I didn't quite cover everything I wanted to in my last post so thought I'd come back and tell you a little bit more about the festival with a bit less emphasis on the food this time!
If you are in the UK you will know that this weekend was a hot one, which made the setting even more idyllic, and if ever there was a festival that was geared up for outdoor living it was this one. Punctuated by a large lake, the site hosts everything from archery to foraging, wild medicine walks to cricket and let's not forget the boating and wild swimming...
The first thing you hit as you walk form the campsite to the festival is the lake and the hot weather meant it was a pretty popular place to be all weekend.
The lifeguard- now if this what being a lifeguard entails, then sign me up!
A particular draw of the festival was it's strong environmental ethos, which included heating it's Red Cedar hot tubs via a steel wood burner allowing them to maintain temperatures for over 10 hours thus reducing energy costs, to donating food waste to local food banks. Not that I canimagine there was much waste, when we turned up to The Mae Deli on Sunday afternoon they had sold out of everything on the menu!
One of the standout highlights to me was the wild medicine walk that has really left me feeling inspired. We ambled through the surrounding woodland, led by a real life medicine woman (dream job title) who taught us how to use the plants around us as remedies for a whole host of problems. It left me almost wanting a mouth ulcer so I could pop a bramble on and see if it remedied it.
I particularly loved her explanation of using the parts of the plant which are most active at that given time, for example using the leaves in spring, then the flowers once a plant has started to flower, then using the roots in autumn, as those parts will hold the most energy. Truly hooked, I even bought her book at the end, so expect to start seeing all types of infusions popping up here in the not too distant future.
Wild roses- use rosehips for regulating hormones, and reproductive health, dried and used as a tea infusion.
Silver birch- the bark of this is rich is salicylic acid, a natural disinfectant and antiseptic. Apparently you can remove a small strip of bark and apply directly to a sprained ankle for immediate relief.
For the yogis amongst us (not me, I'm dreadful at being still and calm), there was all manner of types of yoga to partake in, hotpod yoga, stretch yoga, pregnancy yoga, hatha yoga, acro yoga (I was so tempted by this, if I had any aptitude at all for acrobatics or yoga I would have definitely joined in). From afar, we sat and even watched paddleboard yoga- impressive.
The evening was when things really came alive. So many choices, you can buy a few beers and sit on the grass watching a performance, attend one of the feasts, sit under the starlight at the Mae deli, go to a Champagne bar, go dancing, watch a late night film, the list goes on...
For me though it was a no brainer and I headed to the Saturday night spectacle, which was simply breathtaking. Think tightrope artists on a highwire high in the air, walking and riding across lines of fire.
Culminating in a beautiful display of umbrellas lighting the night sky and changing colour.
Once morning came I made a beeline to Hix and grabbed some breakfast to go
Passed a couple of talks and even singing sessions, and nosily poked our heads in
Before setting up camp on the grass and watching the cricket.
Soon realising I have no grasp of cricket or the rules, once finished, I headed to Neals Yard for my deep tissue massage, and picked up a couple of Deliciously Ella goodies which just launched that weekend.
There's no pictures of the massage- obviously! But following that it was back to Petersham nurseries for one for the road before the long ride home back to Liverpool. I left feeling inspired and, following my amazing massage, relaxed- a bit different to how I usually feel when leaving a festival!
Wilderness festival is on next year August 3rd to August 6th at Cornbury Park , Oxfordshire- see you there!
