Can you think of a place where you can glamp (glamour camp), do yoga, have a natural waterfall shower, catch a Bjork show barefoot in your dreamy, vintage fairy-like gown, walk through fire, have some of the best food in the world while listening to the musings of an astrophysicist with a few hundred like minded new friends all under the sun and stars?
While that question was a mouthful, so are the offerings at the weekend-long Wilderness Festival in England. On its fifth anniversary (August 6th-9th 2015), the Wilderness Festival is located in an idyllic location in Oxfordshire just an hour outside of London. Forests, rivers, lily ponds and waterfalls are all located on the property.
The festival has a chilled, homegrown vibe that’s missing the crowded, pretentious feel of other festivals like Coachella or Glastonbury, where VIP bracelets and access rule. Everyone and no one is a VIP at Wilderness Festival, that’s the beauty of it!
This weekend festival welcomes adventurers of all ages. Festival goers are friendly and come from every walk of life. There are models and fashionistas, circus enthusiasts, celebrity chefs, hordes of easy-going families and a general mix of bohemian intellectuals and kindred spirits.
The lodging is designed for all preferences with clearly designated sections to keep the peace for all. Some designated areas include a family friendly camping section, the quiet, early riser camping area for those that require a quiet and restful night’s sleep and the upgraded Boutique glamping area consisting of pre-fabricated teepees, yurts and a luxury bus with section amenities including a bar, hair salon and other thoughtful “necessities”.
There’s too much to do at the Wilderness Festival and not enough time. Ironically, some of the best things to do are … nothing. A glorious weekend can be had simply people watching, swimming in the lily pond, hiking through the meadows and admiring the night’s stars.
But taking in live music, theatre, lectures, shopping, spa time and epicurean delights are all irresistible. Not to mention enjoying the stylings of each tent or food truck, unabashedly customized and decorated.
One of the largest sections of the festival is the gourmet offerings. Bring your own food if you must, but there are many not-to-miss food trucks and stalls to sample, as well as Long Banquet nights featuring top chefs and restaurants.
Splurge on at least one Long Banquet night. It’s an intimate experience where you sit shoulder to shoulder on long banquet tables while experiencing world class food like Spanish, African and Middle Eastern fusion dishes by Moro in an authentic Bedouin Souk tent.
Long Banquet Souk Night by Moro Restaurant
Or a menu by Niklas Ekstedt, founder of the Michelin starred EKSTEDT. Niklas uses only Scandinavian wood in a magnificent fire pit or wood-fired oven to give the food a truly unique character. No electric cooker, no gas burners.
Chef Niklas Ekstedt
Or the Food To Make You Happy Tent, focusing on nutrients, vitamins and antioxidant rich comfort food. Expect to think back to childhood memories while dining on Umami rich, bone broth and delicious DIY raw chocolate brownies.
Food To Make You Happy Tent bone broth
Let’s break the rest of the offerings down into enlightened gypset girl categories of Body, Spirit and Mind:
Body
The organizers have strategically planted wood-fired hot tubs throughout for a good soak while enjoying music by Arupa Gold, The Nightjar and Pearl Fish. A lakeside spa is also set up for massages and treatments to relax the body, offering champagne under the stars. For a morning wake up call, try the Tai Chi, Pilates or Yoga classes at The Sanctuary.
Spirit
Guided meditation is offered each morning, as well as a selection of evening lectures on self improvement and mindful living. Night and daydreaming at the Canopy and Stars yurt is facilitated with ethereal music, beautiful stories and a setting straight out of a fairy tale.
Canopy and Stars Yurt
Test your steel by doing the Wilderness Fire Walking Ceremony. The workshop prepares you for a powerful Celtic Fire Ceremony, designed to release old patterns and fears and make way for new beginnings. According to Oona McFarlane, Firewalk Instructor: “Participants will have the uplifting experience of making a physical commitment to their chosen path forward – clarifying their vision for the future, and gathering all their courage, passion and focus into taking that first step towards it, knowing that – as in life – there are risks involved and fears to be faced in order to make dreams come true.”
Mind
There are workshops and lectures for nearly every interest from foraging to cooking to writing to business to wilderness survival to meditation to the lost art of willow basketry to kite making for kids.
And to feed your cultural cravings, musical and theatrical performances happen throughout. Eclectic is the theme – folk artists, Burt Bacharach, George Clinton and Bjork take center stage while theatre is performed in makeshift ampitheatres and forest settings.
A forest theater production
Be sure to attend the Saturday Night Spectacle, a conglomeration of all performances with some fire thrown in for effect. Designed to “continue the tradition of large scale communal awe,” the energy of the crowd as they all watch, mouths gaping, is contagious.
After a weekend at the Wilderness Festival, how do you answer the ordinary question: “How was your weekend?” If you haven’t been to a Wilderness Festival, it’s time to discover it for yourself.
A special thanks to photographer Vanessa Jackman for her photos of the Wilderness Festival.
