Belle’s Essential Summer Festivals For 2018
If your Instagram feed is anything like ours, we are suffering from serious festival FOMO and it’s only the end of July. Festivals seem to be getting bigger, better and there are way more of them than ever before. With the incredible summer weather set to continue, Belle recommends that if you haven’t already, book your ticket and experience a festival this summer. If you haven’t a clue where to start, here is our handy guide of the best upcoming festivals that still have tickets available (at the date of going live). So grab your tent, pack your sequins and feathery head dress and join in the UK’s festival fun.
Best for…….Foodies
The Big Feastival
The Cotswolds, 24th to 26th August.
A must do for any serious foodies, Blur’s Alex James together with campaigning chef Jamie Oliver are hosting their annual food festival extravaganza over the August bank holiday weekend. The Big Feastival is a unique three-day celebration of music, food and fun for all the family, set on Alex’s idyllic Cotswolds farm. With an eclectic lineup this year including Basement Jaxx, Clean Bandit, Craig David and the Artful Dodger, and incredible food and chef demos in the Big Kitchen, it’s set to impress all manner of festivalgoers. The festival promises the cream of the UK’s street food crop and if you have littles ones in tow, you can keep them entertained in the fun-filled Little Dudes Den, join an arts & crafts workshop, enjoy the Big Top games or take a spin round the vintage funfair.
Tickets available at: https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/thebigfeastival
Best for……..Hanging out with A Listers
Wilderness Festival
Thursday 2nd – Sunday 5th August 2018
Created by the team behind Lovebox and Secret Garden Party, the award-winning Wilderness is an intimate, outdoor wonderland combining music, theatre, performing arts, outdoor pursuits and a range of culinary delights to create the ultimate boutique escape. Last year Belle spotted a squiffy David Cameron with wife Samantha, Benedict Cumberbatch and Game of Thrones’ Kit Harrington (Jon Snow) enjoying the main stage bands. This year will see headline music acts from Justice, Nile Rogers and Bastille and Groove Armada will spin a DJ set in the infamous ‘valley’. Festival goers can enjoy a feast cooked by super chef Ottolengi or watch the festivals’ polular Cricket match which last year saw over 30 streakers delight audiences in one afternoon. A must do.
Tickets: https://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/wilderness?camefrom=CFC_UK_MAMA_Wilderness_WBFLAG_2018
Best for…….Kids
Camp Bestival
Lulworth Castle, Dorset – 26th July to 29th July
If the sunshine is inspiring you to take a trip to the seaside this weekend then look no further than the award-winning Camp Bestival set in the beautiful Lulworth Castle next to Lulworth Cove on stunning Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. This year’s festival theme is ‘Camp Bestival sets sail’ which floats perfectly in the current heatwave.
Camp Bestival is an awe-inspiring multi award-winning family festi-holiday and this year is set to be better than ever with headline acts such as Simple Minds, Orbital and 80s star Rick Astley! The sister festival of Bestival, Camp Bestival has won Best Family Festival four times at the Family Traveller Awards. It’s jam-packed with entertainment and cultural delights such as poetry, theatre and shows, and you can even book in for a holistic massage to revive those aching limbs, but where it surpasses all other festivals is in its lashings and lashings of family fun and dress up.
Tickets: http://www.campbestival.net/tickets.
Best for…….Vegans / vegetarians and socially responsible Belles.
Shambala
Northamptonshire, 24th – 26th August.
With partners such as Oxfam, Frank Water and My Cause UK, Shambala was always going to be one of the UK’s most socially responsible festivals, and has gone on to win awards for being green. Pioneering, intimate and innovative, Shambala is located in a stunning secret Northamptonshire countryside and takes places during the August Bank Holiday. The variety and quality of entertainment on offer is staggering for a festival of its size. With over 200 diverse musical acts across 12 live stages including singer Gwyneth Herbert, world-class cabaret, an amazing array of workshops, stand-up comedy, inspirational talks and debates, circus and acrobatics, interactive theatre and nationally acclaimed poetry all housed in beautifully decorated venues. It’s also completely meat and fish free, making it the vegan festival of choice.
Tickets: http://www.shambalafestival.org/shop
Best for………Meat Lovers
If a vegan festival isn’t your thing then there is a three-day festival dedicated to meat in London’s Tobacco Docks which returns for its sixth year on August 31st – September 2nd. The event boasts a line up of outstanding culinary talent featuring London chefs Yotam Ottolenghi, Matt Brown (Hawksmoor), Ali Borer (Smoking Goat) and Jeremy Chan (IKOYI). Events taking place throughout the weekend include cookouts, talks from leading chefs and various masterclasses.
Tickets: www.meatopia.co.uk
Best for……..Laughs
Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 3rd to 27th August.
If you have never been to the Edinburgh Fringe festival then ladies it’s time to book those tickets and head up to bonny Scotland to experience Europe’s biggest arts festival. For three weeks in August the Edinburgh Festival Fringe opens the doors, streets and alleyways of an entire city to an explosion of creative energy from around the globe.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe will see thousands of performances across hundreds venues in the city. And that’s not including the International Festival, the Book Festival and the world-famous Military Tattoo. Added together, they become the biggest festival of arts in the world.
One of the reasons the Fringe is still one of the UK’s best festivals is the chance to see established global stars, as well as an opportunity to spot performers before they hit the big time. Totally open-access, the Fringe includes anyone with a story to tell and a venue willing to host them. Audiences can enjoy theatre, comedy, dance, circus, cabaret, children’s shows, physical theatre, musicals, opera, music, spoken word, exhibitions and events.
The Edinburgh Fringe is a magnet for creative producers, the industry and the media making it the biggest and most dynamic international arts market in the world.
For more information, go to: https://www.edfringe.com.
