Camp Bestival 2011 Review

2011 Camp Bestival Weather: Overcast on Friday with a light shower, rain on Sat AM but beautiful sunshine for the rest of the weekend.

Check out our Guest Blog from Melksham Mum on her Camp Besti Experience and also see some other in-depth CB reviews from The Arts Desk , Madame Guillotine, Family Festivals and Tattooed Mummy

Review by: Anonymous (with 10-12 year olds)

Getting to the festival and setting up camp:

Long walk to the camping, despite paying for an extra day, was pretty full and getting spots for two family tents on a reasonably flat area was hard.  Most campers were pleasant but quite a lot of rowdy teens.

Entertainment – Line up and Kids Activities:

Very good adult / older teen lineup, plenty for under 5’s but lacks things for the older primary / younger teen age group this year.

What would you change / improve (if anything)?

There was a non-family camping area, which we were not in, yet where we were was still very rowdy, not just the teens, but their parents too.  It’s made us think twice about going again – I need sleep.  Also big 50+ groups of people reserving huge parts of the castle stage with circles of chairs… making getting about hard especially with pushchairs.

Any other comments and your Top Tip:

Book the extra day, and turn up early as it fills up fast.  Best to go as part of a group.

Site and Facilities:

Toilets good, lots of cleaners too so still OK on Monday AM!  Mobile coverage patchy, I wouldn’t bother with the App, stick to a paper programme.  If bringing young kids, a back pack might make more sense as there’s plenty of hills to negotiate.

Did you feel safe?

YES but need more drug patrols. Not a festival for overprotective parents.

Most memorable moment?

The kids loved Eliza Doolittle, we preferred Mark Ronson

Would you go again?

Maybe

6/10

 

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Review by: Sarah (with 2 kids: a 5 yr old and a baby of 4 mths)

Getting to the festival and setting up camp:

Didn’t have to queue to get in as we were in our camper.

Entertainment – Line up and Kids Activities:

There is loads of stuff to do, its hard to decide!

What would you change / improve (if anything)?

Too many people!!!! We have been for the past 3 years and we will not be going again. You cannot move around the site without crowds of people everywhere. You get hemmed in when watching the shows, at Zingzillas my baby was asleep in her carrycot and people were trying to climb over her to get out! Didn’t go to see Primal Scream as worried about the number of people and the pushchair. There were loads of teenagers getting drunk, and smoking everywhere. We were very disappointed.

They put the camper van field 30 mins walk away up hills which was a nightmare with a pushchair and a trucky to pull our 5 year old. Not ideal at all.

Any other comments and your Top Tip:

I would not say it is suitable for families with smaller children i.e under 2. Last 2 years it was, but not now. I understand they are going to have more people next year, and all I can say is it will only get worse!

Site and Facilities:

Toilets were always really busy, even at 7am! They tried to keep them clean and with toilet paper, but because they were so busy all the time it was a gamble.

Did you feel safe?

Yes

Would you go again?

No

5/10

 

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Review by: @Tattooed_Mummy (with an 11 year old)

Getting to the festival and setting up camp:

The queue was well managed and steady, slow due to numbers but nothing horrendous. The tents are ‘free range’ so end up more cramped than at a camp site, but that is the same at every festival and adds to the charm. Every one was friendly and careful of their kids and noise etc. so being close was not a problem.

Entertainment – Line up and Kids Activities:

So much! The line up was great – varied music from the well known and famous to new and up and coming bands and some bands I’d not heard of. The kids entertainment was amazing!! Tons of free things to do from an Insect Circus, circus skills, crazy bike riding, dressing up, films, talent shows, to Mr Tumble, the Zingzillas, Dick & Dom and some events that you had to pay for like a fairground and bubble swords to play with, we loved it all and didn’t have time to do everything – anyone who gets bored must be lost in the car park!

What would you change / improve (if anything)?

More loos would have been good. Erm…. making it last a whole week (grin) we wanted to stay forever!

Any other comments and your Top Tip:

It is a VERY HILLY site. But despite that, a large wheeled trolley to use for moving stuff, children and tents and using as a sofa is a good idea.

