I spent last weekend at Boardmasters festival on the beautiful Cornish coastline. As a total festival newbie, I didn’t really know what to expect, I’ve never even camped overnight in a tent before, but as always I was optimistic and pretty excited about the trip. I borrowed a tent from a friend, bought myself a sleeping bag and immediately messaged the girls to see who would be up for a 600 mile round trip.
I set off at 5.45 am and picked up AJ and Tara in London at 7am. I was totally loving the road trip vibes, the car chat was hilarious and we arrived at midday feeling good. (by good, I mean I was glad to be out of the car, starting to get hungry and needing the loo) All we had to do now was locate the box office, collect our tickets and wrist bands, drive to another car park, unload the car, queue to get in, oh and pitch up a tent. No problem! Okay fast forward two hours and we’re in!
The main music stages are situated by Watergate Bay, the view of the beach at sunset was incredible! We were all feeling pretty chilled, especially as we had discovered that there is no 4G or phone reception by the sea. Let the digital detox commence. (Every so often we would find a spot with signal, phew! Upload that snapchat story quick!)
Later on that evening, more mates arrived from London and they seemed as prepared for camping as we were. Hannah and Emily, purchased a tent on route to the festival. Natalie looked mega glamorous and recruited two strangers to pitch up her tent. Tally & Jack’s tent looked like a kids pop up play tent from IKEA and ours really wasn’t much better! Gin and tonic anyone? (I actually found a vegan food tent and bought a rooibos tea. I’m that girl! I did regret drinking the tea as soon as I needed the loo, I will say nothing about the stereotypical festival loo situation except for this … GRIM!) At least, thank you God, it was not raining!
At 12.30am we climbed into our tiny tent and AJ confessed that she didn’t have a sleeping bag, duvet or a pillow! We made a bed out of my sleeping bag and Tara’s blankets and used our towels as pillows. Absolute fail! After a few hours of laying on a slightly uphill slope with a towel as a pillow, I woke up to AJ’s ‘sexy morning voice’ MOOORNING!! ???? I knew it was gonna be a great day !
We kicked off day 2 with a run along the beach led by Chevy I was so happy. These are my kinda people! Next stop… Fistral Beach for a surf lesson. The sun was scorching as we left the surf shop looking like pros! Local beach babe and fitness pro Charlotte Holmes taught us the basics before we dived in. I’ve never been a water baby but I am becoming way more confident in the sea. I absolutely loved it! The surf was definitely the highlight of the festival for me.
The perfect place to test out my new Sweaty Betty crop. Fistral beach is so picturesque!
I would definitely recommend Boardmasters festival if you love the beach, surf vibe. There are sunrise yoga classes, coastal running sessions, surf lessons and of course the music festival too. However, if you’re going to camp, make sure you get the right gear and you’ll be a lot more comfortable than we were. Newquay is super busy in August so if you want to book a B&B or apartment, you need to get in there at least six months before. Car parking at the beaches is very limited so get a taxi from your digs or walk if you can. I’ve definitely got the bug for surfing, I can’t wait to plan my next trip. Any recommendations for the best UK surfing beaches, please tweet me.