In the congested area of the mid size festival The Wilderness Festival stands out as a beacon of what can be achieved when the organisers have a creative imagination.  Now in its second year The Wilderness 2012 was as close to perfection as any event can achieve. Its combination of good music, literature, wonderful food, late night parties, kids activities and this year the marriage of convenience with Vintage Festival was a winner with everyone.

In its inaugural year it won best new festival and we doubt it will be the last award they receive.  Set in the beautiful surroundings of Cornbury Estate in Oxfordshire the sun shone down, there were ‘Polaroid’ moments around every corner and it was about so much more than just the music of which there was plenty.

By day you could join in a discussion, listen to a talk or join in one of the many outdoor activities scattered around the forest and park.  Wilderness clearly appealed to a lot of families with small children and had a dedicated children’s area with circus skills, arts and crafts along with a lunchbox stall where the children could pick up various food items for 50p each.

The daily banquets were a communal feast and meeting of minds, delivered by three exceptional chefs and included delights such Crayfish with nutmeg butter, Barbequed shoulder of lamb and blackcurrant blancmange with shortbread.

If you just wanted to sample the food offerings there was a multitude to choose from and if you picked the right time no long queues.  Moro was on hand with their unique take on Spanish and Middle Eastern dishes. There was plenty for the vegetarians including a fish stall and holumi cooked in a variety of ways including curry.

For the meat lovers there was even a Game stall offering venison and other treats, it all tasted great.

There were probably more tea and coffee on offer than any other festival this year and loved the Jaffe & Neale bookshop cafe which had scrumptious cakes alongside daily book signing a quiet place to chill.  If that was not enough for the food lovers there was the Thyme Food School offering classes such as How to smoke river trout to making your own sausages.

If you wanted to holistically balance your mind and soul there was the Lakeside spa with cloakrooms, hot tubs around the picturesque lake, a sauna and various massage treatments.

Or how about for the more active morning runs, fly fishing, camel rides, bike riding, yes there was camel rides! Other quirky workshops included the laughter workshop which literally had people crying with laughter. Learning how to knit, a dating agency well lets just say instead of a lanyard of events it was a small booklet of all the festival had to offer. Did we mention the evening skinny dip challenge!

This year the festival was joined by Vintage festival bringing along their second hand wares, a beauticians and hair parlour, a roller disc, The Soul Casino and The Torch Club a lovely tented area with stage, cocktail bar and dance floor for both novices and the aficionados.

It saw afternoon tea dances with the Wilderness festival goers donning masks and Indian headdresses fox-trotting alongside dancer s dressed to perfection 1950’s style and GI Jo’s. But it just somehow seemed to make sense in an eccentric British way.

Natty congo and his Flames of Rhythm saw the mix of both festivals filling the club to capacity on the Saturday night with the dance floor literally bouncing up and down.

For the party animals it continued into the small hours of the morning with the like of Rumpus stepping outdoors on the Friday night. The Old Vic tunnels Hodmedod masked ball on Saturday and Secret Garden Party Rise of the Tribes on Sunday.

Some of the musical highlights included:

Jake Bugg delivered a great set of folk inspired rock, which certainly got the afternoon crowd into the right frame of mind.  The set started with acoustic numbers including Country Song before picking up the electric guitar for the new single Taste It and the inevitable and appropriate (a certain Jamaican was taking London 2012 by storm the same day) finale of Lightning Bolt. 

Melbourne’s finest Temper Trap were the ideal choice of band for the late afternoon early evening slot, Dougy Mandagi’s vocals were as haunting as ever, but alas his banter with the crowd was not.  The set was a fairly equal match of tracks from their first album Conditions and the 2012 offering The Temper Trap.

Saturday’s headliners were Rodrigo and Gabriela with the Cuba Orchestra, i.e. Rodrigo and Gabriela with a backing band, which gave their sound significantly more depth and rock/jazz feel which was great.

Over in the Soul Casino there were queues to see the legend that is Norman Jay playing an interesting mix of iconic tracks.

The Keston Cobblers Clubs brand of folk went down a treat at the bandstand with festival goers of all ages, while people played croquet in the background.

We enjoyed lots of the other bands including We Are Evergreen who went down a storm in the barn run by the London Folk Guild, but the festival was about so much more.

After attending many festivals of all shapes and sizes you sometimes go to one which has that something extra that puts it head and shoulders above the others and stands out giving you that wow factor, Wilderness 2012 this was you.

Review Linda and Michael Game Photos Claire Williams Photography