This year we went to the first ever Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire and we loved it.  If you are sceptical about how much fun camping in the UK and going to Festival is with little children then I can reassure you that it can actually be a laugh, relaxing and brilliant for the kids.   I did have to do something which I am not very good at, which is to totally let go of any sense of kids time, adult time, day/night and just let the kids hang out with us and go to bed when they passed out.  Once I relaxed into this it was actually really nice.

Wilderness is a new festival of music, food, theatre, literary debate and outdoor stuff from the producers of Secret Garden Party and Lovebox and the organisers managed to nail a pretty amazing location, right among the lakes, forests and ancient parkland of the Cornbury Estate, Oxfordshire.

What did we enjoy?

The site itself was great layout/geography, small enough to get around with the kids walking but enough going on to feel like there was lots to discover

Great range of holistic treatments when you needed to unwind.

Loads of yummy food, was gutted to miss out of the banquet by Moro and would definitely advise booking up next time.

There was a great mix of lectures and music so it really did feel like there was something for everyone.  We loved the Guillemots, Toots & The Maytals and the Intelligence Squared debates.

The Spa – not sure I would call it a traditional spa more of a nudist lounging/swimming area but we took lots of pleasure sitting around with a chilled wine taking in the sights.

Stuff for the kids – there was LOADS, and lots that was either free or didn’t cost very much.   It really was at the heart of the whole thing as to some where it can feel a bit of an add on.  There was one secure but magical area filled with an array of creative and fun experiences for kids to get involved in. Including gypsy dance offs, tight rope workshops, wakey-wakey morning aerobics, nature trails, balloon-modeling, pizza workshops, face-painting, magic shows and circus performances from the brilliant Flying Seagull Project.  I could go on but it was great for them and a struggle to get them to leave.

What did we think could be better?

Actually not that much but if pushed…

Maybe could do with a bit more kids targeted kids food – could do with a stall selling basic kids grub.

One mini moan…Maybe brief their ’boutique babysitters’ a bit more – I didn’t use the service but if I had been thinking about it I might have been put off by the babysitters in recovery in the spa area complaining that their massage made their come down worse.  Guess it comes with the territory but not really want you want to be hearing if you are thinking about leaving your kids.

All in all it was a great weekend away and would definitely recommend for next year.  We will be there!