Camp Bestival

Classic telephone box at Tyneham.

Another Wednesday, time to rock up at another festival site, this one at Lulworth Castle in Dorset.  Crew camping is ideally placed next to a pub, so after the Oxfam briefing I sink a few pints, there is even a band, named 4GoMad.  I get the reference.  No work and not much festival on Thursday so off for a walk of course.  Just a mile or so to the sea, but on the way I find Tyneham, the 'village that died for D-Day'.  Fascinating to see the ruined houses, evacuated in 1943, and the restored church, schoolhouse and farm.  From here I walk through the Lulworth Range, plenty of evidence of ongoing military activity here, wrecked tanks litter the landscape.  On to the charming Lulworth Cove where I eat a truly huge pasty, and then need a lie down.  My route has followed the South West Coast Path, and it is clearly a tough one, climbing one cliff after another from sea level.  I leave it at Durdle Door, a rock arch eroded from the cliff between two bays, from here it isn't too far back to the pub.  Oh and the campsite.

Durdle Door.

There is a festival on of course... and I have work to do.  I start my shift at 8am on Friday, patrolling the kids fields which make up around half of this most child friendly of festivals, and it really isn't much work.  Mainly we give directions, enjoy the sunshine and listen to music at various venues dotted around.  Then I have 4pm on to myself, more music then, seems to be a bit punk here, Buzzcocks are on for instance.  I find my home for the festival at the Caravanserai, there is gypsy music as you'd expect, and the rather good Immigrant Swing.

A job suited to my skills.

Saturday, and my shift doesn't start 'til 4pm, so I have a lie in then head back to Durdle Door, I've been told you can swim through the arch, round the headland to a different cove.  Turns out you can - it is pretty hard work though.  Then back on shift, the kids field again, seems I can magically reunite parents with children merely by starting the process of reporting the situation over the radio.  Then a few hours on an arena, yay.  Seems that from 7pm the main kids arena does 16+ comedy, it is rather cool, and very rude.  I get off at midnight, time for a few beers, and back to the Caravanserai for steampunk shenanigans with The Men Who Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing.  I had forgotten how metal they are...

Dolly the giraffe.

Same shift again on Sunday, so, I spend the morning wandering the site, and lying down a fair bit.  I eat a sausage and raclette baguette from the thoroughly middle class food court, then back to work.  Still the kids field, but today mostly on a gate, so I get to watch the festival go by, this includes among other things a giraffe and a velociraptor (both life sized puppets), Bob Geldof (probably not a puppet) and a most impressive parade.  Then off to the castle, where us stewards get the best seats for the rather awesome festival closing fireworks.  And still time to get to the Caravanserai for more familiar faces, the Guns of Navarone.

Well... this was really good fun, a lovely part of the world and a great festival, somehow the kiddiness of it adds up to a really great atmosphere.  Certainly recommended to anybody with children.

Photos to go with this post can be found here.