Blissfields have been perfecting their art for the last 15 years and this year went off with an almighty bang.

We arrived on Thursday evening after a bit of a ridiculous detour down country lanes trying to avoid the motorways in our camper. Set near Winchester in a gorgeous little valley with huge trees and open spaces we were instantly relaxed by the helpful staff and warm welcome. ‘Park where you like’ was a refreshing change to being crammed bumper to bumper at most festival campervan fields. The site is actually really easy to find, and the extra £18 for Thursday camping proved totally worth it when we saw the queues of people waiting for wrist bands in the blazing sun the next morning. Costing well under £100 Blissfields is good value and avoids corporate sponsorship brilliantly.

Although Thursday doesn’t feature any bands on the main open air Singularity stage, there was plenty happening and it was a lovely chance to explore the site while it was still quite. My kids headed straight for the famous Blissfields hammocks and we headed to the bar (£5 pint / £4 cans). Feeling immediately relaxed when we realised there was very little chance of losing our 9 and 5 year old for very long we checked out my favourite venue of the weekend, The Larch. A low slung tent and home of an array of acoustic blends and eclectic entertainment. The brilliant Daisy Chains were entertaining a small crowd, some sat on big comfy sofas and some dancing, with plenty of space for the kids to run around outside, explore the installations and roll down a big hill.

Everything at Blissfields is easy. We didn’t wait more than a few minutes all weekend for toilets, food, drinks or even to track down the kids when we had lost them for the hundredth time. 

We were totally blown away by the love and dedication of everyone involved in this event. It’s clear from the effort that goes in to the décor, the friendly stewards and even the firm but fair security that people love this event. We saw very little trouble all weekend, and considering there are a huge number of teenagers on site we were really pleased that it still felt safe and fun with our kids. Yes, there are big groups of bikini wearing neon kids partying hard all day and night, but there didn’t seem to be the aggression and aggravation that we have seen this bring at other events.

The main stage was opened on Friday at 1:30 with the gorgeous voice of Flo Morrissey who is someone to watch out for. We loved her, and what a perfect way to start a brilliant line up for the weekend.

Friday highlights for us were the crowd surfing Dub Pistols on a sunny Friday afternoon. These guys know how to get the party started. So much more fun than work and school!

Photo: Blissfields

The master poetical words of Blissfields veteran Beans on Toast followed by Cosmo Sheldrake was an awesome way to start a slow and mellow Saturday. Beans of Toast, always a great entertainer, and Cosmo a true story teller, mixing natural samples and his vocal cords in to mesmerising sounds. A new experience for us, Cosmo portrayed all sorts of his personal adventures including Bulgaria mountain trips, rabbit dog encounters and strange sheep noises through hypnotic tunes.

Nothing could top Saturday afternoon and Grand Master Flash in the sunshine. LEGEND. He even took time to visit the kids area and spin some tunes with a few mini DJ’s. And I guess that’s what makes Blissfields so special. The artists, crew and guests all blend perfectly. Enjoying the happy vibe across the site and soaking up the Blissfields love.

For us, it was a chance to relax properly without worrying where the kids were. Being able to circulate the site in less than 15 minutes meant that we actually spend time watching music and enjoying the activities rather than just walking and walking. I think we probably saw more bands this weekend than we would normally do at Glastonbury!

Other new musical highlights were Winterhours who started to a small crowd but ended up filling out the Now & Den tent. Followed later by Kassassin Street with a super energetic singer who was channelling a young Mick Jagger with a sound reminiscent of Mika. Watch out for their drummer – this guy knew how to play.

Photo: Blissfields

The headline acts at Blissfields 2015 were The Horrors, Public Service Broadcasting, John Grant and Simian Mobile Disco but it was definitely the less well known acts that stole the show.

Managing to cram so much music in to one weekend was a new experience for me and only possible due to the safe feeling across the site and the great activities and adventures on offer for the kids. The Angel Gardens crew work really hard all weekend entertaining little ones in the kids’ area and the brilliant bit about it is you don’t get pestered constantly for money. All the activities are free and even the craft village has reasonably priced activities for older kids and adults. Woodcarving, basket weaving, jewellery making and leather craft are all available with skilled craft workers, we even watched some chainsaw art.

Special thanks to The Crafty Rascals for letting our kids make stone necklaces with them all weekend. You guys are fabulous and don’t know how much we appreciate your generosity for helping them while we enjoyed a dance.

Food at Blissfields was reasonable with plenty to choose from. Our favourites were the Pommarola Pizza Garden with their sticky climbing wall (Pizzas £7), and the Split Screen Icecream Co. delicious ice creams and waffles from £2 (just don’t distract the driver!). The Pad Thai from Bangwok came highly recommended, as did the Asian Grub Foundation, but as we were in a camper we had lots of food with us. Another tip if you are taking fussy kids as the festival seemed totally cool with us pulling up with a picnic (unlike many others where we've even had water confiscated).

Central at Blissfields is the playing field Time Warp Sports Day crammed with loads of silly traditional games with a twist. A huge water fight was a brilliant way to cool down on a hot weekend (It NEVER rains at Blissfields – or so I’m told).

There were lots of other things happening across the site all weekend. Although the festival is small it’s pretty impossible to get bored. The Electric Dreams cinema showing some classics as well as independent films all weekend. The Hidden Hedge, which is a completely separate area and set in the woods. More of a cool and quite place to chill in the day, this area comes alive at night, and along with the Bliscotheque was where all the late night madness was happening.

Our 5 year olds favourite bit about the festival was the décor. You can see there is a lot of effort put in to making the site comfortable and appealing. There are plenty of pretty seating areas, sculptures, rowing boats, hammocks and even crashed airplanes and cars to explore.

Area 51, which is hidden away through The Hidden Hedge, hides some darker, more unusual installations. My daughter was totally intrigued by the shelves of babies in jars and cyberpunk tree sculptures, and pretty scared of the vibrating torture chair.

Summed up by our 9 year old. Blissfields is ‘wild and weird, crazy and creative’.

It’s hard to find anything wrong with Blissfields. If you really had to pick a down side then perhaps the music purists out there would complain about the sound clash in places, only due to so many great venues in a small space. It was difficult to hear some of the brilliant new bands in the Now & Den tent unless you were right inside without the Bliscotheque or Back of the Bus interfering. We probably noticed this more as we were with kids and sometimes wanted to hang at the edge of a tent or stage. A small thing, but we thought perhaps things could have been slightly more spaced out allowing for less of a clash and more calm areas.

Small but perfectly formed, Blissfields crams more in to a field than you could possibly imagine. The entertainment and activities are great with something for everyone. The vibe is totally chilled and it’s easy to see why it’s included in so many ‘Top UK Festivals’ lists and is certainly high up in our ‘Best Family Festivals’ now. Blissfields have worked incredibly hard over 15 years to build an event and reputation many of its big brother festivals will be envious of.

We will certainly be back. We love you Blissfields!

Review: Sarah Ryman @afieldsomewhere

Super early bird tickets on sale for 2016 now for just £75 here.

Read Blissfields 2015 festival review by Daisy aged 9 here.