Boomtown Bobbies

Boomtown Fair's police station installation is a proper laugh - a fully functioning fake precinct where you can actually get arrested by costumed bobbies during the festival. It's part theatre, part interactive art, entirely bonkers. You'll find uniformed officers 'patrolling' the grounds, ready to haul you in for made-up crimes like "excessive grinning" or "crimes against fashion". Once inside the station, there's paperwork to fill out, mugshots to take, and genuinely funny banter from the performers who've clearly done this a thousand times and still find it hilarious.

This is pure festival theatre, so you need to go in with the right mindset. Families with teenagers will get a kick out of it; younger kids might find the whole arrest thing a bit much. Adults who remember proper British comedy will appreciate the deadpan humour. Solo festivalgoers often find themselves getting roped in, which is half the fun.

Boomtown operates as a festival event, so check their website for dates and ticket prices before planning a trip. It's not a year-round attraction. If you're camping nearby - Winchester Morn Hill is less than a mile away - you can easily base yourself there during the festival. The whole thing takes maybe 20 minutes to an hour depending on how much you milk the interaction with the cast. Go late afternoon when the crowd thins out and the performers are at their most mischievous.