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08 Aug, 2025
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I went to the UK's 'poshest' festival and here's every celebrity I saw enjoying 'boundless escapism'
@Source: hellomagazine.com
It’s 10pm on a Saturday night in the Cotswolds, and Jo Whiley’s spinning 90s anthems to an excitable crowd. Midway through her set, her husband, music executive Steve Morton, jumps on stage and hands her a confetti cannon. The audience, who include actor Sam Claflin and writer Dolly Alderton, goes wild. Welcome to Wilderness, otherwise known as the UK’s 'most middle-class' festival. Its focus is on the nicest things in life: good food in the form of its famous long-table 'feasts', chaired by such names as Prue Leith, fabulous talks from the likes of former YouTuber Caspar Lee, and fantastic music - this year’s line-up included indie darlings Wet Leg and dance act Orbital. Held on the rolling hills of the Grade 1-listed Cornbury Estate just outside Charlbury - whose local pub, The Bull at Charlbury, recently hosted Robbie Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia Rossi - the four-day festival promises ‘boundless escapism, daring adventure and pure joy’. It’s little wonder that it’s a honeytrap for celebrities. In previous years, Jodie Comer, James Norton, Florence Pugh and Sophie Turner have been among the well-heeled crowd. On checking in to the main reception of Boutique camping - a bucolic, tree-strewn field that’s dotted with glamping tents and cabins - we cross paths with Jo Whiley herself as she’s being bundled onto a golf cart and driven to the main arena to prepare for her evening set. Our first stop is the famous Wilderness lake, where festival-goers congregate for bracing dips. It’s also the site of other celebrity encounters; Jemima Howden, who lives at Cornbury House alongside father David Howden and mother Fifi, recently revealed Orlando Bloom had attended a party down at the lake. I don’t spot any celebrities… but I do bump into an old friend who promises me he’s seen Claudia Winkleman making her way around the festival site, as well as presenter Joel Dommett and his wife, Hannah Cooper. As we make our way to the onsite showers, we just catch the end of Jamie Laing and his live show, 'In Great Company'. Understandably, there’s no sign of his pregnant wife, Sophie. Suitably showered, we make our way to the Riddle stage, the epicentre of the festival’s dance sets. Hidden away in the estate’s walled garden, stickers are slapped onto our phone cameras (to encourage us to ‘live in the moment’), before we make our way through the wall and into the heart of a dancing crowd. Over at the Audi Haven, Denise Van Outen is bringing the party in the form of a glitter-fuelled Discoliscious set; the stage had also hosted a performance from Professor Green. Dinner calls and we’ve been invited to join a feast hosted by Audi: Audi Kitchen by Chef Monica Galetti, with a menu "inspired by her Samoan roots, New Zealand upbringing and Michelin-starred mastery." Joining us is Sam Claflin, fresh from a live conversation hosted by broadcaster Tina Daheley, and actor Matt Smith, soon to be seen in the highly anticipated The Death of Bunny Munro. It’s clear the pair are great friends as they constantly jump up from the table to chat to each other between courses that include a stone bass okra crudo, butter poached chicken and a hokey pokey chocolate pudding. With plates clean, it’s time to head to the famous Valley, scene of all late-night Wilderness happenings. The lights are low, and faces are hidden. The ultimate celebrity spot at Wilderness? I’m afraid it was just too dark to know…
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