Camp Bestival - Getting There from Ireland

Camp Bestival takes place every year at Lulworth Castle in the heart of Dorset. Dorset is an incredibly beautiful part of the the UK, but not always the easiest to get to. Especially if you are travelling from Ireland.

Before planning our trip to Camp Bestival I looked into lots of options for getting there. The site is serviced by coach, rail and taxi, so in theory you could fly into Southhampton or Bournmouth and make your way from there, but to be honest if you are festivaling with kids you are going to have a lot of STUFF, so in reality you really do need a car.

Which is where those lovely people at Stena Line come in.

With ferries running between Dublin and Holyhead or Rosslare and Fishguard this is the route I'd recommend to take - not only for Camp Bestival but for any UK camping holiday or festival experience. (They also run Belfast to Cairnryan or Liverpool if you are travelling from the north).

Stena Line were kind enough to offer us return travel to Fishguard so we were able to pack up the car with all those just-in-cases and head off without worry.

Ferry travel with kids is generally a whole lot less stressful than air travel, and we were all impressed with the entertainment on offer. There is a soft play area for the little ones, a big screen movie, arcade games and even entertainers who do arts and crafts. On the return journey there was a Horrible Histories show that the kids loved (and I even managed to sneak in a much needed forty winks thanks to it!)

Early morning ferry spotting

After docking in Wales we drove to Bristol and stopped off with friends for the night. It was the perfect pit stop and, although you could make the trip to Dorset in one go (it's about 4 - 5 hours from Fishguard to Dorset), I'd recommend scheduling in an overnight stay on the way instead. On the return trip we stopped off at a Holiday Inn Express just off the motorway and got a family room for two adults and three kids for £86, which included a full cooked \ continental breakfast and - oh the joy! - actual hot showers. To be fair I probably would have paid that just for my own shower at that point so everything else was a bonus.

Once off the motorway and heading to Dorset the directions get a little more tricky. We used Google Maps to guide us but without it we would have had trouble finding our way. After lots of twists and turns and little winding roads we made it - and yes, it was absolutely worth it.

Here's a full post on what you can expect from The Camp Bestival Experience!

Travel times:

Ferry Rosslare - Fishguard: Approx 3 hours
Fishguard - Bristol: Approx 3 hours
Fishguard - Dorset: Approx 5 hour drive
Bristol - Dorset: Approx 2 hour drive

Dorset is an incredibly beautiful area so you could easily turn the trip into your summer holiday and either camp locally or upgrade to a holiday home for the rest of your stay. In fact next year we probably will.

Disclosure:
Stena provided free family travel to me and Camp Bestival provided a weekend family pass. All views and images are my own. 

Camp Bestival - 6 reasons you really should go

I'm going to Camp Bestival!! *does a happy dance*

Want to come too? There's still time to book your family a weekend break that they will never forget.

Camp Bestival 2015 takes place between 30th July and 2nd August in Ludlow Castle in Dorset. It's a family festival extravaganza that has far too much on offer to list here, but these are a few of the reasons I can not wait to bring my family along to it.

1. Kids love a festival.

I've done festivaling and I've done family festivaling, and whilst the two are very different there is something wonderfully wholesome about seeing your kids at one with a community of others. It may only be a long weekend but it's an insight into another world. Everyone is on holiday, everyone is happy, there is continual entertainment on tap, nobody gets bored, everyone gets to explore and find their own special corner of wonder, and the memory making moments are everywhere.

Credit: Camp Bestival

2. Camping.

Don't be scared. Embrace the early sunrise. Step on the dewy grass as the campsite around you begins wakes up. Forget about mirrors and make up. Remember the fact that there is no housework. Sneak back to the quiet haven of an empty tent for an afternoon snooze. Sip wine from plastic cups as the children sleep and the sound of music rolls over the hills.

Not convinced? Camp Bestival has a whole host of luxury glamping on offer too. So scratch that as an excuse.

3. Dress up!

Time to get wild. This year's theme is Camp Bestival goes wild, so not only do you get to don some facepaint and get into your wild things onsie - there are also tons of 'getting back to nature' activities. From tree climbing and tree hugging to camp fire tales and even sleeping out under the stars. There's also shows and talks from the likes of Steve Backshall, Bill Odie and Michaela Strachan.

