We arrived on a damp, drizzly Thursday and in the hectic chaos of trying to finish work, pack the car, feed the kids, water the plants and find my rainbow shimmer ski sunglasses. I, of course, forgot to print the instructions for how to get in.

We arrived at the Purple Gate - unloaded the car contents onto our trolleys and with the kids balanced on top of the luggage headed over to the entry gates. We were told backstage camping was a long way off but I couldn’t face repacking the car to drive around to Gate C so I insisted we set off on what became a multi-hour march through the entire festival site.

After hours of strenuous slog it dawned on my wife that I had no idea where to go. I could see from the look on her face that 1. She didn’t want to be here and 2. She couldn’t remember why she had married me.

I was about to collapse and start weeping when, by an immense stroke of luck, it turned out that we were finally in the right place. We unloaded everything off the trolley and as more rain lashed down I realized I had forgotten the tent pegs.

Phew - the tent just set up after finding a camp store selling pegs in the festival

Getting into and out of a festival is hard work - especially with kids. The kinds of rookie errors I was making only make it harder. So what is it all for? Over the course of the next four days and nights we had a brilliant, poignant, life-enhancing experience that we will treasure forever that answered this question fabulously.

Luckily for us, on Friday the clouds passed and brilliant summer weather broke through. This is obviously a major factor in a festival being great but there was so much more on top: excellent music everywhere; good food; a stupendous kids field with continuous fun, games, activities and workshops and a wonderfully switched on, groovy, diverse gathering of people on a surprisingly large scale.

60,000 people came together for the event - all of them wonderful, friendly human beings. I didn’t see any agro or even hear a harsh word spoken in the 4 days we were on site.

In a cafe for breakfast

On a typical day we would wake and chill at our tent drinking tea, eating cereal and enjoying the babies jumping on our heads. Then we would load up our Mountain Buggy and our awesome festival trolly (That I bought on Amazon for £90 - yes it is awesome - it has drinks holders) and start the day's hiking.

First we would wheel ourselves to the kids field so the kids could dance and drum with Djembe Tots and such things. Then perhaps some arts and crafts in a tent or some other wholesome activity. I would need breakfast 2 by now so we could walk through the trees to the Coyote Moon cafe for an expensive but delicious second breakfast.

The kids field

Between the kids field and the main arena section there was a gorgeous pathway through the trees. By day, this was a place to pause and chill and regroup. There were little stages and shacks offering interesting things to see and do. The poetry stage was buzzing and featured legends from We Feed the World rhyming about regenerative agriculture. By night this zone was beautifully lit and dulcet tones emerged from the Ecotricity Stage - such as ISLANDMAN which was hypnotic, lavish and otherworldly. Groups of people of all ages danced in amongst the beautifully lit trees with careless abandon.

The main stage before anyone is on it

Having done seven Glastonburys in a row (up to the pandemic and babies) - which I loved - it was splendid to experience something totally different. Without the big headliners and exclusive after hours clubs people struggle to get into, there were no mad stampedes or rushes at WOMAD. People seemed to spread themselves out pretty evenly the whole time. It was lovely to have so much space to enjoy. There were a few acts I was dead keen to see but by and large we meandered happily around the site without a plan and heard brilliant music everywhere we went.

The highlight for me was SAMPA THE GREAT, the Zambian rapper who came in hard with perhaps her biggest tune - Energy and then blasted through with relentless potency and driving beats. Her dancers made Mr Motivator look like a lazy slob. The 79RS GANG also rocked the main stage and were hilarious. The Senegalese maestro BAABA MAAL was an extraordinary treat to savor.

A few hours later

There was good music everywhere. We were chilling near the WOMAD FM radio shack when a large number of very cool looking Latin American musicians started gathering and tuning up for a performance. They were KUMBIA BORUKA doing a little session before their big evening performance. It was unbelievable to be so close to these legends as they got their groove on. I was sitting with my three year old literally at their feet as they blasted out new sounding cumbia whilst stomping and whooping and whacking their instruments. We had never seen anything like it.

Doing the festival with a toddler and an irrepressible walking baby boy drawn to dangerous adventure did put a cap on things and we missed many of the big acts we might have tried to see and were in our tents pretty early most nights.

The author thoroughly enjoying his favourite spot

There was great music throughout the days and early evenings. Our favorite spot was back left of the crowd of the mainstage. We had space to make a little camp so the kids could play. We could easily access beverages, food and decent loos and we could still hear and see the main stage. People were totally high on the music and inspired by genius musicians channeling love and praying for peace in the world.

As one afternoon turned to evening I was blown away by the beauty of the occasion. In a state of pure ecstasy I took it all in. The sun was setting, silk flags fluttering around us, whoops of joy coming from the crowd sounding out over extraordinary music. Strangers offering those around them nothing but the best possible vibes.

The mystery of why we do festivals was answered comprehensively. My wife turned to me and we held each other closely. The festival had worked its magic. She had totally forgiven me for the unnecessary 4 hour route march through the rain.

See you there next year (Inshallah). We will be in the family field just inside the Purple Gate.

Nap time