I first experienced Camp Wildfire last year. It rained non-stop, I was covered in mud, but it didn’t deter me from returning for more.
This underground festival, which mixes outdoor adventuring with musical revelry, is pretty unique.
On this year’s menu, there was a whole host of activities to tantalise campers, from beekeeping classes to tie dye workshops. New offerings included zorbing, ice cream-making and natural headdress building.
Thanks to an online scheduling system, this year was much more organised.
Before I landed in the Kent countryside – just a 30 minute ride from London Victoria – I’d built up an itinerary that was set to keep me busy.
Activities started from 8am and lasted until the early hours. Hottubbing and marshmallow roasting were some of the nighttime offerings.
After getting to the picturesque site around 7pm on the Friday evening, I pitched my tiny one-man tent alongside my friend Lauren’s pop-up abode.
We quickly made friends with our neighbours – everyone at Camp Wildfire is super friendly – and the night gradually descended into a magical haze of glitter, epic sunsets and dancing.
Bizarrely this year Craig Charles was headlining. I had no idea that alongside acting, DJing is a big passion of his and he has been touring the country with his Funk and Soul show, which started out as a programme on BBC Radio 6.
The main tent was buzzing and everyone was in good spirits. Charles’ music got the crowd going and there was some pretty wild dancing going on. At one point we were all up on stage.
Lo and behold, I missed my 8am yoga session the next morning. But I managed to make it to my 9:30am beekeeping class, which was a big highlight for me. Sam, from the London Bee Company, gave a masterclass on the art of keeping bees, and we got to try some of his delicious honeys, which definitely helped rectify my hangover a little. And yes, we did get to wear the costume, head netting and all!
Next up, I was meant to go extreme watersliding, but due to a slight technical hitch the activity had been shut down. Instead I joined a natural headdress-making session, where I whipped up a twig and flower crown, complete with a sprinkling of glitter.
After soaking up some lunchtime sunshine, I participated in a yoga class on the lawn. It was absolutely divine bending and stretching outdoors, with the birds crowing and the light beating down on our bodies.
After burning some energy, I went to revitalize at my ice cream-making lesson. A mother-and-daughter team who run their own craft workshops in London, showed us how to make vegan slushies using frozen bananas, icing sugar, chocolate powder and vanilla essence. The desserts were pretty yummy and we also had a go at making dairy ice cream by shaking a bag of cream in a bag of ice. It wall got a bit messy, but that’s what Camp Wildfire’s about… If you’re precious about dirt, this isn’t the place for you.
Finishing my Saturday off with a bang, I headed to the high ropes. After harnassing up with a team of pros, I climbed a giant climbing frame and leapt from around 30 feet high on the ‘leap of faith’ challenge.
There was more partying on the Saturday night, but it was a bit more mellow than the previous night. Even in the secret night club, disguised in an old gardening shed, it appeared people were more in the mood for backgammon over boogying.
In a bid to see the night out in style, a group of us went for a soak in the hot tubs, before drying off by the fire with some hot chocolate warming our cockles.
Sunday came around fast. I didn’t want it to end.
My final class before leaving Camp Wildfire, was firelighting. We were shown how to rustle up a fire from scratch using natural tools. I felt very in touch with nature, as I produced some sparks by striking a lump of flint.
After regrouping, Lauren and I headed back to our tents, packed them up and headed back to the train station. We were joined by two men who we’d made friends with over the few days. They told us they’d done speed dating yoga that morning after failing to make the singles swing dancing class.
They also told us they hadn’t been to bed, after finding a piano on stage and playing until the sun came up.
That’s the beauty of Camp Wildfire, everyone has completely different adventures in the same stretch of wood. But everyone’s stories are equally wacky and wonderful.
You have to go to understand.
Weekend tickets for Camp Wildfire start from £99 with 50 activities included and evening entertainment. For more information, visit www.campwildfire.co.uk