Off to the Forest for Timber Festival

It's one week to go till Timber Festival, and I'm delighted to have been invited along again by organisers Wild Rumpus.

This welcoming, family friendly festival is held on 1-3 July, at Feanedock, a 70 acre site in the National Forest, where trees are beginning to reclaim the land after years of open-cast mining. The underlying theme of the festival echoes this regenerative power of nature, encouraging us to get outside, sit under a tree, and feel the calming, restorative properties of natural surroundings. All the outdoorsy sort of stuff I try to incorporate into my life.

 With this in mind a lot of guest speakers will be talking about their involvement with nature - whether it's the impact of increasing woodland in the UK, or adventuring off the beaten track, discussing climate mitigation (and why it might not be enough) or planet-friendly food, there's plenty to give food (sorry) for thought. 

It's a festival, so of course there's music. The big Nightingale Stage will host a wide variety of sounds over the weekend from folk to Latin rhythms, with Penguin Cafe, The Orielles, and Holy Moly and the Crackers headlining the three evenings, while among the trees at the smaller Eyrie Stage there's alt-folk, Bollywood, and late night DJ sets. And if you fancy something more intimate, there's storytelling, spoken word performances and music around the campfire in the DIY Utopia area.

Throughout the day you could learn woodland survival crafts, spoon carving or leaf identification, participate in a dance workshop and early morning yoga, join in with a maypole dance or a drumming workshop. Or if all of this is too hectic, you could try forest bathing, follow the Gloaming Light Trail, or just lie back and listen to the trees.

I mentioned earlier the family-friendly nature of Timber, and there are certainly lots of activities for children though I haven't really covered them. To me, what's more important is that site, facilities etc are suitable for us older folks, and at Timber I've always found them to be. An added bonus at the moment is that everything takes place either outside or in well ventilated tents; I've avoided Covid so far, and I'd like to keep it that way if at all possible. An outdoor event seems a safe way to have fun.

As befits an eco-conscious event, Timber are promoting a variety of ways to travel without cars - the Timber Bike Ride, free bus shuttles from nearby train stations, and incentives to all who arrive on foot. I'm too far away, (and let's face it, not fit enough to cycle or walk) but for folks like me there's th opportunity to off-set carbon emissions. You can find more information under their Sustainability section. 

 I've been along before as a 'Timber Pioneer' courtesy of Wild Rumpus in 2018 and 2019, and thoroughly enjoyed both weekends. Having missed two years, I'm very excited for next weekend, and really grateful to Wild Rumpus for asking me along. Weather permitting, this weekend we'll do a trial run of putting up the tent, and the sit down with the programme and start to plan who to see and what to do. I suspect as always there'll not quite be time for everything.