The Rise Of The Lifestyle Festival: Why Wilderness Needs To Be On Your Radar
We’ve all done Glastonbury, V Festival and Reading, and, TBH, we’re kinda over the mud, the mosh pits, the cups of pee flying through the crowds and the detrimental lack of sleep. Fortunately, there’s a new wave of festivals that allow you to get some shut eye, enjoy some restaurant quality food (yes, really) and even indulge in a cheeky massage. And the creme de la creme of these has to be Wilderness.
Tucked away in the Oxfordshire countryside (we’re talking forests, rolling fields and a spring-fed lake you can rinse off your hangover in), Wilderness offers a weekend escape for all ages - with a whole lot of fun thrown in.
Here’s 10 reasons why it should be on your radar…
Get Active
Whether you’re a regular yogi or a fitness-phobe, there are wellbeing and lifestyle events for everyone. It’s not all huffing and puffing either: We enjoyed a morning mass yoga session in the sunshine, followed by a dance-off challenge in the afternoon (accompanied by several ciders.)
For the more actively advanced, there are yoga and barre workshops throughout the day. We even spied a masterclass by Russell Bateman, of Skinny Bitch Collective fame, and a Saturday running club gathering for a few miles around Cornbury Park, where the festival is held.
Work Hard Play Hard
Despite the wellbeing programme, it’s still a festivall. Once the sun goes down, there are huge parties in the surrounding woodland. We loved the enchanting raves held in The Valley, a place occupied by grazing deer in the morning and flooded with lasers and giant floating balloons at night.
No inner city music curfew out here in the countryside either - the party went on until the early hours.
An Eclectic Line-Up
Although Wilderness is not solely focused on its music line-up, there was still a great music programme. Everyone from to Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin rocked out on the main stage; Andrew Weatherall held a rave in The Valley and the Wilderness Orchestra presented a David Bowie tribute with Charlotte Church.
Discover Something New
The activities programme is so vast that we can safely say you will find something you won’t have tried before. A few of our personal firsts included holding a friendly chameleon, smoking our own trout outdoors and learning to make a natural herbal insect repellant with Neal’s Yard Remedies.
Fine Dining Al Fresco
Festival food often means us shelling out a small fortune for a droopy burger but at Wilderness, there were some real feasts to be had. Our firm favourite was the Hix banqueting tent, where award-winning restaurateur Mark Hix treated us to roasted lobster and melt-in-your-mouth beef ribs, alongside beautiful heritage beetroots and toasted walnuts.
Served in big sharing platters with accompanying Bloody Mary’s, we swapped stories with new friends and old - now THAT’S festival food we can get on board with.
An Afternoon Boat Ride
Even if you’re not the ‘outdoors’ type, you’ll totally get on board with a relaxing row down the river. Once you figure out how to stop going in circles, that is.
You can re-enact the Boat Race with your friends, or just lazily drift downstream - it’s just nice to be out of the grassy field and onto a different terrain.
Get Cultured
Music isn’t the only thing to watch. We spent a lazy afternoon lying on the grass and being blown away by the Rambert Choreographic Platform, a showcase of up-and-coming choreographers and dance companies.
There were also plenty of opportunities to engage your brain with 177 hours of hosted talks and debates. The speakers included the likes of Sir Martin Rees, the astrophysicist, right through to Simon Reeves, the BBC travel presenter (and our secret guilty crush!)
Find Your Inner Peace
After a big night in the Valley, step into the Meditation Yurt and “ohhm” your way back to your normal self - it’s surprisingly invigorating. Equally invigorating is a relaxing soak in one of the lakeside hot-tubs in the Sanctuary spa. They even serve you champagne.
If you really wanted to find your focus, other options include a chanting session with crystal singing bowls or a gong bath (lying in front of a large gong and being bathed with sound). It’s equally fun to just watch and wonder what’s going on.
Style It Up
When it comes to festival fashion, we love how a festival suddenly releases everyone’s inhibitions. Normally for us, a festival means a splash of glitter and something floaty thrown on but at Wilderness, we saw human pastel unicorns, dancing goblins and even groups of head-to-toe gold Oscar statues.
We love an excuse to wear fancy dress but if you’re stuck for ideas, Wilderness has a suggested theme each day to guide your style choices.
Wash Away Your Hangover
There’s nothing more glorious than diving into a crystal-clear lake on a hot summer day. A splash around really helps you to feel refreshed after a busy morning (or a busy night before!)
The lake at Wilderness drew a large, happy crowd but if you’re not up for getting your hair wet with no hairdryer to hand, there’s still plenty of sunbathing on the bank to do.
With such a great range of things to do,watch and eat - Wilderness was easily one of our favourite festivals of 2016. The relaxed atmosphere and varied programme means that there really is something for every person and every mood. That, plus the camping and toilet facilities were amazing. Who knew festivals could be like this?
What do you look for in a festival? Tweet us your thoughts @YahooStyleUK.
[Photos: Wilderness Festival]
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