It’s been a decade since DJ Rob da Bank launched Camp Bestival, one of the first music festivals to make bringing the kids along not seem like the Worst. Idea. Ever. Now there are dozens of totally amazing ones – these are the best family festivals in the UK.
BEARDED THEORY
24-27 May 2018 | Derbyshire
If actually cultivating a beard isn’t on the cards, beg or borrow one for this music festival in silly costumes by the River Trent. It’s so family friendly that it runs a fun but national-curriculum-supporting ‘school’ on the Monday to encourage families not to bail early. Alongside a line-up including Jimmy Cliff, Sleaford Mods and the mighty Robert Plant are ‘Wild Things’ woodland activities and teen-orientated The Rogues Hideout for free-style graffiti sessions and beat-boxing.
Address: Catton Park, Catton, Walton upon Trent, Derbyshire DE12 8LN
Website: beardedtheory.co.uk
ELDERFLOWER FIELDS
25-28 May 2018 |
This sweet little gathering in the Ashdown Forest is gloriously ‘all age’-inclusive. So while you get all snake-hipped to bands like Jally Kebba Susso (funky afro beats) and Manière des Bohémiens (gypsy jazz) and order another icy one from the Lazy Glades Cocktail Bar, your kids can escape to the sports and arts camps, learn mud hut building and even give parkour a shot.
Address: Pippingford Park, Nutley, Uckfield TN22 3HW
Website: elderflowerfields.co.uk Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £110, 5-16 year olds £60, under 5s £10
Gypsy caravans at Port Eliot, Cornwall
Feeling bouncy at Camp Bestival
BLISSFIELDS
5-8 July 2018 | Winchester
Whether you’re grooving to English funk band Metronomy or dancing all night at the Blisscotheque, Blissfield warms the cockles. Add in your sproglets making woodland fancy dress costumes in the Angel Gardens Family Area, having paint fights and dancing their Salt-Water sandals off at the onesie disco and everyone’s in their happy place.
Address: Vicarage Farm, Woodmancott, SO21 3BL
Website: blissfields.co.uk Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £110, 10-16 year olds £90, 0-9s £15
Latitude
Latitude, Suffolk
LATITUDE
12-15 July 2018 |
Latitude must be the closest grown-ups can get to a real festival experience with the tiddlywinks in tow. Watch Goldfrapp, Placebo, John Cale and Maggie Rogers while your cuties hang out in the Enchanted and Angel Gardens or the Inbetweeners teen area, doing art, archaeology, woodland crafts, fashion and technology workshops, and dancing at kids-only discos.
Address: Henham Barns, Nr Southwold, Beccles, Suffolk NR34 8AQ
Website: latitudefestival.com Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £197, accompanied teens from £132.50, children £10
GIVE
13-16 July 2018 | Leicestershire
The antithesis of a corporate festival, this teeny celebration of soul, house, funk, reggae and blues, grew out of a series of club nights started by a gang of warehouse ravers in the 80s. While it is not a family festival, many regulars now bring their offspring, who like it. I’ll be watching British Soul singer Corrina Greyson and joining a ‘Pimp My Ride’ kart-decorating workshop. Others may prefer the treehouse, bouncy castle, karaoke and magic forest school.
Address: Stanford Hall, Lutterworth, Leicestershire, LE17 6DH
Website: houseofhoney.org Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £175, under 18s £55, under 13s £30
Secret Garden Party
Secret Garden Party
DEER SHED FESTIVAL 8
20-22 July 2018 | North Yorkshire
Kick off the school holidays with this weekend of fun at Baldersby Park in Yorkshire, combining music (Teenage Fanclub, The Divine Comedy, Let’s Eat Grandma and others), cabaret, comedy, theatre, book readings, family films, science workshops and lots of scampering like lunatics in the woods.
Address: Baldersby Park, Topcliffe, North Yorkshire YO7 3BZ
Website: deershedfestival.com Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £135; 6-15 year olds £45, 3-5 £10, 0-2 free
Curious Arts Festival
Curious Arts Festival, Hampshire
CURIOUS ARTS FESTIVAL
20-22 July 2018 |
Its all snail racing, midnight bat walks and bee-keeping lessons at Curious Arts Festival, in the grounds of stately Pylewell Park. But wait! It’s also sloshing great G&Ts in deckchairs, music by Tom Odell, comedy by Ed Byrne and bookishness by Joanna Trollope. Kids can join writing, ukulele and puppetry workshops and try croquet and crazy golf.
