Ok, so to be transparent here, it wasn’t just our first family festival, it was our first festival, ever. Some adults went through phases in their youth of being really cool and care-free circuiting the festival scene; wellies, tents, glitter, feathers and seeing all the bands of the moment. Rich and I weren’t those people, we were catapulted into a different life very early on and we frequented swanky wine bars, fancy restaurants and clubs in varying cities (who were those people?!)
Anyway, fast-forward 10 years and we find ourselves shed of this previous identity, appearing somewhat hairier, barefoot and owners of a home on wheels. It was only a matter of time before we found ourselves at Buddhafield!
Why Buddhafield? Well; it’s relatively local to where we live, it’s a drug-alcohol free festival, all on-sight catering is veggie (this year being fully vegan for the first time), it combines dance/meditation/play/wellness and art. Plus, a large number of our extended community return each year, speaking highly of the connection to the land and others you experience when you’re there.
Due to covid restrictions this year’s event was split into two smaller ones; a weekend one and a mid-week one. After a ridiculously wet weekend prior (thank goodness that we didn’t have weekend tickets!), we were grateful to arrive at what would turn out to be a heat-wave with 5 consecutive blue-sky days with temperatures hovering in the high 20s and reaching 30! The fields however had experienced the heavy downpour (and heavy footfall), creating a stinking, squishy bog across both fields. Shoes weren’t an option as toe gripping was needed to even make it across and without sounding too much like a complete townie/newbie/amateur the stench from the (what was clearly a cow field) was pretty full on and at times I didn’t know if it was crusted mud or cowpat up my leg, but I went with it, and by the last day it was drying up but I still found that element challenging…less the mud, more the smell!
Once we’d squidged our way to the main field, we were greeted with a spacious line-up of workshop tents, wellness spaces, music stages, boutique stalls and food tents. Ah, the food tents; all vegan and I think mostly all organic. Varying from Indian street food to a raw café, to pancakes, falafels and veggie fry-ups. Knowing the food is so consciously created, was a huge hit for me.
It complemented our van meals perfectly, for those times where a one-pot just wouldn’t cut it. The event is ridiculously family friendly offering a continuous stream of events for children; puppet shows, clay making, bubble blowing, storytelling, circus skills… but as we have all experienced sometimes, little people find it too much to be at certain places for certain times and they prefer more of an organic unfolding of the day (although, don’t we all?!).
This works effortlessly at Buddhafield, where children of all ages are given the freedom to roam, climb and play wherever they feel. There was one tent that simply had boxes of toys and paper/crayons etc and it was ideal for the youngest of children that just wanted to relax a little. Then there was the Glade, a magical space nestled within a woodland that had 10 or so hammocks and, in the heatwave, it was a hang-out spots welcomed by many; teenagers, families and solo meditators.
There was an extensive timetable packed full of talks, workshops, meditations, dances and shows which in honesty I found rather overwhelming. This could be because I had young children with me, it could be because we are at the back end of over a year of lockdowns and little to no social events, it could be because the older I get the more introverted I’m becoming. But the beauty of these festivals is you can join in with as much or as little as you like, because the space itself is magical, immersive and stimulating enough just simply doing nothing. Rich put on his social hat and signed up to a few things; he whittled a spoon, carved a bow and attended live music. Whereas I had a massage and went to a meditation (we balanced each other out, socially).
Another difficulty which added to our experience was our youngest became unwell on the second day and spent the rest of the time sleeping, feeding and cuddling me, contributing to me maybe not joining in with as much as I had intended. I did however get lots of alone time at the van whilst she slept. It felt almost retreat-like, being in the sleep area during the day, hearing the distant buzz of the festival, sitting calmly with my tea and my journal, grateful for the time to reflect and take it slow. I was also in complete awe at the wisdom of Wrens body, as she entered a fast for 4 days, taking in only water and breastmilk (for those concerned, she was absolutely fine on returning home. A combination of the heat and a tummy bug picked up from all that poo-mud I imagine!) The irony was she had recently night weaned and I was therefore looking forward to dancing the night away, but alas, the illness and the heat combined saw me spending my evenings being on-call for my girls. Rich danced for the both of us by the sounds of it, a heart-opening experiencing that he so deserved, but I won’t lie, a pang of jealousy ran through me the next morning as he recounted the live music, the packed dancefloor and the late-night chai and falafel. But if I can brave the cow pats and the compost loos again, they’ll always be next year for me to dance under the moonlight.
We absolutely lucked out with our van positioning, we were at the end row and were able to open our back doors and have an unobstructed view and the sunset from our bed was unreal. The sky just melted before our eyes, teasing us with every shade of pink, orange and blue that you can imagine. The crescent moon hung steady and bright each evening and a cloudless sky gifted us with a blanket of stars to sleep under. I’m not quite sure I could ever accept anything less at a festival, can you even request where to park? Surely not?! It’s the luck of the dice and like I said, we struck gold with that one. The view softened the experience of me spending so much time at the van, I’m not sure it would’ve been as welcomed if I was encompassed by vans in every direction.
We also had arranged to drive in with friends, which helped create a little living quarters, allowing the children to play together, food to be shared and conversations to be had. It was a last-minute decision to go with another group, and as someone who gets social anxiety, I questioned why I was even doing it. Surprisingly grateful I did though, it proved to be a beneficial experience for us all. I feel it deserves its own blog post as I delve into my social anxiety and how I was able to be radically honest with myself and my friend as I navigated the situation.
On reflection, our first festival wasn’t easy. It was muddy, hot, a sick baby and at times a little out of our comfort zone (really juicy well-seasoned hippies, compared to us newbies on the scene). But I am so glad we went, and we intend to go again. The wild acceptance you witness when you’re there is astonishing. People seem to really let themselves go (including their clothes!) The nudity combined with meditation and fun just results in a whole load of happy sober people that have a lot of love and creativity to give. I can’t finish without mentioning Hemp Redemption; we love their energy, their message, their music, their story, their mission and their wonderfully strong northern accents which takes us right back to our roots! Check them out on YouTube (the hemp milk song being our favourite, for obvious reasons).
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