The world of blogging can be a strange place. Thousands upon thousands of creative, passionate (and slightly geeky) wordsmiths out there, all blogging about what they love. I am proud to be one of these people (including the geeky bit), but often feel like blogging is a very solitary thing. Which is why the genius people from Traverse events created ‘Blogstock’, the world’s very first blogging festival. Blogstock is designed for bloggers, PRs and anyone interested in blogging to meet each other face to face, as real human beings! What’s not to love?
I loved the intimate events in the tipi, where everyone had a chance to speak up and share their views.
I was lucky enough to be invited to experience Blogstock courtesy of Hertz Car Hire. Hertz had selected a group of bloggers to enjoy their ‘VIP’ glamping tents, which meant all the camping gear I needed to bring was a sleeping bag (rather fortunate considering how comical it would have been for me to try and ‘errect’ a tent’). When I arrived I went off in search of my tent, which was labeled for ‘The Travelista’ and was filled with homely touches including cushions, a night lamp and camping snacks. The tents were large enough to stand up in and strong enough to take on gail force winds, meaning I had a perfectly cosy base for the weekend. So on to the weekend!
The Hertz VIP tents from the outside.
Taking place just outside of London in the Borehamwood / Elstree area, Blogstock claimed a leafy expanse of fields perfect for any festival. Whilst it only took 1 hour by train from London, it certainly felt like a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of London and a real country environment. Being a Yorkshire girl at heart, I was in my element.
Virginia (from The Well Travelled Postcard) and I, deep in conversation!
The weekend consisted of a fascinating timetable of key speakers, workshops, debates and advice sessions. All of these events took place across different venues in a central hub including the Tipi, the fashion tent, the debate tent, the marquee and main stage.
The main marquee at Blogstock
Each blogger was able to plan their own timetable based on their interest, and there was no end of choice for travel bloggers. Some of my favourite bloggers spoke in their own sessions including A Lady in London and The Travel Hack. It was so inspirational to hear about their journeys as bloggers and their incredible tips which I have already put into practice.
The weekend line up!
The sessions I attended included ‘From Blogger to Writer; Improving Your Skills’ by renowned travel writer Andy Jarosz and ‘Using Your Blog to Further Your Career’ by Beverley Reinemann of Pack Your Passport Blog. With each session I took away something entirely new and was so fascinated to hear other bloggers stories and approaches.
Me, Virginia and Kirsten (from left to right), in the Tipi
Of course, as with any good festival, there was no shortage of booze on tap, and we were well stocked all weekend thanks to various drinks sponsors and beer tents. The finale of the weekend was the Big Blogging Debate on the main stage, where bloggers and industry professionals from the likes of Expedia came together to discuss ‘The Future of Travel Blogging’. The debate took place as the sun went down over the countryside as everyone enjoyed their sponsored rum of choice. Truly an awesome moment.
Enjoying the rum in the sun during the final debate of the weekend.
As well as seeing some familiar faces, I also got to meet some bloggers I have followed for quite some time including Virginia from The Well Travelled Postcard and Kirsten from Kirst Over The World. Going to Blogstock was a bit of a leap of faith, turning up in the middle of nowhere, by myself, having only met a couple of people. But the weekend made me realise how amazing the blogging community really is. Everyone is friendly, outgoing, creative, and all share a common love for blogging. As cheesy as it sounds, this instantly bonded everyone there and I went away with new perspectives, ideas and contacts. I absolutely loved my ‘glamping’ weekend at Blogstock and can’t wait to do it all over again next year.
Bloggers and industry professionals battling it out for the final blogger debate.
Thank you to Hertz UK for involving me in their #CampWithHertz VIP campaign and congratulations to Traverse for putting on such an amazing event.
Did you attend Blogstock or are thinking of going next year? If you enjoyed this post please take a second to comment in the box below and tell me your thoughts. I reply to every comment! X
All images courtesy of Author, Blogger and Photographer Macca Sherifi. Find more of his amazing work at maccasherifi.com or follow him at @backpackermacca
This looks amazing! I’m so gutted I couldn’t make it to Blogstock but already had another festival booked in that weekend! It looks like an amazing event and so much to learn from all these amazing bloggers – like you say, the blogging community is a pretty special one! xx
Thats pretty nice! I would love to participate in one of these events, it sound amazing 🙂
Oh how I wish I could have been there! Looks like everyone had a great time! Here’s to next year’s Blogstock!
So glad you enjoyed it Jess, looking forward to having you back there next year, and will keep you posted on other blogger events in the pipeline!
Brilliant round-up Jess and so pleased to finally meet you too! Here’s to lots more alcohol-fuelled blogger events and next year’s Blogstock!
Amazing! What a cool thing to do (almost like, why has no one thought of this before?) I’ve been glamping & camping before & am definitely more at home in the former!
Thanks Anna! It was such a great concept and exactly as you say,,, everyone went there thinking, why has nobody ever thought of this before? Plus, the glamping made it all the more enjoyable . You should come along with me next year! 🙂 xx
Sounds amazing, I’d love to go next year.
It was indeed Jess! Please do come next year, would love to meet you xx
I didn’t get to make it to Blogstock this time so have really enjoyed seeing people’s blog posts about how it went – sounds like it was a great event!
Hi Shikha, so nice to hear you’re reading all the blog posts. It was an AMAZING weekend and very inspirational! The rain didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits 🙂
I wish I could’ve been there, as a new blogger I’m dead keen to meet those more seasoned than me!! Plus, I like rum. 😉 xx