Take the hassle out of camping at Camp Bestival with Pitch Village
We love Camp Bestival but there are two parts of the weekend that we don’t look forward and that are very hard work – finding a pitch and setting up the tent.
Lulworth by nature is very hilly and depending where you pitch your tent, it is either close to your car or close to the main site. There are lots of hills to climb and dragging a trolley full of camping equipment and /or kids is very hard work. It normally takes us 5 or 6 trips to and from the cars to get all our camping equipment and clothes to our pitch. We have to take two cars too as we cannot fit four children and the tent in the car all together.
Last week I was introduced to Pitch Village on twitter and think it is an AMAZING idea. Pitch Village finally takes the fuss out of festivals so you can get back to enjoying the bands and amazing atmosphere! They are a “pre-pitched accommodation provider” which means they will have everything from the tent pitched to the mattress inflated before you arrive on site.
Simply choose your festival and tent, let them know what extras you want (they’ll even plump your pillows and get in some chocolate biscuits!) and enjoy your weekend!
What’s included?
They’re festival fans themselves and have spent many a weekend moaning about what they miss, so at Pitch Village they’re excited about all the benefits they offer with: Flushing toilets, hot showers, free phone charging facilities, a pamper station, free caffeine and 24 hour customer support – to name but a few!
I have to say this makes me a little bit excited as much as the portaloos were mostly ok at Camp Bestival, nothing beats a proper flushing toilet.
What should you bring?
Apart from your party hats?! Well, they recommend as little as possible. They’re all about waving goodbye to hauling heavy bags all weekend. But they do have a few recommendations:
- Sleeping bags or air mattresses – they don’t offer these as standard (unless stated otherwise for a specific event)
- Sensible footwear (it’s very hilly!)
- Warm clothes (the nights were freezing last year!)
- Waterproofs (let’s be honest, it’s the UK after all!)
- Suncream
- Refillable water bottle (there are plenty of free water stations to top up all around the site)
- Wet wipes (they have showers, but these guys are our heroes!)
- Phone charger (they’ll give it the juice it needs to keep going!)
- Medications (if you take medication, make sure you pack these first to be comfortable all weekend)
Are Pitch Villages family friendly?
Very much so! They design the Villages to be the most hassle-free, inclusive options for your festival weekend, therefore they have everything from family facilities to quiet zones and even fridges for baby food and baby change toilets.
When do I need to arrive?
Whenever you like! They are open 24/7 on site, taking away the stress of queueing for tent spots. Hooray!
What do I have to do when I leave?
They close at mid-afternoon – the same general time as the festivals. When you’re leaving, pop by reception to claim any valuables they’ve been storing and also just to say cheerio!
What do Pitch Village do with the tents/equipment after the festival?
The average UK festival tent is used only ONCE which is not only terrible for the environment but also a huge waste of money! With Pitch Village, if they deem the equipment to be in tip top condition, they’ll use it again to create our lovely eco Villages. But once the tent is no longer suitable for their Village, they promise to either recycle, repurpose or donate the tent to a worthy cost. They’ll give them to these causes directly, ensuring they’re going to those who really need them. That’s what being a Villager is all about!
Pitch Village are also at several other festivals over the summer including; Bestival, Belladrum, Hebcelt and Festival No. 6.
Having looked into this there are prices are really reasonable too and less than buying a brand new tent for us. We will definitely be camping with Pitch Village this year!
Their social media team is super friendly and helpful so if you have any questions you can find them on facebook here, or on twitter at @PitchVillage
Ness
What a big help! I hate putting the tent up especially when the kids are so excited and what they want to do is to get straight inside it!
JuggleMum, Nadine Hill
Ooh Pitch Village sounds excellent! I can’t believe they will even supply the chocolate biscuits!! haha. It sounds like a much easier way to have a smoother arrival and departure at Camp Bestival – we have been and it is indeed very hilly. You manage so well with 4 children – I can’t wait to hear more about this year’s festival!
Jenni
What a fab idea! Makes it so much easier and always a bonus to have a flushing toilet x
Michelle Twin Mum
Our family have never done a festival as yet and this seems like a pretty pain free way to do it. Mich x
Jen
This would be ace for a family like ours that has so far to travel like us. Also for one that doesn’t have everything
Louise
This sounds brilliant! Lugging the camping gear from car to pitch is a arduous task! And proper toilets and showers – I am sold! Pitch Village would definitely take the stress out of the festival experience and very reasonably priced too xxx
Emma White
oh some great tips here I have never been camping before but I know the kids would love it
Tori Gabriel
What a fantastic idea! I would love to visit festivals and things but as non drivers it’s impossible to get two kids and the buggy and all the baby bits AS WELL AS camping equipment on public transport. Think you’ve just solved it!
Sarah | Boo Roo and Tigger Too
One of things that puts us off festivals is all the camping equipment that we would need to bring with us, but Pitch Village sound right up our street
Cass@frugalfamily
I love this ideaas we don’t have all the camping kit so we’d spend a fortune getting all of that and then have the hassle of putting it up – this is so much better x
Rachel
Now this is a brilliant idea, it must save some people an absolute fortune on buying equipment they just dont need x
Hannah Budding Smiles
I absolutely love this idea! We went to Carfest last year and ended up not camping because Toby was terrified of the tent and then we found out I was pregnant and my sickness kicked in! We’d definitely look at doing this for the next festival we go to xx
Zena's Suitcase
This sounds like an awesome idea. It can be so stressful sorting out the tent etc when you have small children running around and this sounds ideal. So many bonuses for using this service I think
ali
this is an awesome idea, I’d love to take my family to a festival but the thought of being camped next to a bunch of teenagers partying all night puts me off. (toddlers need their sleep!) to have a family friendly area like this would be perfect.
Sonya Cisco
Such a fab idea – lugging all our stuff up that hill nearly killed me last year!
Baby Isabella
What a great idea! We’d love to roll up to a festival and not pitch up! We’ve got an eight man tent and it’s massive! At Blissfields last year it took an age to put it up. My mummy spent an hour chasing me around a tree to keep me occupied! 🙂
Grant R
A great idea. Leaves you with all the fun of camping without the fuss & nonsense. Inspired!
DannyUK.com
This sounds like such a good idea. Something to bear in mind for later this year.