Having previously been to the Truck Festival and hearing good things about this smaller sibling festival, the idea of the Wood Festival being an intimate, hassle free, small festival set in lush Braziers Park sounded like the perfect way to spend a weekend. Whilst there was a good selection of music programmed on two stages, the most intriguing aspect was the extensive list of workshops including yoga, tai chi, thatching and handicrafts. There were also an array of children’s activities including circus skills, singing, puppetry and face painting, and an impressive list of speakers giving talks on topics including environment, ecology and climate change.

This year the festival’s ‘theme animal’, emblazoned on festival tee-shirts and programmes, was the Red Kite. This spectacular raptor has now successfully been reintroduced into the UK, including within Oxfordshire, and they put on a good show gliding above the nearby fields during the festival as they hunted on the woodland margins.

In terms of camping, we cheated and booked in to stay in the wonderful Grade II listed neo-gothic Brazier’s House located within the park, a stone’s throw away from the festival’s many activities and music. The room was basic but very generously proportioned and we had the luxury of having access to a hot shower. This said, wood fired hot showers were available to campers and the campsite itself was well positioned within a lush field on the margins of the main festival area, very close to a small but tasty array of independent, local food stalls serving everything from vegetarian Tibetan food to wild boar burgers.

Our accommodation cost included a basic breakfast (cereal, toast, tea and coffee) and was set in a lovely oak panelled room at a large communal dining table. It was wonderful to meet all the friendly guests staying at the house, as well as the residential community. Chatting to guests, it was clear that the workshops and guest speakers were the main attraction for many and the best ones to attend were a hot topic.

Workshops were held both outdoors and also in eight different bright and airy yurt-like tents which were named after different trees. Particular highlights were ‘An Introduction to Shamanic Journeying’ involving deep meditation on journeying underground to meeting your spirit animal, the engaging and powerful group Djembe drumming workshop, the very expressive and energising ‘Love Yourself Dance & Wellbeing Workshop’ and the engrossing and skillful quilting and badge making workshop. Guest speakers were hosted in the Kindling tent with the particular highlight being George Monbiot’s talk about ‘Rewilding’ which included highlighting the environmental damage caused by sheep farming and the benefits of the reintroduction of key species such as beavers to ecosystems in the UK.

Wood provided a wealth of activities and adventures for children and their families to enjoy together. The kid’s tent provided for both indoor and outdoor activities of which particular highlights were the Spanish sing along, making (and indeed using) your own hula hoop, making your own carved carrot flute and face painting. Braziers Park’s own woodland adventure playground, made of natural materials including wood and rope, also proved a hit with the children.

With so many interesting workshops and activities to do, the music programmed for the weekend played the role of more of a complementary backdrop than the main attraction. In between all the workshop and children’s tent activities, we did, however sit down on the lush grass and listen to some great music whilst feasting on delicious festival grub. Particular musical highlights from the weekend included the elegant Senegalese kora blues of Jali Fily Cissokho and his Coute Diomboulou Band, the jangly Beatlesque vintage influenced pop songs of The Dreaming Spires and the lush alt-country Americana of Walton Hesse.

In summary, unlike many festivals where the main theme is to run from stage to stage cramming in band sessions between heavy drinking sessions, Wood is a festival for taking a break from daily life, kicking back, and for exploring creative, thought provoking, family friendly workshops and activities while enjoying some lovely music. This small, family friendly festival had a distinctly community focussed flavour with local music acts whom return and play year on year, and local people and organisations hosting the workshops, activities and talks. It’s the kind of festival where you can happily throw all the pre-planned band watching out the window and just turn up, immerse yourself and simply have fun!

Review and Photo's by: Cath Yong & Dave Wilson.