By Eve Bell

41 years old and had never been to a festival. The mister has never been able to convince me. Now we have a campervan, I had zero excuses.

Well, I absolutely loved it. We all did. This is definitely a good place to get the festival bug. The festival is only an hour away from home which meant we could pick two excited kids up from school and be there at 5pm.

Set up and ready to head in. Kids are beside themselves with how muddy it was. Probably one of my highlights is just watching kids being kids. Feral, filthy and happy as pigs in shit.

Bell tents, fairy lights, rope swings – as the sun went down, it felt like we were in a secret garden designed by Willy Wonka. You get me at fairy lights wherever I go but this was something else.

Free rides on vintage fairground rides, bow making workshops, crafts galore and small enough to let the children go free and be independent – ticks all the boxes for the kids. And us. We were able to enjoy workshops and talks while they had fun with new found friends.

Running my own business, I am a sucker for a business book or a hundred. I have a slight obsession with The Do Book Company, who publish inspiring and concise get shit done type books. Their tent and talks were top of my hit list. Listening to Mark Shayler blew me away.

Best moment? Sharing proper belly laughs with my boy watching Michael Rosen. What an absolute legend. Memories are made every day with children, but this was something else. I have never seen his eyes so alive and full of magic. A precious, precious memory.

Right up there was Mike Garry and his poem for Tony Wilson – Saint Anthony. Being a proud Mancunian, this poem is one I have read a lot but never seen with a string quartet. Goosebumps.

The organisers of this festival have absolutely nailed it. Inspirational people, hands-on workshops and great acts. But best of all, it is not oversold. It always felt comfortable with no queues. Apart from the pizza. And that was worth queuing for.

Tickets bought for 2018. Cannot wait to do it all again. Especially now we know what to expect. We only scratched the surface.