Back at the beginning of July we headed up to the National Forest to Timber Festival – a festival exploring the transformative impact of forests. As seasoned Just So Festival devotees, and fans of Wild Rumpus (the team behind Timber, Just So, and a myriad of large scale outdoor family arts events) we were fairly confident Timber Festival would tick our boxes, but it still felt like a bit of a gamble swapping our annual pilgrimage to Just So for a weekend at a brand-new untried festival. As soon as we arrived at Timber Festival, set in the forest at… View Post

We are so tired! It’s amazing how much work such a small space requires. But like when you’re mid-renovation project, we’ve hit that mega low point where you don’t think it could look any worse, but we’re through the other side and it’s finally starting to come together. It’s really hard to get decent progress shots as there just never seems time to clear the decks enough to take any, but you can check out @youngvanadventures‘ Stories on IG for plenty of snapshots and videos behind the scenes on the build. For now, I’m just going to list off the… View Post

I can’t believe it’s November since I last gave you an update on the progress of our VW T5 van conversion project. Although it looks like not a lot has changed since then, loads and loads has been going on behind the scenes, with the electrics being the main focus. Luckily Ben’s a trained electrical engineer, so he’s more than able to get his head around a project like this. For any van build enthusiasts out there we have a 115 Ahr leisure battery installed under the driver’s seat. A split charge relay charges the battery when we’re driving and… View Post

After the completely incredible Just So Festival being a firm fixture in our family calendar for the last five years, we were absolutely gutted when we realised we weren’t going to be able to make it there  this year (unless we sacrifice our summer adventure to France in the camper van, and I was tempted, believe me). Maybe it was fate because right at that moment, the fantastically talented event team behind Just So, Wild Rumpus, announced a brand new festival for 2018 called Timber, that promises to have the same small, community feel and creative approach. ‘Timber is an extraordinary new festival… View Post

This year was our fifth adventure with Just So. Half of me can’t fathom how quickly those years have flown by, the other half can’t imagine a year without the Just So Festival knitted into the fabric of our family life. Five years in, I know my way around, I recognise the same volunteers, the same festival goers, the same costumes. We’ve got our festival rhythm down pat, but that feeling of magic, of being swept up in a glorious weekend of pure joy, has never faded. I still have those skin-tingling moments when you suddenly look around you and… View Post