Bearded Theory Festival 2015 Review
Bearded Theory Festival
Catton Hall, Derbyshire
21-24 May 2015
Reviewed by Ella Richardson
We were very excited setting off for Bearded Theory Festival at Catton Hall in South Derbyshire as we had heard it was a fantastic festival for kids, so we took our four children 8 years, 5 years and twin 3 year olds. Confirmed music line ups were James, Buzzcocks, Alabama 3, Misty in Roots, The Beat, The Mission, Afro Celt Sound System and lots more.
They advise you not to take the satnav route which we were a bit panicky about that as we use our satnav for everything. So once we got closer there were signs, if I’m honest they weren’t very clear so next time we would give a bit of extra time to find it as we did get lost a couple of times. We finally found the carpark and unloaded all our camping stuff, with all 4 kids was pretty tough, little did I know the massive trek we had on our hands from the car to the festival, it felt like miles with screaming kids so anyone that’s going next year please pack light and make sure you are ready to carry lots of stuff quite far. Luckily we didn’t have to go back for anything.
Once we got to the park it was totally worth it though the vibe as soon as you entered the festival was amazing and the people were so friendly, you could tell it was family based. We used the toilets straight away and they were really clean and full of toilet roll, which from past experiences at other festivals isn’t usually the case.
We went to the main music arena and the variation of music was fab, all music that you can think of as well as a tent that was dedicated to just dancing, though when it was dance music you could hear it throughout the park, so maybe a tad loud but every seemed to be having loads of fun in there. I think that the general feeling around the park was fun! Loads of fun little gimmiky shops and entertainers walking around.
We next headed for the children’s area which was fantastic, with drumming workshops, magicians and dancers plus much much more! Arts and crafts and lots of little shows and face painting, the kids really really enjoyed it there and couldn’t wait to get back there the next day. We spent the night boogying away to the fantastic music and feeling very safe and lovely, the people were amazing and all there to have a good time.
The campsite was lovely and actually not as noisy as other festivals we have been to before. We then spent the second day back in the kids tent and listening to the amazing music again but also the kids were on the rides, they would of liked to have done more but they were a bit on the expensive side, it would have been good to have a pass so you could use the rides as much as you wanted.
All in all a fabulous time had by all with the various music arts, children’s activities and the camping experience.
Rating: 4/5
For more information visit www.beardedtheory.co.uk.