships with join the 250 other boats in the harbour, as a backdrop for a spectacular fireworks display on the Saturday at 10pm.

We are off to Camp Bestival this weekend and in an effort to get organised I have started packing. A small mountain has erupted in my sitting room – much to the delight of the boys – but less to me and my husband who are wondering how we will fit it all in the car and then transport it across country fields to the camping area. I had not realised how much stuff is involved with a camping trip. We have an enormous family tent, (which I hope we can erect!), sleeping bags, air-beds… the list goes on.  So, for anyone else heading to Camp Bestival or one of the other family-friendly summer festivals in August here’s my packing guide.

1. Tickets and directions

2. Fancy dress outfits – essential for Camp Bestival

3. Layers of cool clothes for the day and warm stuff for the night as it gets chilly  

4. Sunglasses, sun hat and plenty of sun cream. Even if it’s slightly sunny slap on heaps of suncream as you’ll be outside all day

5. Camping gear: tent, air-beds, sleeping bags, extra blankets, lantern

6. Lots of plastic bags – pack everything in them as they keep it all dry

7. Bin liners are great too: I know it’s un-glam but they’re useful to sit on – and they fit in your pocket!

8. Wellies and a lightweight waterproof coat (also un-glam but better to be warm and dry than fashionable)

9. Loo roll

10. Headache pills for the mornings after / Calpol incase the kids get sick

11. Your mobile - charge it up before you leave. You could get a disposable phone charger for the weekend

12. Ear protectors for little ones. Ear Defenders do a funky range for £14.99 to protect little ears from damage

13. Torch – keep one in your pocket so you can find your way in the dark

14. Soap/baby wipes – long queues for showers might leave you 3 days unwashed so pack baby wipes and facial wipes for a quick spruce up in the tent

15. Hand sanitiser – keep hands clean on the move

16. Picnic blanket

17. Child carrier – Little Trekkers have a good selection of top brands

18. This Radio flyer wagon is great for transporting kids in style around the festival and for lugging heavy stuff from the car to camping area. Available from The Great Little Trading Company, £82

19. Breakfast bars, crunch bars, smoothie pouches, dry snacks. Keep some handy for when you or the kids are tired and need a sugar-boost to get you back to the tent!

20. If you wear glasses pack a second pair or contact lenses just in case yours get lost, dropped or broken in busy crowds!

21. A spacious day bag to carry essentials

22. Lots of cash. Queues for the ATMs are long and dull with kids in tow

23. Wine box – no glass bottles are allowed on festival sites

24. A camper van. It’s too late for this weekend, but you can hire stunning retro Volkswagon camper vans from O’Conners Campers .

As a festival newbie I’m bound to have forgotten something essential! Please do share your tips and packing list with us below.

A Fairy Tale Holiday Camp with fancy dress, magical moments and family friendly mayhem…

With less than 2 weeks to go the Camp Bestival team have announced an abundance of exciting and original acts to their family festival paradise. Not only will Mr Tumble be darting around the festival, along with live music acts such as Madness, Ellie Goulding, Friendly Fire, The Human League (just to name a few) along with DJs, comedy and much artistic and magical fun for all the family, now the beloved bedtime story The Gruffalo will be reenacted live on the main stage for two shows over the festival. Performed by Tall Stories, well-known for their sell-out Room on a Broom show, this is perfect family entertainment for both tots and parents alike.

Colourful clothing company Boden are making their first foray into the festival season creating an Isle of Boden outpost in The Kids Garden. It’s a combination of clothing boutique, children’s garden party and carnival under canvas – with a chilled-out bar area where adults can refuel while the Boden team entertains the little ones. The day winds up with a ‘Bedtime Story Hour’ which will feature readings from Howard Marks and Billy Bragg.

For mums with babies or toddlers in nappies, Johnson’s Baby is bringing a touch of magic to the festival by creating The Enchanted Baby-Changing Garden; a luxurious baby-changing area away from the crowds with bespoke flower changing stations.

I’ll be booking my place at Heavenly Healing – Camp Bestival’s amazing massage and therapy sanctuary. Here you can have a treatment or chill-out, and glide back into the festival refreshed and revived!

Part of the masterplan to make life a bit easier for parents at the festival is the arrival of Boutique Babysitting. Set up by veteran festival lover Lisa Merrick-Lawless the ‘Kids Club Under Canvas’ service offers fully qualified, CRB checked childcare professionals to look after your little ones. Set in a secure, fenced off ‘camp’ in their beautiful giant tipis, they will be offering four-hour babysitting sessions filled with magical music based activities. Boutique Babysitting are taking bookings now for morning, afternoon and evening sessions so be sure to book soon to guarantee your chance to sing along to Madness without embarrassing the kids!

The weekend’s finale is giant Fairy Tale themed fancy dress parade and the spellbinding Son et Lumiere fireworks finale soundtracked by Rob da Bank. Weekend Camping Tickets are really flying out now so don’t delay if you want to guarantee a three-day slice of the sumptuous Camp Bestival pie at the end of this month. For lots more in-depth info and ticket information see www.campbestival.net