Scale Glastonbury’s Pennard Hill Ground, trudge through Creamfields’ camping village or navigate the Isle of Wight Festival’s terrain with a suitcase and you’re guaranteed head turns aplenty. Pull up to Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire on a balmy July afternoon – in a chauffeured car from London, no less – and you’re more likely to have a helping hand open the BMW door and spot a Rimowa fighting for its life as it’s dragged, rattling in protest, across bumpy terrain.

A festivalgoer dances through the afternoon in a custom jacket

Just a matter of hours earlier, we’d sped out of the capital in time to miss the commuter crowds, hauling suitcases and backpacks worthy of hold luggage for a long-haul adventure into the back of a transfer in the shadow of London’s Victoria Station. Now, having cooled off with the car’s AC at full blast while speeding down the M4, the weekend’s headliners blasting out of the speakers in preparation, we were navigating Wilderness Festival’s glamping site, ushered in different directions towards the comfort of our tipi.

The brainchild of the partystarters behind Secret Garden Party and Lovebox, Wilderness launched onto the festival scene in 2011 as one of the most multifaceted out there. Antony and the Johnsons, Laura Marling and Toots and the Maytals took to the stage in the first year, setting high expectations for a unique, premium offering among nature that has grown to encompass wellness, food, comedy, theatre and, of course, music.

Multi-course dinners are served in a more intimate setting than the Banquet Hall at the Chef's Table

In the 15 years since the inaugural Wilderness Festival, it's become known as the ‘poshest’ pick of them all. Our first experience of the festival, back in 2024, was punctuated with Champagne-sipping between comedy sets, lakeside picnics and dancing on tables – showered and pampered – in between courses in banquet tents. Not forgetting people-watching society’s most fashionable extroverts as they joined in with the year’s dress codes. Where else can you watch from a shaded spot, gyros in hand, as families pass dressed as mythical creatures on a Friday afternoon?

So, when the offer to return presented itself, it was a no-brainer, and we rolled up to our shelter knowing what to expect – but aware that Wilderness is never short of surprises.

“Did you say ‘are you having a beer already?’! It is a festival!” a glittery woman beside a tipi nearby exclaims. It’s 1pm and I feel like I, too, have been called out as I poke around for a tinned cocktail to start proceedings with before making a beeline for the main fields.

Wild swimming and rowing boats are some of the myriad activities on offer at Wilderness

First, to the lakes. Wild swimmers lower themselves into the clear depths of the estate’s expansive body of water on one side, while rowing boats await on the other. Swimwear back at the tent, we opt for the latter, my companion settling in with grace and claiming the oars before I follow, ungracefully unbalanced, almost resulting in a Daniel Cleaver catastrophe, albeit much less cinematic. The leaves above rustle gently in the breeze as we plot the weekend’s must-sees – sparing plenty of time for the spontaneity the festival deserves.

The Valley: Wilderness' late-night party hotspot out of earshot from snoozing families

By night, we take to The Valley. Our limbs pulsate in time to the bass and bright lights of Confidence Man’s DJ set in the distance. Festivalgoers cling to loved ones, pupils lost in a trance at every head turn.

On the hills on either side, perspiring bodies embrace outside the fringes of the strobe lights’ reach, kisses stolen as they cool off on a humid night with toes tickling the dewy grass. It’s unbridled euphoria, and we dance with all the energy left in our tired bones, night after night, until the music reaches its crescendo and we’re beckoned home via The Hustle, finishing the dregs of our drinks and making new friends in the process.

Festivalgoers go all-out on their on-theme outfits

Once our eyes are rested, Wilderness’ most wholesome sides beckon us into the fields. We bop to Annie Mac, sway to a Women in Jazz takeover, and enjoy the comfort of our beds – real, raised, billowy beds with cushions and duvets – a little too much to follow through on our promise to join a group yoga class one morning.

It’s these wholesome elements that set Wilderness apart from the British festival scene. Once phone signal allows (don’t bet on it), I catch Annabel, a close friend since our school days, who’s at the festival with her mother, sister and son. Reflecting on their first intergenerational festival experience post-festival, staying in the family campsite, she says: “It feels really safe and accessible – we had the wagon we pulled [her son] around in plus ear defenders, so he could sleep in the wagon. The vibe is chilled and family-friendly, especially for the specific field. Our favourite bits included the drag queens [drag queens doing colouring and story time], and we would definitely go back.”