Address: Pylewell Park, East End, Lymington, Hampshire SO41 5SJ
Website: curiousartsfestival.com Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £128, 5-13 year olds £23, under 5s free
NOZSTOCK: THE HIDDEN VALLEY
20-22 July 2018 |
Growing from a family party-on-a-farm for 50 people into a nine-stage bonanza for 5,000, this independent little festival still feels like a private fancy-dress party but with tons of activities thrown in. You can watch Happy Mondays, Seasick Steve, The Sugar Hill Gang and The Correspondents – or skip over to the Little Wonderland kids’ area for art workshops, breakdancing lessons and meditation. ‘The family side of the festival is a huge part of what we do here,’ says Ella, organiser and daughter of Noz, ‘particularly now I’m a mum with a toddler, and pregnant with my second child. There’s even a bottle-warming service for brave new parents!’
Address: Rowden Paddocks, Bromyard, Herefordshire HR7 4LS
Website: nozstock.com Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £115, teens from £95, 12 and under, free
Crossing the river at Latitude festival in Suffolk
KENDAL CALLING
26-29 July 2018 | Cumbria
Like a tiny Glastonbury, Kendal Calling, in pretty Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District, attracts the big names – this year, Franz Ferdinand, Manic Street Preachers, Tinie Tempah, Editors and Jake Bugg – but has great stuff for kids too. They’ll sit down to make tutus and kazoos, leap up to learn circus skills then flop in a heap in front of a Pixar favourite in the cinema tent. Genius.
Address: Lowther Deer Park, Hackthorpe (nr Penrith), Cumbria CA10 2HN
Website: kendalcalling.co.uk Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £140, 11-15 year olds £81.50, 6-10s £19.25, under 5s free
Port Eliot, Cornwall
Port Eliot, Cornwall
WOMAD
26-29 July 2018 | Wiltshire
On a country estate in deepest Wiltshire this global music festival is an enchanted wonderland for grownups and kiddos alike. Expect everyone from acclaimed Brazilian artist Seu Jorge (samba, pop and soul) to house music pioneer, DJ Joey Negro plus the ‘World of Children’ area where creative little ones can make giant puppets for the kid’s parade.
Address: Charlton Park, Malmesbury, Wiltshire SN16 9LL
Website: womad.co.uk Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £175; teenagers, £85, under 13s free
Camp Bestival, Dorset
CAMP BESTIVAL
2-5 July 2018 |
At Lulworth Castle on Dorset’s impossibly beautiful Jurassic coast, your small people can get on down with Dick and Dom, Mr Tumble and Andy & The Odd Socks and you can all whoop along to sets by Mark Ronson, Madness, All Saints and Brian Wilson.
Address: Lulworth Castle, East Lulworth, Dorset BH20 5QS
Website: campbestival.net Tickets: Weekend adult tickets from £197.50, students £185, 13-17 £125, 10-12 £98.75, 5-9 £45, 4 and unders £15
Port Eliot, Cornwall
PORT ELIOT FESTIVAL
26-29 July 2018 | Cornwall
By boho poshos for boho poshos, there’s a Narnia-like quality to this family friendly literary festival in the grounds of the oldest continually inhabited dwelling in the UK. A feast of books, food, music, art, comedy, fashion and film, there are also children’s workshops in Bollywood dancing and costume design, wild swimming and a forest school camp out.
Address: Port Eliot Estate, St Germans, Saltash PL12 5ND
Website: porteliotfestival.com Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £165, 14-17 year olds £105, 8-13s £70, 0-7s free
Wilderness
WILDERNESS
2-5 August 2018 | Oxfordshire
Heaven for foodie musos, Wilderness offers an excellent mix of bands (spectrum-wise: Grace Jones to First Aid Kit) and super suppers by Angela Hartnett’s Café Murano, Petersham Nurseries, Yotam Ottolenghi and Nuno Mendes. Its also about rough and tumbling with your kids in the great outdoors and camping under the twinkling stars.
Address: Cornbury Park, Charlbury, Oxfordshire OX7 3EH
Website: wildernessfestival.com Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £178, 13-17 year olds £105, 6-12 £35, 0-5 free
Wilderness festival
GREEN MAN
16-19 August 2018 | Brecon Beacons
As always, Green Man brings a stellar musical cast of characters – from the best unsigned acts to PJ Harvey, Ryan Adams and Drum ‘n’ Bass legend Roni Size – plus comedy, literature and film. Impressively immersive areas for kids and teens include the fabulous Einstein’s Garden, for playful experiences inspired by science and nature.
Address: Glanusk Park, Crickhowell, Powys NP8 1LP
Website: greenman.net Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £180, £155 for full time students, £115 for 13-17 year olds, £20 for 5-12s, under 5s free
Dancing at Port Eliot, Cornwall
Port Eliot, Cornwall
JUST SO
17-19 August |
Don’t even think of turning up to Just So not dressed up as one of six different woodland animals for its tribal tournament. This festival ‘for children and their families’ in Rode Hall Parkland, brings art, music and theatre to a series of wild natural landscapes, with immersive and whimsical activities, performances and installations.
