Vegan Campout 2021

I went to a Vegan Campout in Newark Showpark. People wondered why I was going? They said to me, “Chloe, what you going to the Vegan Campout for? You’re not a vegan.” Given everything that’s been going on during Covid, I wasn’t sure if it would go ahead because I booked the tickets in February. Luckily, it got given the green like gut to go ahead.

To be honest, I don’t think I’m the only person who went that wasn’t vegan. I did see an empty wrapper for McDonald’s Big Mac in one of the bins.

I’m not a vegan. My friend is, and it was a great opportunity to catch up with a friend I haven’t been able to see during the lockdown period. I’ve always called myself a flexitarian. My freezer is full of frozen veg and fruit, and I prefer plant-based milk to dairy. I thought the Campout would be a nice way to try new things. When I’ve eaten out and tried the vegan dishes, I really enjoyed them.

We were there for two nights as we all had to be off the campsite by 2. I think it’s a shame they cut it so short in the afternoon and give more time for people with hangovers to recover. There was yoga starting from 5:30 till late morning though. I think there could have been more activities taking place throughout the day and night. There were plenty of talks and yoga classes, but I think there could have been more variety to make it worth the money. I think there could have been things like cooking and art workshops. I wouldn’t have minded paying extra for the workshops.

For a venue that was meant to hold 12000 people, I don’t think there were enough facilities to accommodate all of us which meant lots of queuing for everything. I also think there could have been more food stalls and merch stalls. I think a lot of people who were meant to be there, didn’t go cause of Covid restrictions.

There was issues with the toilets. Some of the loo stalls didn’t arrive and there were a few toilet stalls that where blocked or had sewage problems. This meant by Sunday, a lot of the loos were full to the brim and many resorted to using the grass or having a dedicated pissing corner in the tent.

I didn’t see many showers, but the one I did find it was alright. I got there early to avoid the queue.

By the time we managed to get into the campsite and set out tents up, it was late in the afternoon. Everything we went to there was a queue. We had a burger with little hash browns and pickled cabbage and I think it was one of my favourite meals from the venue. The fact that I had no lunch that day and only a flapjack for breakfast may have meant that I enjoyed it more. We had ice cream from Dappa which was nut based, and honestly, I loved it more than the normal ice cream. Dappa became our go to place for pudding. We had churros and cheesecake as well, but they were not as good as the Dappa ice creams.

Saturday we had a breakfast wrap. For lunch I tried okonomiyaki. Sushi Rolls were only doing the savoury pancakes at 12 as they weren’t doing the main menu till 2pm which I thought was late. At the same time I was interesting in trying the okonomiyaki as I hadn’t had any since I went to Japan. It tasted very different to the ones in Japan, but I enjoyed it.

Whilst in the queue, I got to do a lot of people watching. I really liked seeing what everyone was wearing. Some of them had amazing tattoos and lovely hair colours. There was a lot of music and guest speakers there. The main ones were Russia Brand, BOSH!, Heather Mills and a lot of of YouTube people. There were raves late at night, but we didn’t go cause we felt it was too crowded and therefore not safe. We might go the next time though.

The Campout has changed the way I saw food. When my mum made me a roast beef dinner, I couldn’t bring myself to eat the beef. I’m sure it would have tasted lovely, but I still had the image of piglets covered in pressure sores from Viva!’s documentary. If the improvements are made, I think I could enjoy it next year and might go more often.