A stately welcome as Weston Park gears up for Camp Bestival Shropshire
Heather Large chats to Weston Park’s chief executive ahead of Camp Bestival Shropshire which is returning to the estate following its debut last year.
Up and down the country tourism and hospitality businesses have worked together to revitalise the industry following unprecedented challenges during the pandemic.
Among them is Weston Park which is now looking to build on a strong 2022 and make the historic estate more widely accessible to everyone.
Among its recent success stories has been establishing itself as the second home of the hugely popular Camp Bestival.
The family-friendly festival experience made its debut last summer and this month around 18,000 people will descend on the estate for four days of live music, theatre, shows, wellbeing workshops, circus spectacles, sideshow commotions, comedy, food and drink and camping.
Colin Sweeney, chief executive of the Weston Park Foundation, which runs the estate, says the festival is a "significant asset" for the region, helping to further cement its position in the country's tourism map.
"Camp Bestival is a very well-established brand and has been running successfully for 15 years," he said.
"They wanted to have a second site and our years of doing the V Festival were a great testament to what we could achieve."
Although it was agreed to brand the event as Camp Bestival Shropshire, the estate has worked closely with South Staffordshire Council on the planning and licensing arrangements and Colin believes both counties can benefit from the influx of visitors to the region.
He also hopes it will help to showcase what the counties have to offer tourists to people attending the festival who may be unfamiliar with the area.