Site and Facilities:

Not enough toilets this year! But compared to many festivals they are good. I imagine queuing with small children would be a pain. The compost loos in the main festival site are excellent, better than the portable loos!

Did you feel safe?

Very, it’s the safest festival I have been to – it feels (as my daughter said) “like we all knew each other and we were just one big family”

Would you go again?

Yes – already itching to buy tickets!

10/10

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Review by: Anonymous (with a 2 year old)

Getting to the festival and setting up camp:

We arrived at midday on the Thursday and we queued for over half an hour to get parked up. We had to carry our stuff down a big hill then up another big hill just to get to the wrist band exchange and main entrance.
The tents weren’t wedged in like you get at other festivals although we did notice by Friday they had opened another campsite which was nearer the main arena which had tents and campervans in.  A bit annoying for those of us who paid £10 extra PP to go in on the Thursday and then had to park the furthest away from the campsites.

Entertainment – Line up and Kids Activities:

The lineup was amazing and there was almost too much going on!
There was a kid’s tent with lots of art and craft activities going on but we couldn’t get near anything because it was constantly so busy. We enjoyed just ambling around and stopping at things that attracted our attention. The food was amazing and we enjoyed trying new things. I enjoyed watching the chefs from River Cottage do a cooking demonstration and my husband enjoyed an evening of comedy on the Friday night. Our daughter loved the fairground rides and the soft play area.

What would you change / improve (if anything)?

It was our first year at Camp Bestival but I did feel there were too many people than the site could cope with because every area was constantly busy. So I think the capacity needs to be greatly reduced, the amount of people and the queuing really put me off.

Any other comments and your Top Tip:

Get a bog in a bag or some Travel Johns! Being pregnant I need to go a lot in the night. Travel Johns were an absolute lifesaver!
Also our daughter wasn’t interested in eating much food so we were relieved that we brought food we knew she would eat like Ella’s Kitchen smoothies, Humzingers, raisins and mini cheeses.

Site and Facilities:

The toilets were clean and replenished with toilet rolls. However there was not enough toilets for the capacity and on sunday morning there were queues half way up the green campsite.

The site is very hilly and we were climbing hills every time we went into the main arena.  This can’t be helped because it is part of what gives the site it’s charm but when you you are 4 months pregnant it’s hard work.

We are both with Orange and neither of us got much signal, we weren’t bothered though as we tend to keep our phones switched off when at a festival.

Did you feel safe?

Yes, Camp Bestival is possibly the friendliest and safest festival I have attended. The campsite we were on was very civilised and friendly although I wasn’t quite brave enough to leave our chairs outside our tent like our neighbours!

Would you go again?

Yes!!!

8/10

 

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For reviews from 2010 – click HERE.

 


6 thoughts on “Camp Bestival 2011 Review

  1. We took our camper van and we were expecting showers as advertised, however they were nowhere to be seen. I found this really frustrating as the camper van ticket was therefore misleading. I also found this year to be too busy, queues and crowds everywhere. Last year was perfect in terms of capacity…shame they cashed in so much this year. We won’t be returning.

  2. This was our 2nd year at Camp Bestival and our last! It seems greed has overtaken success. the organisers have allowed twice as many campers in but hadn’t increased the pitch space. By Friday evening the tents were so tightly packed together it was impossible to actually walk through them. One of our party had a push chair which we had to carry over the tents.
    There were not enough toilets and to have a shower would have meant queueing for a whole day! We paid the extra money to arrive on Thurs only to realise that so had everyone else. it was chaos trying to co-ordinate with our friends to all pitch up together. The music was great but there was just too many people. Next year we are looking at smaller alternative festivals where we won’t feel so ripped off

  3. We were overall disappointed with the line up esp on Saturday. There were a number of good bands which packed out the big top who should have been on the Castle Stage. We went to the big top on Sunday to see the mirrors and saw something completely different – the whole schedule was out so v difficult to get what you wanted to see.
    Great fireworks as ever though! Very well organised.

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