Green Man is one of many UK festivals that takes place over the summer, drawing thousands of people to its fields for a long weekend of music, community and creativity.
We are firmly in the darker side of the year now, with the nights drawing in and the natural world turning inwards, too. Over the last few weeks, I've been reminiscing on this year's Green Man, the peak of summer (how distant that feels now!), and how we mark the shift in seasons. Read on for a weaving experience with Wyldwood Willow, and some tales of the weekend's events.
Green Man.
When we think about festivals, the first thing we think of is likely music. The line-ups are the soundtrack to the entire experience and they have the power to shape the mood of the weekend (Richard Dawson, Kneecap, CMAT and Melin Melyn were my musical highlights: it felt like everyone was holding their breath listening to Richard Dawson; I've wanted to see Kneecap for ages and they did not disappoint; CMAT had thousands of us two-stepping in unison like some kind of human ocean, and Melin Melyn were so much fun as always, part-storytellers, part musicians).
This year I wanted soak up as much of everything as possible, not just music, and whilst I failed again at the early morning yoga, I did manage to catch a weaving slot with Wyldwood Willow, whose beautiful craft tent was heaving for the whole weekend.
Amanda of Wyldwood Willow
I opted for the shortest willow weaving experience (a bird feeder) as I only had a short window between bands. Needless to say, I then experienced some severe weaving envy watching others work on their large scale projects, conjuring up beautiful baskets.
The starting point for weaving a bird feeder.
Weaving process.
It was an incredibly peaceful spot, with everyone engaged in their creative pieces, and the shade and quiet was much appreciated on the last day of the festival; a break from the heat, the dust and the crowds. I could very happily have hung out there for hours.
A wonderfully wonky bird feeder.
Crafting and weaving haven.
Despite the tent being super busy (full of all of us beginner weavers) I was patiently shown how to get on my way with the weaving, and found it to be a really meditative process. What an incredible resource willow is. Next time I'll be spending a little longer in the craft field.
You can check out all of Wyldwood Willow's courses HEREif you're interested in seeking out your own weaving experience. I recommend!
Taking shelter from the sun under the oaks and chestnut trees.
It has been a while since I've been to a festival other than Green Man, but I'm not sure I've experienced the level of shared respect and responsibility for the land at any other. Over the whole weekend, the amount of abandoned rubbish was so minimal that when you did see stray beer cans on the ground, it was notable; this was definitely helped by the thoughtfulness that had gone into the rubbish and recycling spots. (Isn't it funny how the things you get excited by change as you get older?)
You cannot separate the festival from its environment: the site is so special, framed by mountains, with the spine of Crug Hwyel visible behind the main stage and ancient, magnificently gnarled trees standing like guardians all around the site. Everyone was incredibly thankful for them in the heat. People are there to have a good time, but even if you managed to miss every band and performance, the landscape would be more than enough. Some of my favourite moments were spent under the trees, in the shade, chatting and playing cards.
My friend told me that on their way back to the tent in the early hours, the camping grounds were so quiet they could hear two owls calling from the trees. I've truly never slept so well at a festival (again, the things that excite us really do change).
Naps and card games in the shade.
I spent most of my childhood summers running around festival sites having my tiny mind blown by all the magic. I'm sure many of us share the same memories of festivals through a child's eyes, and of course as you grow and experience the world as an adult, those experiences become difficult to recapture; it's not that the magic doesn't exist, it just exists in different places.
I didn't leave Green Man believing I'd seen fairies (like I left many festivals as a child), but I did leave with a needed surge of trust in humanity, which feels hard to come by at the moment but is so important; we need hope and we need each other. We live on such a beautiful, generous planet and Green Man was a little reminder that there are so many people going to great lengths to take care of one another and our home in wonderful, creative and incredibly kind ways - that's pretty magic.
Mrs Meg Avon, who married the river Avon to raise awareness of river pollution in the UK.
Well needed fuel for the last day that I've been dreaming of since.
On the last night of the festival everyone gathers around the beautiful Green Man sculpture, covered in the written wishes of all the festival goers, to watch it burn. Watching the Green Man turn into a massive bonfire brings on a nostalgic kind of sadness, in the same way you can miss a season before it comes to an end. As a symbol of rebirth, saying goodbye to the Green Man, the summer and the festival in this way feels like a very fitting end to the summer months, a symbolic marker of change. It's a reminder that whilst we may be heading into the season of hibernation, rest and decay, it's all a necessary preparation for spring.
I love the winter, and am fully in winter mode now (as I'm sure we all are); bringing in wood for the fire is a daily operation and the porch is full of this year's potatoes, carrots, beetroots and squash. It's been fun looking back at photos from the summer; it's quite hard to imagine any other season than the one you're living in, and it's easy to pine for them when they pass, but there is so much beauty to soak up in every month of the year.
Wishing you all a most restful, inspired and cosy winter. Before we know it, spring will be poking its head up through the earth, and summer will be here again.
See you next year, Green Man!
The Green Man himself.
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