How to Prepare for a Festival

Summer is almost upon us, and that can only mean one thing… festival season! Welcome back the wellies and waterproofs; it’s going to be a muddy one. But the question is, which are the festivals to watch out for? This might be your short break in the UK for this year so you need to get this right!

If you managed to get your hands on a ticket, then lucky you! You go ahead and pack your glow sticks, milk thistle and baby wipes. Some of us are still trying to decide which ones to keep an eye out for. Need some inspiration? From sunny Leeds to Spain’s beaches, here’s a rough guide to Festival Season 2013.

Glastonbury Festival (image courtesy of Sally Halliday)

Leeds Festival

An event which always promises an amazing atmosphere is Leeds Fest. From fresh faced teens to characters you spot year in year out, Leeds definitely has something for everyone; an aspect highlighted by this years’ incredible line-up. Many consider Reading and Leeds as traditionally being an ‘indie’ festival, but that’s far from the case! Like hip-hop?  Then you’ll be happy to hear that iconic rapper Eminem will headlining the event. Big fan of drum and bass? Then don’t miss Chase & Status, who never fail to pull off a world class performance; what’s not to like?

Leeds Festival (image courtesy of Zoe Pickard)

Benicassim Festival

Providing that wonderful combination of sun and good music, if you’re offered the chance to head to Benicassim this year then grab it with both hands!  Full of fun party feeling, Benicassim is the perfect event to get you in the mood for summer. Located on the south eastern coast of Spain, you could either camp close to the beaches, gorgeous sun kissed sands, or stay closer to the festival itself; the choice is yours!  And when you’re not watching the likes of The Killers and the Arctic Monkeys, there’s plenty to keep you entertained in the surrounding area. During the day, you could indulge in some traditional Spanish cuisine or visit its national park, ‘Desierto de las Palmas;’ there’s never a dull moment!

Benicassim (image courtesy of Shivam Maini)

Outlook Festival 

Fancy heading to Croatia in 2013? Then if the opportunity arises, be sure check out this year’s Outlook festival. Recognised as the largest drum and bass festival in Europe, Outlook is edgy, vibrant and a great way to finish your summer in style. It prides itself on its ‘good music,’ so if you hate anything remotely commercial, this is the festival for you. What’s more, Croatia is an absolutely stunning country to visit. With exquisite turquoise waters and endless beaches to explore, you’re guaranteed to fall in love with the place. It’s like music to our ears…

Forest Holidays Sherwood Forest Cabin Break Review

You don't have to travel out of the country to have an amazing break away, there are some fab places for a short break in the UK and Forest Holidays cabins are the perfect example. Forest Holidays sites are very no-nonsense in my eyes; they literally have the cabins, a forest retreat which is like a little cafe and shop and some organised walks and a few activities. Nothing costs a fortune, if you wanted you could literally take everything with you food wise, never move from your cabin and not spend a penny for the whole holiday.

We chose to go in a 'Golden Oak' cabin which just basically means it's a little more luxury with nice little touches like dressing gowns and slippers. We also got a private hot tub and a log burner, we also paid extra to be able to take our dog with us (£10 per night) and also paid for the optional extra 'entertainment package' which gave us free wifi and loads of films on demand in the cabin, the only major thing it was missing was a DVD player but you could take your own as there are connections for one.

I could literally live here, I'm not even joking it is so home from home it's unreal, with everything you have in your home to stuff you don't like a hot tub, a log burner and under floor heating. Such beautiful surroundings, the perfect getaway! We bought all our food and stuff before we came; treat ourself to some of the nicer bits that Tesco has to offer and of course got a bag full of chocolate and other sweets. I took all my favourite beauty stuff with me because I had full intentions of pampering myself silly while I was there. You can actually pay and hire in a beauty therapist to come into your cabin which I bet would be absolutely lovely but I figured that I can do most of it to myself anyway and I find pampering myself therapeutic in itself.

Everyday we took Jasper for a walk in the forest and it was especially lovely because everywhere was thick with snow! There is also Sherwood Pines just a very short walk from the Forest Holidays site where there are lots of different activities and things to look at; there's a Go Ape! I do believe, where there are zip wires and the like as well as the opportunity to hire bikes. We didn't do any of this we just went on the planned out walks but if you had a family or wanted to be a bit more active then Sherwood Pines would be fab. We'd call at the Forest Retreat on the way back and get some bits like freshly baked bread and paninis and then we'd head back to the cabin and get settled down for the night. The cabin is obviously kitted out with full kitchen facilities so most nights I just cooked our tea but you can actually order a freshly made pizza from the Forest Retreat which we did one night and it got delivered to our cabin (you order it through the TV... how clever is that!?).

 The joys of being a spaniel in the snow! Those snow balls were a pain to get off!

I would recommend a Forest Holiday to anyone, they're perfect for so many reasons. Couples, families, get togethers, hen parties (as long as you don't cause trouble obvs!). They have sites all over the country, from Scotland down to Deerpark so there's sure to be one near you somewhere! Price is also another great selling point; the week we went in January cost around £390 for a 6 bed Golden Oak cabin with the entertainment package & price of the dog to stay, so if you went with another 2 couples it'd cost you less than £150 per couple for 4 nights... I think that's fab!

Next time I really want to try Forest of Dean in Hampshire because it's a part of the country that I've never been to and I just really fancy it... I can't wait already!