Camp Bestival 2015 review: A fine family festival with a hefty dose of silliness

That joke about toddlers being like drunk adults sprang to mind and a giant party catering for them both is an undeniably excellent idea

Finale fireworks above Lulworth Castle on day 3 of Camp Bestival 2015, Lulworth Castle, Dorset. (David Jensen / EMPICS Entertainment)

With sand, sea and even a castle Camp Bestival takes the most civilised of festival settings and injects a heady dose of silliness with fancy dress, creative staging, dingly dells and serious infrastructure for families such as a giant kids' garden, resulting in it winning awards for 'best child-friendly experience' year after year.

Camp Bestival co-founder Rob da Bank told me a few years ago that he and his wife Josie only started th Dorset festival, a little brother to the Isle of Wight-based Bestival, when they had children and realised how difficult it is mixing kids and partying.

Targeting the acid house-parent this year's shindig was as eclectic as only a party catering for both toddlers and ageing ravers could be. The main Castle stage played host to Clean Bandit and Cbeebies' Mr Tumble. And on Saturday night The Crazy World of Arthur Brown had to compete with a brilliantly irreverent bedtime story for the kids by TV's Dick and Dom.

The Sunday Best club night roots of the whole shebang was evident from the techno-heavy lineup in the Bollywood tent, the silent disco in the Big Top and the presence of 808 State and Underworld on the main billing. Yet despite the throwback tunes on offer it was all round a very grown up affair with adults apparently as well behaved as their children (the only puking I witnessed was as the result of too much sugar) and swathes of parents took their offspring back to their tents way before the headliners. "What time is so-and-so on?" I overheard on several occasions. "Oh, really late. 9pm, let's give it a miss."

(Picture credit David Jensen / EMPICS Entertainment) (David Jensen / EMPICS Entertainment)

Those that did stay up past bedtime had ingenious means of maintaining good parenting while partying hard - the most popular being renting a trolley, filling it with soft furnishings and tucking the kids (ear defenders firmly in place) up to sleep in a mobile bed that could be dragged from stage to stage while it's occupant dreamt soundly. Many of these enviable vehicles were pimped up to the nines with fairy lights, wagon roofs and other decorations. Only in the Bollywood tent where the bass was turned up eardrum-burstingly loud did the little darlings in appear to have trouble nodding off while mum and dad threw shapes.

Clean Bandit and Professor Green were Friday night's highlights with the former getting the crowd into high spirits and dancing wildly. Saturday's top billing Kaiser Chiefs who took to the Castle Stage at 10pm. The festival stalwarts were predictably good but their set was marred by dodgy sound engineering. Alison Moyet, who had played earlier in the evening, was equally plagued by poor sound levels with the bass turned up far too high and overshadowing her normally rich and booming vocals. Nevertheless her delivery of early 80s Yazoo tracks as well as later solo hits were a winner with the old school crowd.

On Sunday Ella Eyre and Soul ii Soul did the business with aplomb early evening and the party ended on a massive high as Underworld delivered a grooving slice of Nineties techno before an incredible display of fireworks filled the sky over Lulworth Castle.

The conflicting schedules of parents and children meant some of the big stages were embarrassingly empty after dark but there were a few lively corners made up of hardcore groovers regardless and the festival maintained the balance of interests admirably. That joke about toddlers being like drunk adults sprang to mind on several occasions throughout the weekend and a giant party catering for them both is an undeniably excellent idea. Heartily recommended.