A Weekend At Latitude

If you saw my Festival Lookbook earlier this week, you'll know that last weekend I was lucky enough to be sent to Latitude Festival by the amazing Animal and not including the fact that I was kitted out in the best festival gear by the brand, I had literally a bloody fantastic weekend. I'll admit that Latitude wasn't really a festival I'd looked into much with it being at the total opposite side of the country to me but when I saw that line up I knew that it was going to be worth the six hour drive and oh boy I was 100% right.

We arrived on the Thursday evening and trekked from the car to the campsite and got to pitching our tent in the first spot we saw. That was one of my favourite things about the festival - how laid-back the camping was. The tents weren't crushed on top of each other like most other festivals, there was absolutely loads of space and although it was certainly a packed festival, you didn't feel like you were sharing every single scrap of your personal space with your tent neighbours. Vango were kind enough to kit us out with our camping gear, including our home for the weekend - our tent. The Vango tents like this are designed to be put up easily with only two poles and a few pegs and although Jess and I are no experts (and may or may not have asked the people next to us for help basically as soon as we set our bags down), the little tent did us well and kept the heat in amazingly. In fact, were ridiculously snug every single night and barely even noticed when it was crazy wind and rain on the first night.

THE FESTIVAL

If I had to use one word to sum up Latitude it would be magical. Think fairy lights strung through the trees, floating dancers, water displays and chandeliers. There was a section called The Faraway Forest with intriguing little stands, speeches and talks, hidden bars and so much more, an area called Solas which is where there were huge light displays strung through the trees, chandeliers hanging down, log benches and an amazing relaxed atmosphere. Next to the camping area there was a Village, packed with hair braiding stalls, trinket shops, glitter stands and some kooky yet amazing little stalls. There were quite a lot of charity stalls dotted around which I thought was great, including an Oxfam shop, a breast cancer charity booth and War Child, plus an actual supermarket which sold any supplies you may have forgotten to include in your bag. 

The festival was also very clean, especially compared to other festivals I've been to. There were recycling bins everywhere which almost everyone made the effort to use meaning that rubbish strewn around, even around the tents, was absolutely minimal. The toilets weren't too bad either (well, they weren't bad as far as festival toilets go) and compared to some of the horrific things I've seen in festival toilets in the past, they were practically luxury. They were cleaned constantly and emptied every single morning and I think I only went in one that had no loo roll. Bravo Latitude!

Finally, the atmosphere was just incredible. It was just full of people having a great time with little or no trouble at all and it was jam-packed full of families with children and elderly groups too which I think is great - there was something for every single age range and it was 100% the nicest festival I've been to so far.

FOOD AND DRINK

As Latitude is a huge festival, there was a huge choice of food and drinks and to be honest, they weren't badly priced for the size of the portions, averaging at about £8 per person, per meal. We camped quite close to an amazing breakfast truck (hello bean and cheese toasties every morning), ate mac 'n' cheese, pizza, Chinese food and of course, the mothership of all food, cheesy chips and gravy, very aptly called "Northern fries" at Latitude. There was every type of food you could think of from crepes to donuts to Thai food to sandwiches...we were totally spoilt for choice. The best thing about Latitude's food choices though was the availability of veggie and vegan food. There was so much choice, especially compared to the usually very limited meat-free options at festivals but there were stalls that specifically sold veggie and vegan food with most stalls offering alternatives. There was even a huge oat milk stand giving out free samples, encouraging people to give up milk! 

As for drinks, well it was fricking great. There were proper cocktail bars that served amazing gin and tonics, vodka cocktails and more, a Carlsberg tent, a prosecco stand, a wine stand...there was everything for everyone. You also paid £2 extra for your first drink for a plastic cup which you exchanged for a new one every time you bought a new drink to reduce waste and at the end, if you handed back your cup you got £2 back which I thought was a great way to be kinder to the environment. 

THE LINE-UP

Now, for the real reason we give up all of our luxuries for the weekend and live in a field for the weekend - the music. The line-up for Latitude 2017 was incredible with one of my all time favourite bands playing - the 1975. I've wanted to see them live for a very, very long time and I was literally bursting with excitement thinking about seeing them and they did not disappoint (can confirm Matt Healy is just as attractive in real life). I had the best night of my life singing along to some of my favourite songs - isn't there something just completely soul-soothing when you're just lost in the live music and totally enjoy yourself? On the Saturday night, we saw Mumford and Sons. Now, I am a fan of some of their songs but I wouldn't say I was crazy about them but oh my god they were literally incredible live. The atmosphere, the vocals, the special guests, the music...it was just amazing. We also a few other bands and artists including Goldfrapp and the Corals so music-wise, it was insanely good. 

Latitude also played host to some fricking amazing comedians and we spent quite a lot of time in the comedy tent. We saw Chris Ramsey, Joel Dermott, Sean Walsh and a few up and coming comedians who were great too and that was what I loved about this festival - it wasn't just about the headliners and the bug music. There were so many smaller stages celebrating lesser known artists as well as the comedy tents, a cabaret tent, a speakeasy and poetry so you weren't just confined to the huge stages. 

After the music was over on a night, the party really started. The Comedy Tent became a full blown "guilty pleasures" tent and I have never had so much fun dancing around to cheesy noughties songs in my entire life. I may or may not have also drunkenly requested a dubstep DJ in another tent to play Africa by Toto, to which he started almost crying laughing but hey, it was worth a shot right?! 

All in all, Latitude festival has undoubtedly been my favourite festival so far and it's going to take a lot to top. I would whole heartedly recommend it for anyone if you're considering a festival next year, whether it's your first festival, your hundredth or if you want to take your kids. It's truly a great festival that is worth the travel if you're from up north.

A huge thanks to the guys over at Animal for making this possible and kitting me out with my festival wardrobe! You can check out their Festival Season clothing on their website for your own festival style - they also have a huge sale on at the minute too so get cracking and get over there! 

Amy x

THIS POST IS IN COLLABORATION WITH ANIMAL. ALL WORDS AND VIEWS REMAIN MY OWN.