I love that there are increasingly more opportunities for families to enjoy life’s true pleasures, and The Good Life Experience is one of them.
Described as ‘A weekend of fun & discovery with music, books, food and the great outdoors’, I was excited about The Good Life Experience festival as soon as I heard about it. It’s right up our street and I know the boys will just love it. Our new baby will be but 6 weeks old, give or take a few days, so all being well we’re going to take the motorhome and camp in comfort.
The Good Life Experience presents an impressive and eclectic line-up for the three day festival –now in its third year- from 16-18 September 2016 on the Hawarden Estate in Flintshire. The music and poetry programme is entirely hand-picked by co-founders singer, author and broadcaster Cerys Matthews and music manager Steve Abbot, and festival goers can look forward to a mix of the very best music with everything from Canadians Gordie Mackeeman + His Rhythm Boys to Saturday night headliners Romanian Gypsy band Fanfare Ciocarlia –which Cerys has described as her favourite live performance of all time- poets John Cooper Clarke + Mike Garry (with his band), The Booka Brass Band from Dublin, Mari Samuelsen + The 12 Ensemble’s performance of Max Richter’s Vivaldi Recomposed, Cerys herself and many more.
On top of the music, there are some wonderful speakers lined up, including adventurer Ben Fogle, broadcaster Jeremy Vine and multi-award winning author Michael Morpurgo. There will be an exciting array of world class chefs, all of whom have been challenged to cook over the campfire, from Bill Granger, to Thomasina Miers, Valentine Warner, Welsh barbecuers Hang Fire Smokehouse, Fabulous Baker Tom Herbert, forager Roger Phillips and so many more.
As founders of homewares brand Pedlars, the Hawarden Estate Farm Shop and award-winning pub The Glynne Arms, co-founders Charlie and Caroline Gladstone know something about hosting a brilliant party. Together with, Cerys and Steve they have created an atmosphere of warmth and inclusion for all ages. Join the party this year for a weekend celebrating family, friends, dogs, music, talks, adventure, workshops, good food and good drink and The Great Outdoors. There will be around 40 workshops with traditional craftspeople for all ages, from spoon carving to paddle making, henna art, blacksmithing, axe workshops and more. Almost all these workshops and other activities are free, including axe throwing, archery, tree climbing, tai chi and abseiling to name just a few. And last but not least there is a wonderful 1930s Vintage Fairground, where all rides are free, running all weekend.
My husband is looking forward to seeing and hearing Ben Fogle, I can’t wait to see the boys get stuck in and lern some new bushcraft skills, and I’m looking forward to enjoying some live music and great food. There’s really something for everyone, old or young, which is one of the things I love about this kind of event. The fact that we can take the dog too is brilliant actually, because she will have a fantastic time and we hate having to leave her behind when we go anywhere!
Tickets for The Good Life Experience are available from their website now. Visitors can go for the weekend and there is also the option to camp onsite – see the different ticket options on the website for more information.