Boy in the Tent's Final Camp Out Festival - after three years Max is coming in from the cold

On January 21, Max Woosey, ‘The Boy in the Tent’ - who has already raised over £700K for the North Devon Hospice - issued a shout-out on his social media accounts ‘looking for somewhere really cool to camp’ to mark three years of sleeping out. This will also be his final celebratory camp out.

With offers flooding in from all over the UK and abroad, it was Broomhill Estate sculpture garden and boutique art hotel in North Devon, just a few miles from Max’s home in Braunton, that got the thumbs up.

Broomhill Estate is delighted to host Max’s Final Camp Out Festival. The day-long mini-festival will kick off at midday on Saturday, April 1, in and around the sculpture garden and boutique art hotel near Barnstaple.

Broomhill is planning an epic day to remember to celebrate Max’s achievement with an amazing showcase of music and the magic of Hollywood.

Max said: "It was amazing that so many people got in touch from all over the UK wanting to mark my three-year anniversary of camping out, but I wanted to stay close to home and celebrate with friends and family nearby. Broomhill is a brilliant place for the celebration. We are going to camp out in the grounds amongst the sculptures and have a big party.

"There’s going to be bands and live music, fireworks and food, special guests, axe-throwing, and really cool movie memorabilia! It’s going to be epic! Thank you to Broomhill for doing this."

Music-wise; there will be a main stage, an acoustic stage and an after-party, all courtesy of indie label Frictionless Music. The main stage will be headlined by Declan Welsh and The Decadent West, and also Fizzy Blood. DWDW is a 4-piece band from Glasgow with a focus on intelligent, relatable lyrics, catchy hooks and an electric live show. DWDW has already released four EPs and one album to critical acclaim, receiving a Scottish Album of the Year Award nomination for their debut ‘Cheaply Bought Expensively Sold,’ as well as a BBC Introducing Track of the Week.

DWDW has garnered a reputation as ‘The Future of Scottish Rock Music’ (Courier), with Jack Saunders of Radio 1 commenting: “No one knows how to whip up a mosh pit like DWDW. I know - I’ve been in the centre of one!” It’s clear that DWDW has been tipped for greatness, having been selected to open the main stage of this year’s TRNSMT festival in Glasgow. 2023 will also see the band release their highly anticipated second album.

Movie-wise, festival-goers will be able to experience an amazing exhibition of never-before-seen authentic movie memorabilia. The exhibition is a collaboration between Broomhill Estate and Propstore. With offices in London and Los Angeles and over 25,000 combined square feet of archived props and costumes, Propstore is the busiest and most trusted authority in the hobby of collecting movie memorabilia.

The centerpiece of the exhibit will feature a classic ‘Alien v Predator’ showdown with life-size versions of a 2-metre Predator facing-off against a 3.5-metre Alien Queen! There will also be a special guest appearance from actor Ian Whyte for autographs and pictures with him and the Hollywood props. Ian is a Welsh actor, stuntman and former professional basketball player. At 7 ft 1 in tall, Ian is well known for roles that require a towering physical presence. Ian has played the Predator numerous times as well as the Last Engineer in Prometheus, several roles in Game of Thrones including The Mountain, Gregor Clegane, the giant Wun Wun and a White Walker, as well as numerous roles in the Star Wars franchise and other films.

The exhibition will feature iconic movie props such as the original ‘Jumanji’ board, the original Kurgan hero sword from ‘Highlander’ (there can be only one, and it will be at the festival), the bar of soap from ‘Fight Club’, Achilles’ (Brad Pitt’s) sword and shield from ‘Troy’, the Comedian’s costume from ‘Watchmen’, Alice’s hero costume from ‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse’ and many more legendary items. Cosplay welcome!

Max’s Final Camp Out Festival is a day festival with specialist festival food, drink and activities including axe-throwing, a silent disco in the woods, a party bus, fireworks, fancy dress, kids yoga, reptile handling and a chili eating competition to boot! The festival is family-friendly with activities for all ages. Festival-goers can return home at the end of day, or they can experience what Max has done for three straight years and camp out in their tents alongside Max.

Tickets to Max’s Final Festival Camp Out are on sale from March 1 at www.broomhill-estate.com/events/whats-on/maxs-festival-camp-out/. Any profits from the day will be given to Max’s ongoing fundraising campaign for North Devon Hospice and individuals are encouraged to donate directly to Max’s JustGiving campaign.

Stephen Roberts, Chief Executive of North Devon Hospice, said: “This is a perfect way for Max to finish his fundraising challenge, which has been such an adventure and something he can look back on with so much pride. The funds he raised for North Devon Hospice in this time have made a real difference to the patients and families we support. Max has directly funded 15 nurses for a whole year. In that time, those nurses will have supported in excess of 500 patients who were facing the impact of a life-limiting illness like cancer.”

Max began his adventure on March 29, 2020, aged 10, and has now spent over 1,000 days camping out and has raised over £700K for the North Devon Hospice - his original target was £100! In the last three years he has received the Pride of Britain, Spirit of Adventure award and the Bear Grylls Chief Scout Unsung Hero award, both in 2021. He was awarded the British Empire Medal in May 2022 and has recently given a TedX talk.

Broomhill Estate is a sanctuary for the arts in North Devon. It includes an internationally-recognised sculpture exhibition which has been active for over 25 years and currently showcases more than 150 pieces throughout its gardens. It also has a commercial gallery whose focus is to support contemporary artists, celebrating both the traditional and modern crafts, engineering and thinking.

Broomhill’s art hotel has seven boutique bedrooms each with their own unique personality and ambience, inspired by arthouse and cult films and three eclectic lounges dedicated to movies, music and taxidermy. Broomhill has recently launched its new artisan dining experience offering a choice of two menus serving an evolving menu of seasonal produce. Both menus feature locally-sourced food as well as ingredients from its own farm in the grounds of the estate.