The Outdoor Guide at the Good Life Experience

As we arrived at the annual ‘experience’ festival at Hawarden, it soon became clear this wasn’t going to be like any other festival. Setting up the tents in a beautiful, mud free field, there was plenty of space for everyone and it really felt like a family friendly gathering.

We set to work pitching our tent, which didn’t take long at all. At first glance there is an array of colours and flags but at a closer look I notice that there were quite a few Robens and Outwell tents surrounding us. One family had the full kit and kaboodle, with the Robens tipi, log stove and porch. We had our small Robens UL Red Rock which was just about big enough for all our jumpers, boots and sleeping gear. This great little tent is really meant for long, arduous expedition walks, not a walk to a festival field, but nevertheless we used it for our weekend!

The Good Life Experience is great for families with children (of all ages!) – I think Gav from Get Out With The Kids would love this place. But, if you don’t have children, there are many who brought their dogs, of all shapes and sizes, along for the weekend. We didn’t have kids or dogs, but did had a couple of Canon cameras from Park Cameras to document our experience.

Lots of dogs

We’re here because of Chiara from Love Nature, an online streaming service for nature documentaries, a bit like Netflix but very much for nature lovers. Chiara had a marquee tent showing some of their most popular documentaries. We went in, took a pew, ate some popcorn and enjoyed the film. It was a real treat for an animal lover like myself. Stunning scenery, atmospheric music and some great action shots of elephants and dolphins. Something I wasn’t expecting to see in this little village near Chester. I would certainly recommend signing up to Love Nature!

One of the things I loved about this festival is the layout; there are no big open areas to allow you to see everything at once. Instead there are lots of secret tents and fields and you have to weave your way through the trees and maize crop to find them.

In some areas you’ll find bars, in others, archery, however not together! There were kids climbing trees and trying out some natural bushcraft skills. Not a commercial tent in sight, it was all very rustic. This weekend really makes you get back to nature as you can try out everything from spoon carving to natural fabric dying. This festival succeeded in creating the feel of a slower pace of life, allowing you to escape the bustling modern day and just enjoy being closer to nature.