Many may think that having children might put an end to big festivals with big headliners, but Camp Bestival proves that nothing is further from the truth. Whether you have tiny tots or teens there is something to keep every age happy. This was our 7^th year at Camp Bestival and up to now we have experienced everything that Camp Bestival has to offer children, but this year we took along our now teen daughter and saw a new side of the festival, freedom! Camp Bestival has an area called The Den exclusively for 13 to 17 year olds, strictly no adults, giving teens the opportunity to relax safely away from the adults and our daughter loved it.

Photo: Camp Bestival

The weather on the run up to Camp Bestival wasn't all that good and we prepared ourselves for colder weather, well we didn't need to worry about that, we arrived on Thursday to a scorcher and the weather did not change all weekend, clearly Mr Da Bank has friends in high places! Our Thursday was spent setting up camp, drinking with friends and relaxing before 3 fun filled days.

So what to do on the first day at Camp Bestival, catch some bands, watch some spoken word, listen to some DJs? Oh no not us we decided to get Married! This year saw us celebrate our 15^th Wedding Anniversary and what better way to celebrate this milestone than ‘renewing’ our vowels in Camp Bestivals new inflatable church. Along with our friends, who also were celebrating 15 years, we went along to the ‘church’ got all dressed up in very fetching wedding gowns (just the brides) and were married by a very charming and funny vicar, exchanging our Haribo rings. It was a very unique festival experience and one we would recommend to everyone. Either by luck, or probably good planning the cocktail bus was located right next to the church, so that was our Camp Bestival off to a great start.

So who better to follow that up with than Camp Bestival regulars The Cuban Brothers on the Castle Stage, so regular they have their own festival catch phrase ‘Is that the Castle?’! The Cuban Brothers are Camp Bestival, fun, funky, energetic and a lot cheeky. More of a show than a set, they fill their slot with funky music, comedy chat, acrobatics and audience participation. I defy anyone to leave their show without a big smile on your face, how they are not bigger defies logic, everyone should have a bit of Miguel in their lives!

Camp Bestival always brings together at eclectic mix of new and old music, but this year was definitely filled to the brim with current chart toppers with Wretch 32, Professor Green and Clean Bandit playing Friday and Slaves, Ella Henderson and Ella Eyre playing Sunday. Definitely a musical festival that appealed to the large teen audience.

Have to say that Wretch 32 wasn’t top of our list of acts to watch this weekend, well not for the adults anyway, but we were pleasantly surprised. As rap fans our perception was that it would be diluted down pop rap, but with infectious beats and catchy lyrics, Wretch 32 really stood out as a great act for a family festival appealing to the young and old. His performance of the beautiful '6 Words' was up there as one of my festival moments of the year, heartfelt and moving, a song about family really summed up the festival for me.

Wretch 32 was perfectly followed on the main stage by Professor Green, another family crowd pleaser. Offering up his mix of gritty rap style with beautiful soulful vocals, he wowed the packed audience. Half way through the set he apologised for not being on best form due to illness but it was impossible to tell from his energy and enthusiasm.

If there was one band that we would pick to see this year it would be Clean Bandit, their album New Eyes played on continuous loop in our car for months. Camp Bestival was Clean Bandit's first festival headline slot and if they were nervous you wouldn’t have known it. With their amazing blend of classical string with electronic music, they kicked off their set with 'Real Love' to an amazing reception and in no time they had the whole Castle Stage singing and dancing. It was also an amazing visual show, with impressive lighting and ever changing visual graphics on the backdrop, a fully immersive experience. With the absence of the vocalist that appear on the studio tracks, singing duties were replaced by the amazing Elisabeth Troy, who flawlessly sang songs previously sang by both male and female artists. The standout moment of the set had to be the encore of 'Rather Be', a fantastic end to an outstanding first festival headline.

Photo: Camp Bestival

Saturday morning is all about the younger Camp Bestival goers starting the morning with The Cat in the Hat Live, followed by the true star of Camp Bestival Mr Tumble, always pulling in a bigger crowd than any other act at the festival. But for those without little ones the idea of going near the Castle Stage is a no no, we like to call it Trolley Saturday! Navigation of the stage is like something from the Krypton Factor and over the years we’ve learnt to avoid it. Sadly this was our biggest mistake of the year, having decided to avoid the early main stage we missed George the Poet and a decision we really regret. Speaking to a friend who did do battle the trolleys to get to see him said that his performance and words were so moving they bought a tear to her eye. Hopefully we’ll catch him at another festival soon.

