Recently I went to the awesome Timber Festival - an extraordinary 3-day festival of music, art and ideas set in a 70-acre woodland site in the making at the heart of the stunning National Forest, Derbyshire.
I was very excited to be part of an incredible weekend festival of celebration in the woods in the heart of the National Forest.
I dodged rain showers but rocked my Joules wellies with my shimmery skirt! Being in the trees with so much music, art, speakers and creativity was lovely.
Timber Festival is set in Feanedock, a 70-acre woodland site on the Leicestershire/Derbyshire.
On the Saturday I listened to Caoilfhionn Rose play on the Eyrie Stage while eating delicious wood-fired pizza. I listened to a talk about poverty proofing the outdoors by Nik and Sunny Elvy from Curious School of the Wild. I also listened to a talk by Anthropologist and Archaeologist Mary-Ann Ochota about ancestry and belonging. I watched Bamboo, a spectacular high-impact, high-skill outdoor circus production using only bamboo and human bodies by No Fit State Circus. This was amazing to watch in the sunshine.
I was excited to visit the Passenger Roamer’s Retreat with a pop-up bar and festival shop, this was the ultimate space to chill, escape and meet other like-minded roamers.
As the evening drew in I also listened to singer-songwriter Rozi Plain at the Nightingale Stage. Content and my heart full I went to sleep in the forest in my roof tent.
The Sunday was super chilled; breathwork and meditation in the forest sunshine in the morning, a brief rain shower while I sheltered under a tent, then a gong bath for an hour where I relaxed and fell asleep.
The afternoon was spent in the All The Elements area. I listened to a fab panel discussion of outdoor leaders called Leading The Way: The Future of Outdoor Leadership.
When you imagine someone working in the outdoors, who do you see? Panellists included Emma Harrison, Siddrah, Hiranya De Alwis Jayasinghe and Suzanne Hill. It was really interesting hearing about their different experiences of leadership outdoors, and adapting outdoor experiences to the person or group.
Wild Night Out
I was also celebrating Wild Night Out 2024. Spending time on adventures is empowering, brings people together and is fun. Since Wild Night Out began, more than 8,000 people have participated, raising over £75,000 for conservation and youth charities. I wanted to do a solo camp as a way of pushing myself more out of my comfort zone.
Wild Night Out is an annual invitation to push yourself to do something adventurous, although I was a bit nervous about going to a festival on my own, I couldn't pass up the chance to gather with like-minded folk and strengthen our connection with the natural world. So I went along to see what Timber Festival was all about.
This year Wild Night Out was run by Adventure Queens and Explorers Connect - sponsored by Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports.
Ad|gifted press pass from The National Forest. For more information about Timber Festival, be sure to follow them on Instagram or Facebook.
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