Beautiful Days begins and it's perfect for little ones

Beautiful Days 2011

Friday 19th to Sunday 21st August 2011
Escot Park, near Fairmile, Devon, EX11 1LU, England MAP
£110 for adult weekend tickets (including camping), teenager (14-17) £60, children £30 - SOLD OUT

Daily capacity: 13,500

Our toddler was very very keen to get going this morning, no relaxed sitting around with a cooked breakfast for us, she ran straight over to the Redwood 'stage' to join the other children playing and collecting sticks and pinecones. We took her up to the Children's play area, past the lengthy shower queue, to have a climb on a small climbing frame and slide, she wasn't quite sure about the bouncy pyramid, but it looked like great fun for the bigger kids, and a few adults. There was also a small library and play area for smaller kids, hosted by some of the travelling community in their proudly hand-made yurt.

The 24 hour cafe and the Tea Bus were doing a great trade already, serving cooked breakfasts, and people were enjoying the sunny morning sitting around on the grass and carved benches. We walked past the Dirty Davey stage who were setting themselves up for a packed line-up of music, talks, poetry, ancient Greek Tales, interviews and late-night open-mic sessions.

We had to stop and say "Hello" to the giant metal robots who greeted everyone on the main entrance to the site, then we followed our toddler's lead who made a beeline to the huge Children's area, straight to one of the many tents busy already with children and parents watching an entertainer. Having a good look around, the Children's area as always had everything for everyone, of all ages; 5 tents with packed schedules of crafts and entertainment, circus skills, a mini traditional funfair, a teen tent, trampolines and a stark warning that the area was not a crèche and any unattended children would be sold to the circus.

Under some protest, we dragged our daughter away to continue exploring and we walked through to the main arena but we were distracted by a drumming troupe playing on plastic barrels and pipes, and doing a fantastic rendition of 'Just Can't Get Enough'. We stood and watched them, but were soon pulled away the huge bouncy castle and slide were spotted.

The main arena was packed with a vast array of food stalls and some shops up on the hill; we carried on walking not quite ready to camp up for the day, up the hill to the Little Big Top, home to the comedy, late night dance music and the headphone disco (a new addition to the programme for this year). More sculptures were dotted round for us to look at; a giant lizard made out of an aeroplane fuselage was crawling down the hill, you could sit inside and have a great view over the main arena, or climb over the top as many children were doing.

We spent the afternoon sat on the hill overlooking the Bimble Inn enjoying the sunshine, some Orchard Pig cider and listening to Rosie Eade, an enchanting folk singer, her soft guitar ballads were just perfect for a warm sunny afternoon. Then the little hill and bar filled with people to see Hobo Jones & The Junkyard Dogs, favourites with everyone there, who treated us all to a raucous set, including a fantastic cover of Gina G, 'Ooh Aah Just A Little Bit (Cider's What I'm Looking For)', 'American Idiot' and Levellers' classics, 'One Way' and 'The Riverflow'. You can't help but love 'em and even a very grumpy, freshly woken toddler joined in, especially when they finished the set with, 'What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor', one she knows well.

We headed back over to the children's area again and spent a good few hours in the Cubbyhole, a play tent for children of all ages, with bikes, mini climbing frames and a covered sandpit outside, and toys galore inside. The slight slope proved to be a bit of a challenge, as some determined children insisted on trying to pull up a stool in front of the play kitchen, and use an ironing board and phone at the same time; but topple backwards; but it didn't stop them. A welcome shade for children and parents, and we could listen to the music on the main stage, as the little ones played dressing up.

We finally got to settle down in the main arena and watch the music in the late afternoon, and treat ourselves to some ice-cream and food. The sun went down really quickly and the evening drew in, the trees round the main arena lit up and everyone gathered for Gogol Bordello, ready for their eccentric, energetic gypsy-dance tracks, and they didnÂt disappoint. Their songs had a reggae/gypsy fusion, and deep, bassy funk vibes, and they ended their set with everyone's favourite, 'Start Wearing Purple', intro'd with Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'. We all needed a good sit down after that, including our daughter who climbed into her buggy for the night, leading to us miss headliners, Big Audio Dynamite, whom we heard went down well with the gathered crowd.

review by: Sandra Pitt

photos by: Andy Pitt / Danielle Millea / Karen Williams