Timber Family Friendly Derbyshire Woodland Festival Review 2019 (Review Visit)

We were very honoured to be invited back to Timber Festival for a second time to review this year and it was even better than the last one. A very laid back festival which intertwines arts and nature, and takes place in the woodland in Derbyshire. It's a place I really feel at home...

Timber Festival 2019 took place on Friday 5th to Sunday 7th July at Feanedock, near Ashby de la Zouch in the National Forest and it was, to put it bluntly, epic*.

*Except for the bit where I drank 'not enough water', bumped into Stuart Maconie and told him who he was, that I hadn't caught him on stage this year and that he'd just done the Jarrow March - clearly he already knew most of that, so I'll just pretend that never happened...

Photo heavy - click on an image to enlarge it...

We arrived around 6pm, set up camp, collected our wristbands and went into the festival. There's plenty going on, even after 8pm on the Friday. The sunset was amazing, as was the view from the top of the big hill - all across the site and over to where they are still quarrying. You relax immediately...

We quickly discovered the temporary kingdom of Cardboardia - something we were quite excited about joining in with, although we weren't entirely sure what the heck it actually was.

The light boxes in the photo below were made by young people from Youth Landscapers. There were a lot of youth groups at Timber, including Extinction Rebellion (who were speaking and taking part in debate). It has a very eclectic mix of people and that's one of the things I love best about it.

Saturday started with some rain, but it was warm enough to play out.

We caught Phill Jupitus, made a miner's pick for the Cardboardia procession (Minecraft-inspired naturally), listened to Seams - a soundscape created by Geoff Bird, scoured the maze to find the hidden letters TIMBER and got a little bit damp.

My 9 and 10 year old boys couldn't believe anyone would get in a hot tub outside, yet were happy to lie in a wet hammock in the drizzle... This is standard for children.

We really didn't even cover half the site that first few hours, but we got our bearings, chatted to everyone and learned loads about bees - including that the Beekeeper is also scared of them and their eyesight is so bad they'll fly into you if you flap.

By teatime the rain was clearing and we could see the sun on it's way. We headed for the campfire - which is possibly our favourite place on site. There was a real mix of family-friendly music, performance and storytelling, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

A highlight of the whole festival for me was People Express (photo above). It really caught me. Listening to the words of Derbyshire LGBT+ people of all ages really took me back to being a 17 year old. It was still illegal for my peers to be gay and I went to a huge Christmas party as 'plus1' pretend girlfriend for a gay friend who had been reported to the Police.

It came on a day one of our grown up children got the keys to go out properly into the world and rent a flat with his boyfriend - a proud moment for any parent or step-parent, so my OH and I were both already emotional. I cried buckets at how bad it was when we were his age, and how far we've come. We aren't there yet, but one day...

The Giant Marble Run was epic!!!! I want one now, in my house. You can race hundreds of marbles at once. The illuminated woodland animals were also epic, and the puppets looked even more alive as darkness really fell.

Saturday evening saw another fantastic sunset - and my youngest demanded I took photos. Rather than just a blinding glare, I thought you'd better appreciate a sideways angle and how golden his hair was...

Sunday and we were up bright and early! We were camping, there's no other way! 6.30am was a touch earlier than expected, but it was a gorgeous day and again we made the most of it. Archery, giant games, ping pong, mad trampolinist Max Calaf, circus skills and maypole dancing before lunchtime!

Ah yes, lunchtime. Timber Festival hasn't cottoned on to the Glasto-style 'Eat For a Fiver', but the food is really good. Genuinely tasty with fresh ingredients and made in front of your eyes. Both the Tibetan Kitchen vegan and meat dumpling meals were gorgeous, incredibly filling and well worth the £7/£8 we paid for them. 

We went back to the 'As The Crow Flies' campfire area in the afternoon, and let the boys get busy at 'Hammer And Chisel' building a big thing. Professor Pumpernickel was well on form - as were the audience!

At 4.30pm Sunday it was the Cardboardia Parade. When we arrived they had boxes full of spare outfits and tools, two clear teams of Forest v's Miners and The Baghdaddies to play us all along...

Look - a photo of me! I was there too! Ignore the bra strap.

The two teams had a mini stand off on the big hill and while was deciding whether or not to climb it with my few stomach muscles, I heard a massive "rawwwr" from the top of the hill and then all the kids cheered.

There, right at the top was a mad Scotsman with wild hair wielding a cardboard jackhammer. Well, at least I knew where my partner had got to.

Have fun much?

We decided we'd spend the evening at the campfire again, nipped back to the tent for refreshments, and discovered someone familiar in the programme...

There was a real attempt to make Timber as ecologically kind as possible. Refilled glasses, ample free tap water, cardboard food trays, a special bus stop outside, arranged bike convoys and safe bike storage, carbon offsetting and eco-toilets are just a few of the measures they take. It's the first time I've seen compost toilets used on this scale and it's marvellous.

Sunday evening is always quieter, but it still had a full programme of events. There is always lots to do and see, whatever your age or interests. This year we didn't do any of the guided walks or nature talks and we missed the circus troupe Lost In Translation entirely (my 10 yo gets too scared they'll fall and doesn't enjoy it). We only caught a handful of debates and performances on the Field Notes, Elemental stage and Eyrie Stages and we didn't watch any cookery or other demonstrations.

We did however have an amazing weekend jam-packed with a million and one other moments...

Timber Festival is a collaboration between the National Forest Company and award-winning arts organisation Wild Rumpus, who specialise in showcasing arts and culture in the natural environment. It is a fabulous event for individuals, couples, groups and families of any age. You WILL learn something, and you will miss being outdoors when you get home....

 Find out more about Timber Festival, it's ethos, location and performers, and get ready to book your tickets for next year, on the Timber Festival website.

To get a different opinion, see Hodgepodgedays Blog Review, Marvellous Mrs P's Blog Review and you can find our review of the 2018 Timber Festival here. 

We were given free entry in order to review, but paid all costs for the weekend ourselves.