The last time I went to a music festival I was in my last year of university, when I went with two mates to Glastonbury. Back then, you could buy a ticket the day before in your local record shop, although most people chose to jump the fence. Suede and Stereo MCs were headlining, we hitch-hiked because we couldn't afford the train fare (and thought it would be more fun to use our thumbs), and three of us crammed into a two-man tent, caring little about sleep or hygiene (I didn't change my underwear for three days and was proud!). On the first night I dropped my friend's expensive new torch into a stinking Glasto bog, I couldn't afford suncream so by day two had hideous sunburn and our attempts to hitch a ride back met with such failure - something to do with how bad we smelt, perhaps - that we ended up spending our last pennies on a train.
Ah, those were the days.
These days, I'm older, wiser and change my underwear every day. I'm a dad now, with a two-year-old daughter. I spend my weekends at the playground or the children's zoo. I still love music - I only recently stopped buying the NME - but don't want to hang out in the moshpit at Reading. When I heard about Camp Bestival, it sounded perfect - a place where kids are not just welcome but one that's actually designed for kids (and there's a big difference), with free entry for under 13s.
Looking through the Camp Bestival website and seeing all the things they've got on, I got very excited and set about trying to persuade my girlfriend that we should go.
"Take Poppy to a music festival?" she said sceptically, "It might be a nightmare." She was no doubt thinking of our last holiday with our daughter, Poppy, when she was just one. We went to Majorca. The plane journey was so stressful that we almost split up before even arriving at our destination. I'll save the tales of what happened when we got there for another time, but the highlight was when I got locked in the local Spar.
"It'll be great," I enthused. "It's designed for kids. They've got a toddler's play area, a farm, Spongebob Squarepants, a Penguin books tent where Peppa Pig is going to be hanging out... and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is going to be there!"
"Oh, well, if Hugh's going to be there..."
"And Will Young."
"Oh my god. Book tickets now!"
Camp Bestival was set up by Rob Da Bank as the first festival specifically designed as a place for parents and children. The original Bestival was family-friendly, but they found that many people would take their kids the first year, then go back the next having left the little darlings with granny. Camp Bestival caters for parents with children of all ages: there's a breastfeeding and nappy-changing area (the Breastival Baby Temple) for those with babies; a toddlers' area for the under fives; and a huge array of activities for primary school kids. There's so much on that I almost wish I could borrow a couple of seven or eight year olds to take along.
My main concern - apart from whether we're going to need to pack wellies and raincoats, or whether binliners will suffice as insurance against the weather - is sleeping. Sharing a small tent with a two-year-old sounds far more daunting than sharing it with two strapping students like I did when I went to Glasto. However, Camp Bestival has a wide array of luxury tents, tipis and yurts which you can hire (Full details are on the Camp Bestival site). If you want a large tent, but are as rubbish at pitching them as I am, you can pay to have it ready-pitched. What a fantastic idea. No more trudging around a field for hours trying to find a spot that isn't on a slope or too near the bit of the fence where people who need to go to the toilet but can't be bothered to queue.
I'm very excited. And I'll be reporting back as soon as the festival ends to let My Child readers know how we got on.
Camp Bestival takes place 24, 25 and 26 July 2009, at Lulworth Castle, Dorset.
Ticket costs vary but a weekend ticket including camping (without tent hire) costs £130 per adult. Children under 13 go free. There are family tickets available. Full pricing details here.
This year's music acts include PJ Harvey doing her only solo show of the year, Mercury Rev, Will Young, Chic, Kid Creole and the Coconuts and Candi Staton. There's comedy from Phill Jupitus and Frankie Boyle, as well as DJ sets from Erol Alkan, rob da Bank and Zane Lowe. The Royal National Ballet will also be there, along with the River Cottage Cafe. For the full line-up, click here.
