So we've finally settled back into normality after an amazing four days at End of the Road Festival and I'm still feeling a bit wiped. F has bounced back into his routine with a skip and a hop while my brain is taking longer to get up to speed, but hell it was worth it. We've been going to End of the Road – without fail – for six years and have watched it grow from a fledgling festival to one of the best on the festival circuit.
Set in the stunning surroundings of the Larmer Tree Gardens near Salisbury, it was a family friendly long weekend full of magic and twinkling lights. F was ecstatic at the prospect of camping as usual and was very keen to help with the mallet and tent pegs, so we hauled our stuff over to the quiet area rather than the family area allowing us to pitch with our friends – this actually turned out better than last year as it seemed to be closer to the main area and there wasn't the thunderous roar of kids going past our tent at 6.30am.
During the day we spent our time wandering through the woods, sitting on blankets in the warm sun listening to music, testing out our circus skills, reading Dr Seuss in the woodland library, watching pirate puppets, eating an enormous amount of amazing food, chilling in the Badger Inn, and spotting the peacocks and macaws that were roaming freely. In the morning we'd grab ourselves some tea and toast and head over to the cinema tent to nestle down to a bit of Disney or Studio Ghibli, while the other of us had a lie in and nursed their head.
As dusk settled in and F danced in pj's and wellies, a more electric and magical vibe took over. We ate dinner by the roaring pit fire, hundreds of twinkling light shone down through the woods, the warm glow of the food stalls and bars called out to passerby's, the light up disco in the woods came to life and the everyone seemed to be buzzing. We both tried out the Silent Disco on alternate nights, exchanging £10 for a set of headphones that switches between two tracks while dancing like a loon and singing aloud to your favourite songs. Only to lower your headphones once in a while to realise that everyone sounds completely out of tune and half of the tent are dancing to a different beat. Hilarious fun!
What made this festival great for me – apart from randomly receiving hand delivered letters by the festival postman throughout the weekend, using only a brief description of what we look like and where we might be – was the chance to hang out with friends, let F explore the outdoors and for us to hold hands and listen to music.
It's the small details that make this such a great festival: from the secret gigs to the art sculptures, the piano room to the hidden showeroke – yes that is a hidden shower cubicle/karaoke booth in the woods, the hay bales and fur blankets that line the floor of the tipi to the post office. The best festival has to be End of the Road.
Early bird tickets are now on sale for 2014, make sure you don't miss out.
