I Camped in a Hurricane

 

Honestly. I did. I camped in a hurricane. Literally.

As I'm sure you're all very aware, it's festival season, but unfortunately due to lack of funds I have yet to lose my festival virginity, sad times :( So this summer I decided to do the next best thing and work at one instead, travelling all the way down to Newquay in Cornwall to work behind the bar at Boardmasters Festival, where Chase and Status, Snoop Dogg and Bastille were all headlining. Good music while earning money? Win win!

Perched on a hill overlooking the sea and Watergate Bay, the location of this festival is beautiful. We were very lucky on our day of arrival and welcomed by some gorgeous sunny weather, so of course we headed straight for the beach to eat some ice cream and have a swim in the sea before days on non-stop work!

I was put on the bar in the dance tent so wasn't actually able to see any of the main headliners which was a bit disappointing, but with multiple DJs playing most of the day in the tent we had our own all day rave! The hours were long but the entertaining customers and amazing party atmosphere kept me smiling and dancing!

 - The big stripey dance tent from our campsite -

On the third day though I was sitting in my tent trying to put on my make up when I realised just how crazy the weather was being. FYI, putting on mascara when your tent insists on collapsing in and out on itself with you inside is not an easy task. For days there had been weather warnings of severe winds, and for someone who goes to uni in Cornwall and endured the crazy storms at the beginning of the year, I knew just how severe these winds could be. In no way was I expecting this though. Tents were literally blown away, which was actually very entertaining to watch, despite making me quite worried about the strength of my little Tesco tent. Portaloos were knocked over, as if they weren't already gross enough. Carriages on the ferris wheel were blown off. Apparently the top of one of the main tents in the festival ground actually WENT MISSING (we can only assume it was blown into the sea...) and another collapsed and partially caught fire after a flood light blew over and smashed on it. Eventually Boardmasters had to admit defeat and was cancelled a day early, sadly missing out on acts such as Bastille and George Ezra. Hurricane Bertha had hit! On the plus side though, the surf was awesome! So, you know, you win some you lose some.

Unfortunately our coach back to London was booked to arrive the next day so we had to grit our teeth and last one more night in the hurricane despite the majority of the campsite being recommended to go home. So we secured our tents with multiple pegs and breeze blocks from the collapsed scaffolding fences and armed ourselves with comfort food and alcohol, huddling in a group in an emptying field in the pitch black. I'm not going to lie, it was like something out of an apocalypse film where we were the last remaining people.

- Enter the portaloos at your own risk -

Turns out the last night wasn't actually too bad and the winds calmed down a bit, but I'm still going to say I camped in a hurricane because it sounds dramatic and makes me sound bad ass.

Despite Bertha's pesky interference, it sounds as if everyone at Boardmasters had an incredible time and I had so much fun working there. Genuinely, the people there were some of the nicest, happiest customers I've served! So if anyone's already planning their festival adventures for next year I'd definitely recommend considering Boardmasters. It's only going to get bigger and better!

Love, Beth xxx