Bristol Volksfest Show Review

In 2003 I went to my first ever classic Volkswagen car show. With a few friends from school, an old metro, terrible tents and drinking Jack daniels straight from the bottle this was my first introduction to a whole scene of cool cars, cool music and wonderful people.

Since this introduction I was able to buy my first classic vehicle, a gorgeous 1974 beetle and met my lovely partner James, also through this classic car scene. Although the cars have been and gone to fund bigger and better things in our lives and pay for a deposit on a house we continued to attend loads of classic car shows.

However since buying our renovation project of a house we have not been able to find the time or the money to attend as many car shows as we would have liked. With my lovely man's birthday approaching we decided after several years away from the scene it was about time to attend a Volkswagen show and so we were off to Bristol Volksfest.

We're not quite sure how but in our 13+ year love affair with the humble Volkswagen beetle and camper van we had never attended the Bristol Volksfest, especially after hearing so many friends talk about how lovely the show is.

We booked the Friday off work and loaded up the van with our camping gear and headed out on the road up to Bristol. It's only a three hour drive to Bristol but after one thing led to another and a minor detour for a shopping trip and the slight drama of loosing our exhaust back box on the M4 we finally arrived at the show about 7pm. However it then sadly took us a further hour of snaking our way through slow queues through the fields before eventuially paying our money and getting a wrist band and assessing the site and setting up camp for the weekend.

It was annoying seeing everyone else camped up enjoying a beer whilst we were crawling through a tour of the site but can completely understand the event organisers queing all the dubbers in their farm rather than blocking the small country roads around the event and annoying the neighbours.

Camping at Bristol Volksfest

Once parked up in the quiet family camping, yes we are both now over thirty and although we don't have a family we aren't the massive party animals that enjoy staying up until 3am drinking our body weight in booze anymore and although we like a drink we like a sensible drink and a good nights sleep at the end of the night.

We went over to the live music area and the main stage and found food, drink and some live ska and danced the night away before heading back to our van for a good nights sleep.

Live music at Bristol Volksfest

As Saturday arrived it was time to see what the rest of the show had to offer and although we planned a quick walk around the show and back to the van for lunch we didn't return back to the van until early evening for a change of clothes before heading back out for the evening. There is so much to do at this show from Graffitti artists working around the farm to low rider car dance offs, more live music, trade stalls and even a wall of death. It was an awesome day seeing all the new gifts and gadgets available on the scene for our cars and a massive highlight was seeing Bad Manners play on the main stage in the afternoon. By the evening we decided to go and see the wall of death and I have got to be honest I HATED IT. It completely and utterly freaked me out, the bikes were scary and travelling so close to where we were watching. The whole area shook as the bikes went around and the fumes from the bikes in the small space were over whelming. I know it's called the wall of 'death' and if it wasn't a sheer terror to witness it wouldn't be called that but I couldn't help think of our dear friend that was sadly killed during a travelling stunt show and fear that although they are professionals and do that same show several times a day things sometimes go wrong and the over sensible worrier in me told me that I didn't like it and was glad when it was over!

Entrance to Bristol Volksfest

Graffitti at Bristol Volksfest

Graffitti at Bristol Volksfest

Camping at Bristol Volksfest

Enjoying some sunshine and live music at Bristol Volksfest

Cars on airbags dance off at Bristol Volksfest

Off road track for buggies and bajas at Bristol Volksfest

Outside the wall of death at Bristol Volksfest

Inside the wall of death at Bristol Volksfest

Evening music venues at Bristol Volksfest

Dancing the night away on a farm at the Bristol Volksfest

 

On a slightly happier note we finished the evening drinking in a barn listening to a set curated by DJ Yoda playing from a set of decks inside an ice cream van with a car on the ceiling! Yes it really was quite surreal.

After a fun evening and another good nights sleep we were up early to see the main event the show and shine cars. Although this is a weekends classic car show event there is so much more to do than just look at cars but the Sunday is the main day to show off your pride and joy vehicle.

As the weather was forecast to turn a bit nasty on the Sunday afternoon we decided to do the yet again sensible thing and see all the show cars in the morning and then leave the festival before the rain sets in and the mass exit starts at the event.

Gorgeous rat look early bay

Awesome looking bay window pick up

Split screen van line up at Bristol Volksfest

Custom paint on Volkswagon split screen van

Gorgeous classic white VW beetle

Red t25 volkswagen van at Bristol Volksfest

Beautiful Fiat at Bristol Volksfest

Yellow classic taxi beetle

Razor edge VW at Bristol Volksfest

VW Splitscreen Panel van at Bristol Volksfest

VW van interior inspiration at Bristol Volksfest

 

We popped into Bristol to do some obligatory shopping before getting on the road home and ending a really enjoying weekend camping at a festival.

