Truck Festival 2015 Review

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Once again, Hill Farm in South Oxfordshire opened up its gates on the 15th and 16th July 2015, for the biggest Truck Festival to date. With a sensational line up and a whole host of kid’s activities, the weekend looked a dead cert for one to remember.

The campsite

Opening at 9am on the Friday, it’s always a good idea to get there early. You’ll get the prime spot you want for your tent as well as the added bonus of having the whole day there to enjoy. This year, the kids hadn’t broken up for the holidays yet, so I sent hubby off to set up camp and the kids and I met up with him straight after school.

This was the first year that Truck offered glamping as an alternative to your own tent. The pretty bell tents looked impressive as we headed towards the festival. Rows and rows of neat lines (it did my OCD a world of good) and perfect for those of us that would rather not have the hassle of putting up a tent.

I may just opt for glamping next year.

Truck 2015
Glamping at Truck Festival

The Site

Walking into the main site you’re greeted with beautiful stalls selling all the festival paraphernalia. From flower garlands, fluro face paints and henna tattoos, to hair feathers, retro outfits and circus toys.

I felt immediately relaxed. School, work, housework and washing all seemed a million miles away. All I had to think about was watching the kids have fun, getting a drink (from my bag to start off with as you can bring your own booze) and where to get some food when we wanted it.

Truck Festival 2015

The kids were happy running around for most of the time. They loved exploring all the stalls. Especially the joke stall which they remembered from last year. Perfect for cheeky kiddies like ours who happily grabbed the fake poo and exploding blood capsules with absolute delight. Cue hours of finding a fake poo strategically placed by my hand/head/bare foot etc. *Pours wine.

Although Truck isn’t really a child orientated festival, it certainly provides plenty for them to do. There’s the famous helter-skelter and Ferris wheel, pick and mix sweets, face painting, Nick Cope with his hilarious songs, salt dough creations, 3D creature making, bubble brain picture making, tight-wire walking, learning to juggle, spinning plates, transforming lotions and potions and a huge paint fight.

All this while there are super tunes playing for the grown-ups to chill (or rave) to. Every parent knows, if the kids are entertained, then happy days.

Food

Over the weekend, between us, we had spicy burritos, chicken pie, cheesy chips, fresh smoothies and burgers. Our eldest was even given a free pizza and jumped a large queue because the pizza man liked his flashing gum shield. Bonus! All were reasonably priced and good quality.

So, a couple of things that could be better. The first being the queues! They’re a pain at the best of times, but when you’ve got hungry kids moaning in your ear every five seconds, it’s really not much fun when you have to wait in line for almost an hour. Please Truck, more food stalls, more staff on the food stalls and a bit quicker getting the food out next year would be hugely appreciated.

The Facilities

As much as I love Truck, I do feel this year the lack of toilets let them down a bit. With approximately two thousand more people than last year, I’d have thought more loos would be a given. Along with more toilet roll, hand sanitiser and being regularly checked. It seemed like there were less.

And the men’s urinals were… interesting to say the least. A row of drainpipes, close to the main stage – with no screening around them! Cue wide-eyed children and a mountain of questions about willies. Eek! *Pours more wine!

Give Truck their due; screening was erected (excuse the pun) to give the poor blokes a bit of dignity. But really, I’m not sure who or why that one was thought up.

Good Times

Living close by, we were lucky enough to get a babysitter for the Saturday night. We took the kids home at about 9.30pm to catch up on sleep and headed back to the festival. We enjoyed some chill time in the shisha tent, a wicked set from Basement Jaxx and had a few too many drinks which we wouldn’t have been able to do when on parent duty.

If you don’t have the luxury of home close by it’s a good idea to bring a trolley (or hire one at the festival). Fill it with cosy blankets and cushions and make a warm bed for the kids to sleep in when it gets late. Make sure you have ear defenders for them too.

We’ll definitely be back next year and hope to try out the glamping. There’s even a nifty payment plan as an easy and affordable way to buy the tickets. Get booking! ☺