Just So Festival Review 2019 (Guests to review).

We love Just So Festival and my 9 and 10 year old boys were delighted when we were asked back again this year to review. We are big supporters of the team behind Just So, Wild Rumpus, who bring together nature and the arts to give families unique experiences they'll remember forever.

Just So Festival's 10th Anniversary took place in the usual Cheshire woodland location of Rode Hall and created a real festival to remember forever, and one for your CV if you work in events management!!

I've been to many, many festivals over the years and for the last 25 I've had children with me. It's really easy for it all to go wrong when the rain hits, and it hit Just So really hard. One month's rain in one day, as 5000 people arrive and attempt to start their festival weekend. It's the stuff of nightmares for any event organiser. They did fantastically.

The staff and volunteers gave everyone just enough leeway, and the festival attendees had enough common sense, to make it work safely for as many people as possible. I'm truly sorry to anyone who didn't make it in the end. For most of us at least, the festival went ahead virtually as planned.

It was a festival of the arts and the outdoors, and nature was determined to reassert the fact she is bigger than all of us.

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...

Timber Festival - back in the Derbyshire Woodlands 5th-7th July 2019 (Press Visit)

Last Summer we had the most amazing time at the first ever Timber Festival and I'm delighted to say they've invited us back again this year to review. The setting is Feanedock, a gorgeous 70 acre woodland in the National Forest in Derbyshire, and the programme is absolutely packed with all kinds of theatre, music, dance, performance, arts, workshops, discussion and debate for adults and children aged around 5+.

Timber won Best New Festival at the UK Festival Awards and they were a worthy winner. My boys are now 9 and 10 and were ecstatic when they heard we would be returning this year - even when we told them we'd definitely want to go and see Stuart Maconie talk about rambling again.

Timber is the festival for hippies, eco-warriors, tree-huggers and laid back types of all ages. If you want to sit in beautiful, natural surroundings listening to live bands, talks and stories, watching theatre and joining in debate, it might just suit you too.

There is an eclectic mix of entertainment on offer at Timber and a hint of what you'll find is listed below. I'm particularly excited about Cardboardia myself... The photos are from 2018 and don't represent exactly what you'll find this year, but it'll give you a good idea...