Vintage at Goodwood

If you are a lover of glamping and all things vintage, then I simply insist you check out the festival that everyone is talking about and after the amazing success this year,  Vintage at Goodwood will be the hottest festival ticket of 2011.

  

It was the very first of a fabulous annual music and fashion led festival, that celebrated the 40s through to the 80s. Situated in the outstanding location of The Goodwood Estate in Chichester, West Sussex,  this years festival had everything you could wish for, including an amazingly cool high street that was designed like a wild west film set, with shops that included John Lewis,  Waitrose,  The Body Shop and even a coiffeurs that could give you an instant beehive so you could take your vintage self to the max!!

The music was a fabulous array of talent that has come out of Blighty over the decades, and this year Vintage At Goodwood didn't let any genre down. They covered every aspect of the 40s,50s,60s,70s and 80s, and didn't forget the inspirational figures that have made British music so recognisable over the years. The amazing line up included, The Faces, Wander Jackson, The Damned, Mica Paris, Swing Out Sister, Heaven 17, John Miller Orchestra, Danny Rampling and Norman Jay to name but a mere few, click here to see the full programme. 

Every little detail stylishly thought out,
 The Vintage at Goodwood entry wristband

With it also being a fashion led festival there were beautifully choreographed catwalks, and for all the vintage shopaholics out there,  their dreams were realised with the largest, coolest, vintage fashion bazaar known to man. As the finer details were the organisers strong point, they even made sure there was a same day alteration service, so if you did buy yourself a little vintage gem, you could make it the perfect fit too, fabulous dahling!
There literally was something for everyone,  Burlesque performances, comedy acts, dancing workshops, where you got to learn The Funky Chicken and The Twist (to name but a few). A funfair, fashion workshops and so much more that I simply can't write it all down, so click here for more details. What did one have to pay for all of this fun under one festivals roof, well it was a mere £55 per ticket for the weekend, and kids under 12 went free.

If that little lot hasn't made you want to buy your ticket 12 months in advance (although I don't think they are actually on sale yet), let me tell you about the most exciting bit for us Happy Glampers, the camping accommodation and WOW, what a choice there was! The general camping was situated next to the main event, it cost £15 per person, for the whole weekend, to pitch up your own tent. There were lots of clean, flushing lavs and a whole load of lovely showers and vanity areas too. 

The amazing beach hut style vanity areas,  so you could look utterly glamourous at all times

There were the many different glamping options of varying prices, some far more expensive than others. If you opted for the proper posh camping, it came complete with chefs cooking you breakfast using all organic produce from The Goodwood Estate.. Hello heaven!
You had the choice of Hotel Bell Tent, luxury Tipis and Yurts in the Indian reservation, Geo-Domes, Gypsy Caravans, Podpads and last but definitely not least,  Bell Pads!

At the draw dropping amount of £2000 per tent for the weekend, Hotel Bell Tent at the Kennels was the most expensive option. Each tent slept 2 adults and 2 spogs and each booking included:

*  Concierge service with a dedicated telephone number for general assistance and random requests

*  Breakfast in bed and your choice of newspaper delivered to your tent each morning

*  Unlimited use of the refreshment tent - serving tea, coffee and cool drinks all weekend

*  Posh loos for during the night

*  Dedicated locker with robes and slippers provided for the trip to and from your ‘campsite’

*  Pressing service, shoe shine and hairstylist in Locker rooms each morning

*  Laundry service

*  Dedicated transport to and from the site throughout the weekend

In the Indian reservation you could hire yourself a tipi or a yurt, 2 man yurt £500 per tent for the weekend. 2 man Tipi £600 per tent for the weekend. 6 man Tipi £1,200 per tent for the weekend. 8 man Tipi £1,600 per tent for the weekend. Included in the price was the already erected tent in a private and exclusive area in the woodland, a VIP camping assistant, fully inflated airbeds,  breakfast delivery service in the morning of a bacon butty and cuppa and not forgetting, the use of the  posh loos and showers..

Then there were the Geo-Domes, these are meant to be the future of camping!! Hmmm, not very pleasing to the eye are they?  But who knows,  they could be a grower with a little, LOT of bunting!  They slept 4 people and it costs £1000 for the weekend per tent. Not completely glamping, but the added extras of what was included in the price gave it that glamping edge, with the already erected Geo-Dome in a private and exclusive area in the woodland, a VIP camping assistant, fully inflated airbeds,  breakfast delivery service in the morning of a bacon butty and cuppa and not forgetting the posh loos and showers..

