CarFest 2012

Whole Buffalo spit roast

Did you hear about BBC Children in Need's CarFest 2012?  It's the brainchild of Radio 2's Chris Evans and is likely to raise  £1million for Children In Need (well done Chris!)

We were lucky enough to get a family ticket for CarFest South, tempted by the local food, and a visit to the inspirational organic farm of Laverstoke Park - Oh and not to mention taking the family to their first music festival (our idea of a perfect weekend away).

Laverstoke Park in Hampshire is famous for its buffalo milk mozzarella and ice cream, both of which we can testify to being excellent.  Buffalo also provides a tasty and healthy alternative to beef - and we were able to try it straight from a spit roast as a hot bap. Mmm, a real testament to local food!

Muddy Carrot camping HQ!

Although the name suggests a paradise for petrolheads (which it was for James - his guilty pleasure) we enjoyed the excellent local produce with food stalls from salad bars to sustainably caught fish - deliciously grilled in front of you. There were artisan crisp producers and even a social barbecue area where you could cook what you'd bought on big, ready-lit communal barbecues. The whole feel of the event was good-natured and stress-free (as long as you weren't bursting for a pee at the wrong end of a loo queue!)

Joliet Blues Band 

Not quite the real John Lennon

The third main element to CarFest was the music - a great introduction to rock festivals for children who, like ours, hadn't been to anything like it before. The music was great, we enjoyed tributes to the Beatles and the Blues Brothers, and fab performances from Texas, The Feeling and Razorlight.

We are hopeful with a name like CarFest 2012 that next year may see CarFest2013 and if so we'll be at the front of the queue to nab some more tickets in aid of such a good cause!!