» Camp Bestival 2008 review
Jody White takes us through the happenings at the Camp Bestival music festival at Lulworth Castle, Dorset (Friday 18th - Saturday 19th - Sunday 20th July). Photos by Faye Perriam.
It’s the end of July, and after what can only be described as a patchy summer so far, the inaugural Camp Bestival signalled the early arrival of the Bestival bubble of joyous frivolity into our lives once again, and not a moment too soon. This then the first year of Rob Da Bank and co’s new offshoot from their award-winning September bash and despite a few organisational hiccups, the relaxed atmosphere, the varied entertainment and no shortage of friendly faces successfully combined to remind us that the world isn’t all bad; there aren’t terrorists lurking around every corner, tea and knitting are hip and Roy Walker still has a place in all our hearts.
The focus for this small scale Dorset invasion was clearly family, although Da Bank has said that next year they will be making more of an effort to attract those unburdened by the charming mini-people. Not to say there wasn’t a fair amount of ‘normal’ festival-goers in attendance; the Bestival name now so firmly established that people will buy tickets to an event bearing their name without even knowing exactly what it entails. The mix was pretty much spot on with an estimated 3,500 children attending what was roughly a 10,000 capacity event.
Despite heavy queues to get down the one tiny lane into the site which, bizarrely, only opened its gates at 9am on Friday morning, the walk from the car park to the camp site was short and sweet. Minimal gate fuss, enthusiastic greeters and gaggles of awestruck little ‘uns wobbling around set the tone. For anyone who has never been to Lulworth Castle, the setting is not far short of stunning. Beautiful aged buildings nestled in a valley surrounded by lush green countryside just a spit from the ocean. Indeed, the aptly named Seaview Inn had a fine view of the the water as it emerged from between the converging hills.