If you are a vw classic car enthusiast then you'll love this show, if you love a festival and good music then you'll also love this show and if you haven't yet been to Bristol Volksfest yet, then go.

As for me now, the flame has been reignited and although I no longer have a classic beetle and the scene has changed quite a bit and theres a lot more modern cars in the scene than the old ones I still love it, and as we are now in a more modern 14 year old T4 van it actually suits us quite nicely I can't wait to start planning the next festival to attend.

My favourite places to go camping, but can you guess where?

Talk about PERFECT Timing, last night through my letter box arrived the 'Halfords Guide to Camping' and it's a gorgeous little book of ideas to inspire the next camping trip.

Last weekend I celebrated my birthday and was lucky enough to not only go camping for the weekend for my birthday but it was also the hottest and sunniest weekend of the year so far. It was amazing, me and my partner had the best four day mini break, road tripping in the van.

The minute we finished work on the Thursday we were in our T4 camper van, named Stanley and were heading up the coast. In less than an hours time we were watching the sun set over the beach and had a beer in hand. It doesn't matter where you go as long as you go somewhere that isn't your regular work or home location and your holiday starts the minute you arrive. We travelled all over the west country that weekend from North Cornwall to Bath and then down south to the New Forest. It was amazing and you can read all about the adventure in depth on my blog here.

Getting back to the reasoning behind this blog post is this cute little camping guide that was on the door mat when I returned home from work. This is no flimsy leaflet that finds it's way through the letter box and straight into the recycling bin. This is a chunky heavy weight booklet bursting full of information about camping. Taking a tour around the UK the booklet sweeps around the UK with campsites, attractions and cycle rides and within just a few pages I am planning my next camping weekend and possibly even camping week away.

Flicking through the pages with my partner we started to remember some of our favourite camping trips that we have been on over the last eight years of being together.

Cornwall
Starting on home turf my favourite place to go camping has to be Cornwall. I know I live in Cornwall and when I say I live 7 miles from the beach and that doesn't sound very far at all there is still something very exciting about going to the beach and especially spending the night at the beach. 
There are so many campsites in Cornwall and so many have fields literally above the cliffs over looking the beach. 
One of my favourites is a really simple campsite at Bedruthan steps. This probably sounds totally crazy as its literally only a ten minute drive from my home but there is nothing better than the simple things in life. This campsite is nothing more that a field and a beach, there's a small toilet and shower in a shed and that is it! 

The campsite is only open for two months of the year during the summer and the minute you arrive you are completely and utterly absorbed by it's beauty. When the tides out there is a gorgeous rugged beach and when the sun sets over the water I don't want to be anywhere else. With a glass of something cold and a few friends I absolutely love camping here.

Surfing and camping in Cornwall

Amsterdam
Now my most memorable camping experience goes from one end of Cornwall to the other side of the Netherlands. One of my favourite bands were playing at a festival in Amsterdam called Fat Freddies Drop and so we decided that we would embark on an epic road trip travelling across the UK with various stops along the way and end up in Amsterdam. We stayed in a gorgeous camp site on the outskirts of the city of Amsterdam on the edge of the main train line into the city.

At first sight the campsite was just off a motorway, near a train station and close to the airport, it had barbed wire around the entrance gates and the perimeters, with security guards at the entrance. However once inside it was one of the nicest camp sites I have stayed in. With wonderful lush green grass, surrounded by trees and a very clean block of showers and toilets with the friendliest staff you could wish for when travelling in a foreign country, it was perfect.

Campsite in Amsterdam

After several nights in the city of Amsterdam and taking in all the sights and sounds of the music festival it was a long road trip back to the UK but one of my favourite camping holidays.

Amsterdam City Centre

Cycling in the city of Amsterdam

Belgium
Another favourite camping trip has to be another European road trip, this time across to Belgium. It was one of the first times we had taken the van abroad and it was such an adventure. From driving on the wrong side of the road, well technically the right side of the road to attending a classic Volkswagen drag racing festival. 

Volkswagen drag racing in Belgium

However as camping goes you can never tell what the weather is going to do and you need to pack and prepare for every eventuality and we had gone completely unprepared. 
It was lovely driving over, the sun was constantly shining and it was really hot but once we arrived the heavens opened and it poured with rain all night. 
This wasn't such a problem for us as after a long drive across the UK and Europe we were tired and just got a good nights sleep listening to the rain on the van roof. 
It wasn't until the following day once the sun was back out that we realised that a lot more festival goers had arrived during the night and the fields were mud baths. 
I didn't have the correct footwear just a pair of trainers and the mud was knee deep! 
It was a brilliant weekend, an excellent adventure but a definite reminder to pack for every weather eventuality when camping. 

