I CAN’T say my weekends are usually spent dressed as a fox in the middle of a forest, springing about in an aerial bungee or learning Bollywood dance routines.
But I certainly wish more of them were.
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I was at Camp Wildfire in Kent – a three-day festival that’s far from your average Reading or Glastonbury experience.
A bit like an American summer camp but for grown-ups, Camp Wildfire incorporates outdoorsy activities like tree-climbing and paddleboarding with campfire singalongs – and, importantly, cocktails.
Upon arrival, festivalgoers are asked to join one of four teams: Foxes, Badgers, Hawks or Squirrels.
One pair of fluffy ears and face-paint whiskers later, I had made myself part of the Fox patrol.
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Forget scouring a lanyard for your favourite bands’ set times – a weekend here begins by charging into a games arena with your new animal teammates to take on a series of Sports Day-style games like tug-of-war that will earn your team “Patrol Points”.
You’ll fill your entire festival with your pick of 100 activities, from beekeeping to rifle shooting, all while collecting points for a grand finale at the end.
I chose to begin with quad biking – I truly can’t think of a better wake-up call than riding into the breeze through the Kentish countryside, taking in whiffs of wild mint.
Next came flower headdress-crafting, followed by a potion-making class that left me smelling of lavender and clutching some homemade skincare.
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By this point I was feeling like a total wilderness goddess, which gave me the confidence boost I needed to channel my inner acrobat for my final activity of the day: twirling on the aerial silks. All of this before 5pm left me in serious need of a drink.
Thankfully, there are regular cocktail masterclasses, where visitors can learn to pour favourites like the perfect Pornstar Martini ahead of the nighttime acts.
Evening entertainment at Camp Wildfire is some of the best I’ve experienced.
Yes, there’s great music, with everything from Disney singalongs to reggae and techno dance tents.
But there are also fabulous comedy acts, a board games bar and even an astronomy tent for stargazing.
The music continues well into the early hours but with laser clay shooting first thing in the morning, I made sure to rest up.
Precision was equally as important for pyrography, where I decorated a wooden coaster with a heated metal pen, although it was less critical for aerial bungee.
If you’ve never jumped around in a giant harness, pulling Superman shapes and Spider-Man jumps, I highly recommend it – you’ll split your sides laughing and become more flexible, too.
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My final activity was a Burlesque class, where I managed to bag a Patrol Point, but sadly, it wasn’t enough for us Foxes to take the lead.
That didn’t stop me cheering on the winning Hawk team at the dramatic closing ceremony, though, where all visitors are invited to enjoy an impressive drone show.
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We’ll get ’em next year, Foxes!
- ULTRA-earlybird tickets for Camp Wildfire 2027 are live now and cost from £259pp for the weekend. Super-earlybird tickets go on sale from October 2 and start at £269pp.
- All tickets include general camping. For details or to book, see campwildfire.co.uk.