One Love Festival

Festival Location: Herstmonceux, England

Festival Type(s): Reggae Festivals, Parties

One Love Festival Media:

One Love Festival

By: © Maddie Joyce 2009

Forget Reading, forget not finding your tent because this humdinger of a festival is sure to make you dance. It certainly made us! You won't find herds of pale, badly tattooed BMTH fans here, instead you might just bump into a distant member of The Wailers or perhaps the spirit of Bob himself. Set deep in the Sussex outback One Love Festival celebrates the anniversary of Bob Marley's infamous 1978 One Love concert and offers you four days and nights of pure reggae love, not to mention some quirky eco loos, a twenty four hour vegan café and an Ethiopian coffee lounge and all for just £70!

On arrival you can set up your tent on the only meadow, you can even bring your camper or caravan if you fancy showing off, however an extra cost of £30 or £50 is added depending on the size of your vehicle. We found the campsite got quite busy into the second day so we would recommend that you arrive the day before and bagsie yourself the ultimate spot.

As far as music is concerned you won't be disappointed. With a line up of over 100 cracking, bongo-blasting performing artists in four separate locations throughout the forest from 2pm until 3am, there is no time for early nights! From live reggae and dub to soul and funk sets there is something for every free spirit.

Bob was on our side with the weather as the sun was shining and the skies were clear for our entire stay, but wellies are definitely a must. As the music doesn't begin until about two in the afternoon the mornings spent at the One Love festival can be filled with various and sundry activities. You can bum around and do nothing or alternatively and equally as fun, explore the surrounding forests, make tepees and drink excessive amounts of alcohol.

By the time you've done that, rolled about in the mud a bit and topped up your Pimms you'll be ready to hit the dance floor and we can pretty much guarantee you that you won't stop until security drag you out.

After all that dancing you'll need some fuel. This diverse and unique festival offers organic, local and homemade produce throughout the day and night to fill your hungry stomachs, so you won't have a guilty conscience either. No dead animals here! Alternatively bring food and cooking equipment and conjure up some tasty treats of your own. Although it may seem like a lot of effort it can be really fun and will be cheaper as well. Tins of vegetables, pulses, rice and pasta are brilliant staple festival ingredients. We managed to make a delicious stir fry and veggie burgers. With your bellies full why not explore the treetop boulevard market or head to the healing area and have your chakras cleansed?

One Love is the kind of festival that once you have attended it once you will be there for years to come. You find your feet on the first year, come prepared on the second and party for the rest of it. We can guarantee you'll miss your happy, reggae family in the winter, you'll miss taking a two in the eco loo and you'll miss the anarchistic riot of alcohol abuse, love and freedom that One Love offers you. It brings everything that Reggae is to the heart of Sussex and you'll want to try and recreate it at every chance you get. Raise the beer flag, crack open the cider, it definitely is the heart of summer.

by Maddie Joyce

One Love Festival Photos:

One Love Festival Dates and Location

The One Love Festival takes place each August in Herstmonceux, East Sussex, UK. For up-to-the-minute dates and deets check out the One Love Festival website.