If Friday was all about the new, Saturday was all about the old, the classics. Kicking off the afternoon music was 1970s British funk group Cymande, who got the crowds moving and warmed up for the act I was waiting for, Alison Moyet and she didn’t disappoint. The years have done nothing to diminish her amazing vocals, belting out all her classics, some with a modern twist, the songs kept coming, including her work with Yazoo. But the true highlight was hearing one of the greatest 80s pop classic 'Love Resurrection', another stand out moment of the festival.

Next up on the Castle Stage was The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, another artist that still sounds amazing after all the years and didn’t show any of his 73 years, performing on stage like a man half his age. Still his flamboyant self with face painted green and red he commanded the stage and the audience. But the true highlight of the set was 'Fire', he wore the now iconic fire helmet for a short while but it was shortly replaced by a dancer behind him representing the fire, at his age I think wearing it at all was an achievement.

I stayed around after Arthur Brown to catch a few Level 42 songs but for me it lacked the power of the previous acts, but the big crowd seemed to be singing along to all their classics.

Photo: Camp Bestival

Saturday night headliners were Kaiser Cheifs but it was the biggest conflict of the weekend with 808 State playing in the Big Top. In the end it was an easy choice and 808 State won out with a set of their classic tunes updated with grit and industrial bass, bringing their music out of the 90s and right in line with what the crowd wanted. Over the whole weekend, we didn't see a more crowded and energetic tent as everyone danced, hollered and got lost in 808 State's infectious set.

Showing our age this year, or was it too much sun and Jam Jar cocktails we didn't make it to the Silent Disco.

Photo: Camp Bestival

Sunday could have been a really disappointment with last minute running order changes due to Bob Geldof running late. This meant that Ella Henderson moved up to fill his slot, something that was only advertised on the main stage screen. If we hadn’t have been walking past the Castle Stage we would have missed her and that would have been a huge disappointment. It’s hard to believe that Ella Henderson is only 19 years old, she commanded the stage and audience like an artist double her age. Her fantastic pop tunes were perfect for a very sunny Sunday and finishing her set with Ghost she left the crowd wanting more.

Photo: Camp Bestival

So where do you go from the pop sounds of Ella Henderson? Well if you’re Camp Bestival you throw a curve ball with the amazing punk sounds of Slaves. Not sure if everyone was expecting what was to come but clearly everyone loved it, especially when the lads got the whole crowd doing mantaray impressions and singing and shouting along to their amazing tune 'Feed The Mantaray'. The lads were on top form chatting with the crowd and gaining a lot of new fans along the way. In a largely pop line-up Slaves were a breath of fresh air.

We saw Soul II Soul earlier this year on their reunion tour and have to say we were disappointed. Their striped back, soulful sound had been replaced with a much more multi-layered music, losing a lot of the original charm, so we went to see Soul II Soul with some trepidation. All of those fears were alleviated with the first song, back to basics, back to what we know and love, maybe you could say back to reality! Caron Wheeler along with superb backing singers beautifully sang hit after hit but the true highlight was when Jazzie B came out from behind the decks to perform Jazzie’s Groove, always and forever a musical hero. Soul II Soul a true highlight of Camp Besitval.

While the ‘teens’ watched Ella Eyre we relaxed outside Bollywood in the sun, taking in the tunes and popping in for the occasional dance. The great thing about Camp Bestival is that there is something for everyone and always something to do. The Magic Meadow is filled to the brim with music, whether it’s Bollywood, Nando’s Extra Hot Sound System or Blue Coats and their retro tunes, whatever your musical preference you’ll find something to fulfil your needs. For a little peace we had to The Lower Kids Field which homes the Guardian Literary Institute, another of our favourite places at Camp Bestival, the home of Satin Lizard Lounge Spoken Word and a vast array of talks and Q&A session.

We weren't overly keen on Underworld as a Sunday headline act, usually a slot reserved for family crowd pleaser's like Happy Mondays and Basement Jaxx, so decided to spend the final night of the festival in Bollywood with the fantastic Balearic Bothers and Thunder DJs. But such is Camp Bestival, if you don’t fancy one act there is always something else to entertain you.

For everything we've mentioned in this review there are an equal number of things going on that we couldn't fit in. Really you can’t appreciate the astounding array of activities, music, spoken word, food and drink available at Camp Bestival unless you go. So if you have a family, young or old get yourself to Camp Bestival 2016! Because to quote Clean Bandit ‘There’s no place I’d rather be’

Review: Charlie Greenwood Photos: Andre Merel and Camp Bestival

Early Bird Tickets on sale for 2016 10am on Friday 7th August 2015.