I absolutely love gypsy caravans, I think they are ridiculously gorgeous and an incredibly romantic way to glamp it up at a festival. For your one thousand english pounds, you could have hired one for the weekend. They fit in 2 adults and 2 children and all the bed linen and blankets you needed for a snuggly night sleep were provided. You also got the VIP camping assistant,  breakfast delivery service in the morning of a bacon butty and cuppa and the all important posh loos and showers.

Also on offer, were the Bell Pads. The beautiful bell tent (4mtr diameter) was already erected when you arrived on site, with 4 inflated airbeds inside. It cost  £800 for 4 people, and the price also included your VIP camping assistant,  breakfast delivery service in the morning of a bacon butty and cuppa and the all important posh loos and showers .

Lastly, you could hire yourself a cute little podpad. A friend of mine was lucky enough to stay in one said that they were very roomy inside. Each one had a solar powered charger point (12V), a light above the door and to finish it off proper guttering, just in case of that festival downpour. It cost a reasonable £500 for 2 people, and as always the price also included your VIP camping assistant, breakfast delivery service in the morning of a bacon butty and cuppa and the all important posh loos and showers.

I absolutely LOVE the concept of this festival, every little detail has been thoroughly though out and I truly think that  Vintage at Goodwood has given all the other festivals out there a blummin good run for their money.  See you there next year....

If you went to Vintage at Goodwood this year and have some pictures and would like to share your experience, I would love to hear from you.. 

Moon & Sixpence

Suffolk

We arrived at The Moon and Sixpence in Waldringfield, Woodbridge on a sunny Sunday afternoon.  Always a little nervous when staying at a new campsite, concerned that we may be pitched next to the Addams Family, its happened before you see. However on checking in, we found out that we could  chose our own pitch, which even though was a novelty, immediately sent me into panic mode and we jumped into the car and rushed off to find the best pitch before anyone else could!  We must have driven around the touring site for at least 20 minutes, stopping at different pitches and surveying them as if our life depended on it! Is this just me, or am i simply possessed by some camping demon??!! After much "debating", a possible divorce and my hubster rolling his eyes so much to the back of his head that we nearly had to take him to hospital to have them corrected, we settled on pitch 62.  It was right at the end of the field, tucked in a corner near a beautiful reed pond and the water feature gave a theraputic sound that instantly relaxed you. 

The campsite has strict rules, no screaming and absolute quiet from 9pm till 8.30am, with all children safely tucked up in their tents. There is also a no visitors allowed policy during August, which was unfortunate for us as my parents were on holiday themselves up the road!  We broke both rules! 

It wasn't an intentional 'breakin' the law, breakin' the law' (Judas Priest), I simply had a few small issues that I couldn't inwardly keep contained, them being wasps! I.HATE.THEM, and with it being wasp season, every 5 minutes I was breaking the code of silence with an ear curdling scream and running for my life! My family, especially the kids were incredibly embarrassed of me, but it is the only way I can deal with them!

Here is proof of my fear of wasps, a moment captured by my husband (to his joy), when I jumped into the safety of a freezing cold pool to escape a rather large one. Me 1 - Wasps 0

Once the tent was set up and I had located the can of Raid for protection, we all went for a facilities inspection. A to the MAZING! A lovely Norwegian lodge that houses, 3 shower rooms and 2 bathrooms (some of them have loos in too),  6 separate toilets,  a huge laundry room and a fantastic washing up room and they all have radio 2 playing, which I have to say is quite comforting if you need a midnight tinkle!

There are plenty of things to do on site to keep the kids occupied,  a play park, a zip wire, tyre swings, a private lake and beach.  Off site there are many places to visit. We went to the unspoilt seaside town of Aldeburgh, which is my new favourite place in the world and I want to live there. They have many fabulous places to do a little retail therapy, and the best place to get lunch is at The Fish and Chip shop where you will always find a queue outside, but its well worth the wait. 

We spent our one rainy day in Framlingham,  in a delightful pub called The Crown Hotel. Amazing food and the staff were simply the nicest, friendliest people,  we all came away totally relaxed and had very content bellies. 

Our other find was The Friday Street Farm  shop, in Saxmundham. There are lots of lovely farm shops in suffolk, but this is the one where we found the most delicious smoked meats, I highly recommend the smoked turkey and their smoked bacon. 

All in all  we had a wonderful time and I was sad to leave... 

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