4. The Line Up.

There's just no point in trying to list all the amazing things on offer so I won't even try. Oh ok then I will. Here's just a few that my family will be excited about:

The Kaiser Chiefs (The boys)
Ella Henderson (The Girl)
Hollie McNish (My girl crush who I've written about before)
Underworld
Professor Green
Terry Hall

Not to mention the crafts, nature, Bollywood bar, horse riding, song shack, wand making, sword creating, bubble shows and fireworks.

Credit: Camp Bestival

5. The magic moments

One of the best things about Camp Bestival is all the opportunities to find those magic moments. When you stumble on a fairy lit path that leads to a secret garden party, or get lost in the woods and happen upon an awesome reggae band, or when you curl up for a bit of quiet time on some huge Moroccan cushions and sip peppermint tea in the sunshine, or when you watch your kids rolling in grass playing air guitar to their new favourite band, or, or, or...

Credit: Camp Bestival

6. The Extras

And as if all that wasn't enough there are extras that you wouldn't believe.
Open air hot tubs, restorative massage, yoga, meditation, pamper stations, farmers markets, amazing food stalls... I may not come home at all.

But don't just go on what I'm saying, these ladies have all been before and keep going back for more - check out their pictures and you'll see why.

Katy Hill - Camp Bestival 2013
Mammasaurus - Camp Bestival 2014

Tickets for Camp Bestival:

Adult Weekend Ticket (inc. camping from Thurs or Fri) - £195*
Student Weekend Ticket (inc. camping from Thurs or Fri) - £180*

Age 15 to 17 Weekend Ticket (inc. camping from Thurs or Fri) - £113*
Age 11 to 14 Weekend Ticket (inc. camping from Thurs or Fri) - £88*
Age 5 to 10 Weekend Ticket (inc. camping from Thurs or Fri) - £20*
Age 4 & Under Weekend Ticket (inc. camping from Thurs or Fri) – FREE (but ticket required)*
There are also campervan \ caravan spots, ready pitched tents, and lots of glamping options.

COMPETITION:
Netmums are running a competition for a full family weekend pass here. Comp closes 20th July so hurry!

An InLinkz Link-up

Disclosure: I have been provided with free family weekend tickets in order to review and report on Camp Bestival. 

Primavera Sound - Festivaling in your 40's

Ah Barcelona. We came, it rained, you partied.

It was with equal measures of excitement and nerves that I stepped off the plane in Barcelona last Thursday - almost ready of a few days of moderate hedonism. The problem with fesivaling in your 40's though is that lessons are not learned from your previous twenty odd years of experience.

And so naturally enough on arrival, when we got caught out unexpectedly by the rain, we did what every self respecting holidaying youngster half our age would do - we headed straight to the nearest watering hole. The only difference now being that instead of unashamedly sitting in the local Irish bar we disguised our early lunchtime drinking with tapas and bottles of red. Most civilised. For the first bottle at least.

The rain kept coming and so did the red. Forget that we were up at 4am that morning and had a big night of bands ahead of us - there was cheap wine to be drunk.

Somehow we stayed alive until dinner time (more wine) and managed to meet up with the second set of arrivals from our party before heading off to the festival itself. I must admit that it's all slightly hazey from then on in, but I did at least manage to tick a couple of my must-see bands off my list. And so between a bit of careless wandering, the awesome Queens of the Stone age, some young glitter fairies that dowsed me in the sparkliest of glitter, a spot of maniacal dancing to the far-to-young-for-us Disclosure and a smile as big as Barcelona - I may have managed to have one of my best nights ever. Fortunately no photographic evidence survives as I am quite sure the pictures in my head are far more flattering than the reality. (I'm told there was muchas, muchas glitter - a fact supported by my pillow the next morning).

Image Credit

Of course the next day wasn't so great - but at least the bed was comfy. And sparkly.

And on Day 2, when we finally managed to drag ourselves out to see John Grant, The Pixies and the rest of the fabulous second night set - the thunderstorms complete with forked lightening began. Still, we didn't feel too bad running back through the flooded streets of the city in our green plastic Heineken macs to our cosy hotel for some comforting pasta and vino.

Festivaling in your 40's - isn't that what it's all about?