Bestival 2011 – How Was It For You?

September 18th, 2011

This year, more people attended Bestival on the beautiful Isle of Wight than ever before. A knock-out year for spectacularly sauced-up shenanigans, here’s what a few of this years’ punters had to say about Bestival 2011…

Name: Lynne Harrison

Age: 31

Where are you from? Traveled from Ipswich, thankfully by car – queues for passenger ferry were crazy long!

What’s your poison for Bestival 2011? cup of tea from the W.I tent –  a massive hike up the hill, but worth it for 70p!

What floated your boat the most at Bestival 2011?

• Mogwai is definitely number one, they were epic- definitely best act at Bestival this year.
• Number two would be doing a work out with Mr Motivator – 1,2,3,4,5,6 funky chicken!!!
• Number three would have to be the Village People, but discovering we have all been doing the moves to the Y.M.C.A wrong all these years was a blow! Overall a fantastic festival, probably one of the best I have ever been to.

Name: Andy Wilson

Age: 23

How far did you travel? London: Coach to Portsmouth, Ferry to Ryde pier, queue to end of Ryde pier, bus to Bestival!

What’s your poison for Bestival 2011? Fosters, but also partial to Turborg and Vodka & Coke.

What floated your boat the most at Bestival 2011?

• DJ Shadow’s “Shadowsphere”: a masterpiece of trippy stage design.
• A great chinese take away we found: £6 for a veritable mass of righteous sweet n’ sour.
• dan le sec vs. Scroobious Pip: I had never experienced them before and he is a poet (other musical acts could go at #1 but this was the one which affected me the most)

Name: Tabby Farrar (yay woo yay)

Age: 19 (though if you put this up after the 20th, 20!)

Where are your from? I’m from Norwich, so I travelled for about 5 or 6 hours in a car full of mentals to get to the festival- arrived on Wednesday night and camped in the car park waiting for the gates to open!

What’s your poison for Bestival 2011? Drink of choice was white rum and vimto, which I combined by accident and am now addicted too- our dark rum version didn’t taste so good…

What floated your boat the most at Bestival 2011?

• The fact that Bestival is like fantasy land, where anything is possible and the real world feels like fiction- need I explain why that is so great?!
• Watching Magnetic Man and Pendulum play storming sets, whilst absolutely trashed, and dancing like a crazy person with so many strangers- because it was just amazing to see and feel part of.
• The Mash Shack. Because there’s nothing you need more after drinking and dancing for 5 days straight than a big dollop of cheesey mash in your life. MMmmmmmmmm

Name: Kate Florence Knowlden

Age: 20

Where are you from/how far did you travel? Brighton – but travelled in style on my friend’s speed boat!

What’s your poison for Bestival 2011? Bag of cheap white wine – classy.

What floated your boat the most at Bestival 2011?

• THE CURE!!!!
• Those guys in the knees up tent – abandoman – I think they’re called.
• It’s a tie between the silent disco, the fancy dress and finding the secret stage through the photoautomat machine, oh, and creating a party under this smoothie stand whilst avoiding the rain until 6am on monday morning. There’s too many things!

Name: Mike Lovell

Age: 27

How far did you travel? From Ipswich, around 180 miles.

What’s your poison for Bestival 2011? Gin.

What floated yout boat the most at Bestival 2011?

• I reckon the thing I liked best was the sheer friendliness of everyone we met from impromptu dance sessions with some hippies on the top field, to strangers poring wine down my throat while I’m having a wee… I didn’t meet a single arse-hole.
• Another thing I really liked was the fact that there was so much to do and see. I reckon you could have not watched any music and still had an amazing time.
• The sheer variety of music on offer, some of it was a bit sketchy but for the most part I’ve discovered so much new music it’s going to keep me occupied for a long time listening to it.

Finally, we hope the bastards that robbed our tent get herpes.

Name: Drew Walsh

Age: 23

Where are you from/how far did you travel? Im from Brentwood, Essex, but I travelled to the Island via Hackney and Brixton ‘cos none of my friends can drive. About 250 mile round trip.

What’s your poison for Bestival 2011? I couldn’t decide between fosters and vodka/summer fruits cordial, but in the end there’s nothing like a luke-warm beer. Although I heard vodka/berocca was going down a treat.

What floated your boat the most at Bestival 2011?

• Having a legitimate excuse to dress up like David Bowie.
• The Swamp Shack. It was like stepping into the Tardis, place was huge! And it was the first place I saw an act I didn’t know –  the Correspondents, and they were quality.
• The whole set up is brilliant. Didn’t have far to go to get to anything, the walk from the car to camp was easy and hardly had to queue for anything all weekend. Everything you need is close by and there is so much to do. it’s the first festival I’ve been to where it felt like it is more about putting on a good time than making money. (although watching my mate go head over heels in the mud trying to be cocky comes a close fourth)

Name: Sophie Green

Age: 19

Where are you from/how far did you travel? Great Yarmouth which is an uncomfortable four hour car journey and a ferry ride away.

What’s your poison for Bestival 2011? vodka/cider/anything i could get my hands on.

What floated your boat the most at Bestival 2011?

• Fatboy Slim was fucking insane. Need there be any explanation?
• Getting immensely wasted with lots of people I do not know, and a few that i do.
• Life wasn’t real and it was so beautiful. can i go back now?

Tags: Bestival 2011