One of the fairground rides beside the Wilderness Stage illuminated as the sun sets

Not that all youthful souls are cut out for the al fresco joys of a British festival, however glitzy the amenities. “That was awful,” exclaims a young girl no older than eight as she emerges from festival cubicles that would have anyone familiar with Glastonbury’s longdrops thinking they’d just stepped through the pearly gates.

Wilderness’s focus on food and drink has long attracted gourmands from far and wide. The banquet hall would surely stop Henry VIII in his tracks, a fantastical marquee that hosts some of the UK’s most celebrated chefs – and celebrity chefs, at that. Settling in for a veritable feast, directed by Bake Off’s Prue Leith, we meet a family from close to home – or the majority of it, at least. “She’s gone to drop off the kids at the nursery till 11.30,” says the gentleman beside me, glass of cherry-hued red wine swirling in hand, referring to his daughter-in-law.

Banquet dinners include a whole host of entertainment

We snack on pickled summer vegetables and whipped goat’s cheese, doused in hot honey and toasted seeds, alongside crunchy, grilled sourdough. Sturdy flagons arrive, some brimming with pea soup and others with watercress soup, and we take it in turns to pour each into bowls simultaneously, resulting in a two-tone, Instafood-worthy starter. Flaky pan-roasted halibut topped with samphire and Hollandaise sauce, piles of parmentier potatoes, and an apricot tart tatin all follow, and I accept that I’ll be taking the crushed Belvita biscuits at the bottom of my bag back the way they came when we’re forced to leave.

Wilderness has become one of the most popular festivals in the UK among families

Afterwards, we totter over to the Don Julio party den that we’ve been fortunate enough to secure VIP wristbands for – not that they’re required to have a hoot. Hacienda 1942 takes pride of place in the heart of the action, stealing the title of the site’s go-to for tequila lovers and ravers alike from the Champagne tent that sat just opposite in previous years.

“Wilderness felt like the perfect stage for Don Julio 1942’s first UK festival presence,” says Kandace Williamson, Diageo’s senior culture and entertainment manager. “It’s a space that brings together discerning tastemakers, cultural curiosity, and a love of life’s finer details, which aligns beautifully with our spirit.” It goes down a treat with cocktail sippers as they soak up the vibe of a Mexican beach club. We part the sea of boogieing bodies, flash our wristbands and shuffle into a hideout like prohibition-era party animals hunting a covert liquor fix, zingy concoctions shaken and stirred by dashing mixologists.

A mixologist shakes and stirs cocktails in a secret hideout section of Don Julio's hacienda

“There were so many unforgettable moments, but seeing Don Julio’s Hacienda come alive at golden hour, with music rolling, cocktails flowing, and guests completely immersed in the energy of the space, is truly magic,” continues Kandance.

Thanks to social media, Wilderness’ fanciest corners are now well documented, making it a popular festival for those who don’t do festivals – especially if they’re prepared to stump up for the myriad glamping options. Many we encounter are even shuttled back and forth from country houses they’ve rented (well in advance) for the weekend.

“From the moment you arrive to the moment you leave, it’s hard to spend a moment without being spellbound by everything from the curated events to a swim in the lake or a glass of champagne,” says Jason, an events executive I’d befriended dancing after copious amounts of the aforementioned Champagne in 2024. “The festival is the perfect size, large enough to have space to roam and discover, yet small enough to see familiar faces across the weekend and feel the sense of community.”

As the sun starts its descent, we find ourselves in The Riddle, titillated by shimmering disco balls and a bass line fierce enough to blow away the Sunday scaries, deeply regretting our “very adult, very sensible” decision to clear out the night before the Monday rush. We dip back into Don Julio’s Hacienda, embracing new pals in the hideout with adrenaline-induced promises to reunite in the real world, and look at each other with sadness in our eyes as Basement Jaxx boom towards the end of their set.

We whizz back in the direction of the capital, sipping tinned cocktails that emerge from the depths of our hastily packed bags and reminiscing about the myriad sights and sounds we’d encountered in a crammed 72-hour space. As the dazzling lights of Wilderness’ temporary party dens faded, swapped for the reflective cat’s eyes of the A40, we realised such tales would take us on a high through the summer and far, far beyond.