Camping at a muddy festival

Sinking in the mud at a festival

It doesn't matter whether your camping in a small 2 man tent or you have a huge Winnebago getting away from the daily stresses of life and camping is such a brilliant way to spend a weekend. It's the places and the people that you go with that make the memories. From camping in a tent at a music festival to camping in our van In remote locations I absolutely love the adventure. Even when covered from top to toe in mud I love it.

Festival camper van with friends

Sitting in my living room flicking through the pages of this little Halfords guide to camping I'm now full of ideas for our next adventure in our van.

Feeling inspired? You can download a copy of the camping guide and find out loads more information on camping and even festival survival here. Plus if you are inspired and need a new tent there are loads available at Halfords including a gorgeous Orla Kiely tent!!!

European Bug In 5 Chimay, Belgium.

You might be thinking that It's gone a little quiet on the blog lately and that is because I have been off on my travels again. I have just returned from a quite epic road trip from Cornwall to Amsterdam with a good few detours thrown into the mix, including European Bug In at the Chimay race circuit in Belgium and the Pitch music festival in Amsterdam.

Leaving midday on Wednesday the 26th June we started our holiday driving from Cornwall to Essex then spent a few overnight stays at a friends house in Essex. We were then up at 3am on the Friday to drive the seemingly short 90 minute drive down to the docks of Dover. After the previous 6 hour drive from Cornwall to Essex this seamed a breeze even at that hour of the morning.

Friday
We boarded the ferry and set off for Dunkirk, all catching up on a bit of sleep on the ferry. After a 2 hour channel crossing we arrived at Dunkirk and followed our friends with the Sat Nav to the Chimay car show.

Arriving in the small town of Chimay the roads consisted of only classic air cooled Volkswagens, and it was such an amazing site to see. The rev of engines filled the air and the excitement and the atmosphere for the weekend's festival ahead could be felt everywhere.

With the show open there were plenty of shiny cars to drool over, and lots of examples of rare and extremely old cars to admire. 

Although as the evening arrived so did the rain. This did not deter us at all and with the gazebo up we had a BBQ in the rain and a few local Chimay, La Chouffe and Hoegaarden beers and an early-ish night after the extremely early start.

Saturday

On the Saturday morning we woke after a good nights sleep to realize that we must have had a lot more rain in the night as the camp site had actually turned to a mud bath and a scene more common at the Glastonbury festivals. 

 

We decided that with the weather so poor and there not being any racing activity we would take a walk into the local town where we could also find more solid ground and dry ourselves off a bit. We had lunch and several more drinks at a local cafe and took in the local sites. The sun then began to break through the cloud and the weather cleared up so we headed back to the camp site and festival ground. 

When we headed back to the festival site the racing was about to begin. so we headed up via the baja and off road course and watched some drivers try to brake their vehicles ;@)

At 4pm the racing finally got going, although off to a slow start is was better than nothing and great to see old Volkswagen's tearing up the drag strip.

With the drag racing over for the night it was time to head back to the soggy camp for some food and see the carnage that the mud had created. Lots of cars were getting stuck in the mud and lots of people were going past covered in mud. The guys in the T25 synchro and the beach buggies were all having fun driving through the mud with ease but lots of others got stuck and created our dinner time entertainment. After a BBQ and a sunset we headed back to the main arena to check out the festival entertainment. The main music from the marquee was a combination of pop, techno and European drum and bass and was certainly not to our taste so with several beers and conversation flowing among friends we settled for the evening by the burn out track and watched cars late into the night creating some amazing burn outs.  

Sunday

Today might have been the last day of the festival but it sure didn't disappoint. With the sun shining the show and shine proceeded with a massive turn out. Some very rare and very well looked after cars and some that were more fun than a concourse show car but all in all it was a very good turn out. 

My favorite Volkswagen of all time is the Razor edge seen above here in the Karmann Ghia line up..... Drooool.

As well as the show and shine there was still lots going on with the burn out track open as well as the final races of the day. Although some needed a little more help getting there burn outs going. 

With the show coming to a finale the trophies for the racing and the show and shine were given out and the crowds started departing. Our friends that we traveled over with left the festival returning to Essex and we were left at the camp site for one last night. 

Making use of the quieter camp site we firstly moved our bus out of the muddy bog and found slightly dryer ground to camp on and used the festival showers whilst it wasn't busy and utilized the facilities whilst we had them. We ventured back into town for a meal in the local restaurant together in the evening before our next adventure the following day driving up to the Netherlands.

Thanks for reading this blog post and remember to like my facebook page and follow me on Twitter to keep up to date with the rest of my road trip adventure travelling into the Netherlands and onto Amsterdam.