Firstly, Port Eliot festival couldn’t be in a more beautiful setting, running along the estuary to the sea on the land of the St.Germans family estate. It’s all wild woods and frog ponds and great big old climbing trees, making it a pretty magical place to be wandering around during the day and even better at night with string bulb-lit paths through the trees, the sky covered in stars and music floating up over the hills from the various tents nestled around the grounds.

The walled garden had David Sims taking pictures in an awesome little wooden hut built by set designer Poppy Bartlett. His wife Luella was making a book next door with illustrator Zoe Taylor. Millner Piers Atkinson was busy making Titania inspired flower and ivy headpieces. Louise Gray dressed in all the colours of the rainbow was doing her signature superbright make up and Alex Brownsell from Bleach Salon had teams giving hair make overs which were subsequently shot by photographer Alex Sainsbury.

At night the tents scattered around the land filled up with dancing and music, Boogie Tent, Bowling Green, the tent down by the water I’m sure it had a name but that’s what we christened it….Jeremy Healy – the man behind John Galliano’s show music – had us dancing until we dropped.

During the daylight hours there were talks and interviews with all kinds of people such as Mary Katranzou being interviewed by Alex Fury. There were food talks and flower arranging, wonderful sea themed scarecrows were also dotted about the greenhouses for the scarecrow competition. THe winning scarecrow had been fashion out of cabbage leaves and was quite excellent as scarecrows go.

The incredible estate house itself housed a doll collection curated by Sarah Mower and all dressed accordingly by their respective designers such as Simone Rocha, Christopher Kane and Viktor&Rolf.

Port Eliot is the poshest festival I’ve ever been to and i was totally into it. I loved my bell tent, the food was great on all levels from breakfast coffee and bacon rolls from our bell tent cafe to champagne and lobster for lunch. I lost my phone and it was handed straight back. In fact we all consistently deserted our iphones on charge in a tent at Hotel Bell Tent…such was the level of good will. It was kinda like not having to lock the door to your house.

There were loads of cool interesting things to do in the daytime and just wandering around would lead you to something new that you didn’t know about including a talking post box in the woods that we wrote a letter to at three in the morning.

According to my festy buddy Calum Knight on Showstudio, the land needs to rest so it will be 2014 before i can go back to Port Eliot festival and I definitely will.

porteliotfestival.com

showstudio.com

Tags: Port Eliot Festival