Address: Rode Hall Estate, Scholar Green, Cheshire ST7 3QT
Website: www.justsofestival.org.uk Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £140, children £50, under 3s free
SHAMBALA
22-26 August 2018 | Northamptonshire
Everything from location to line up is kept one big fat secret until you buy your ticket for this relaxed, family-friendly festival. It’s always a good mix of emerging talent and big names in rock, pop, folk and World Music. The offerings range from African Sambista sessions and Fair Trade talks to family raves and bedtime stories.
Website: shambalafestival.org Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £150; 15-17 year olds £89; 5-14 year olds £39, under 5s free
Wilderness
THE BIG FEASTIVAL
24-26 August 2018|
This foodie music festival is run by Blur bassist Alex James on his farm in Kingham, and is now in its seventh year. Expect Basement Jaxx, Paloma Faith, Craig David and Sugarhill Gang & Furious Five to provide the ‘choons’, leaving Marco Pierre White, Raymond Blanc and Mark Hix, among others, to sort out the food. For kids, there’s Justin Fletcher, Paddington, Peppa Pig and George, a vintage funfair and field-to-fork cookery classes.
Address: Alex James’ farm, Kingham, Oxfordshire, OX7 6UJ
Website: thebigfeastival.com Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £159.50 without camping, teens from £94.50; under 13s from £32.25, babes in arms free
Port Eliot, Cornwall
SHREWSBURY FOLK FESTIVAL
24-27 August 2018 | Shrewsbury
It’s three for the price of one at Shrewsbury Folk Festival, which this year features Loudon Wainwright III and the Unthanks among others. The other two festivals are Pandemonium, offering circus skills, willow lantern making and family yoga for 9 and unders and ‘Refolkus’, for older yoofs, with music and dance workshops and the chance to perform live.
Address: West Midlands Showground, Berwick Road, Shrewsbury, SY1 2PF
Website: shrewsburyfolkfestival.co.uk Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £150, 11-17 year olds £90, 5-10s £50, 0-4 free
Port Eliot, Cornwall
Kids at Wilderness festival, Oxfordshire
FESTIVAL NO. 6
6-9 September 2018 |
Even Beck loves Festival No. 6, a multi-genre arts and music festival held at weird and wonderful Portmeirion, a romanticized re-creation of an Italian village – in Wales. Expect performances by Bloc Party and The Flaming Lips and readings by Irvine Welsh, plus an excellent children’s area, Mischief Meadow, and a tipi-filled family camping village.
Address:Portmeirion, Gwynedd, Wales LL48 6ER
Website:festivalnumber6.com Tickets: Adult weekend tickets from £195; 12-15 year olds from £140; ten and under are free
SMOKED & UNCUT MUSIC FESTIVALS
Four weekends between July and September 2018 | Bath, Devon and Hampshire
These five festival weekends, one at each of the four PIG hotels and the fifth at grander sibling Lime Wood, serve up food and music in a country garden setting and are super family friendly. With performances by The Kooks, The Blockheads, Top Loader and Karen Elson, food by Angela Hartnett and Mark Hix and Arts and Crafts and ‘tug of war’ for the kids, it’s an all-round crowd pleaser.
Address: 10-11 June, THE PIG on the Beach, 8-9 July, THE PIG at Brockenhurst, 22-23 July, Lime Wood, 19-20 August, THE PIG near Bath, 9 September, THE PIG at Combe
Website: smokedanduncut.com Tickets: One day adult tickets from £35, 5-13 year olds £20
THE GOOD LIFE EXPERIENCE
14-16 September 2018 |
Cerys Matthews’action-packed carnival-like festival is held on the Hawarden Estate in North Wales against a backdrop of not one, but two castles. With pursuits from axe throwing and knot tying to foraging and campfire cooking there’s bags for everyone of all ages to get stuck in to. We love the magical 1930s fairground. And the fact the campsite’s bell tents come pre-erected.
Address: The Good Life Experience, Hawarden, Flintshire, Deeside CH5 3FB
Website: thegoodlifeexperience.co.uk
Tickets: Adults from £109; 12-17 year olds from £49; under 12s go free
The Good Life Experience
Toasting marshmallows at Port Eliot festival, Cornwall
Latitude, Suffolk
Butterfly-catcher at Latitude, Suffolk
Faraway Forest at Latitude festival, Suffolk
At the Next Stage at Secret Garden Party
Watching Temper Trap on the Great Stage at Secret Garden Party
Wonky Races at The Amphitheatre, Secret Garden Party
The Pagoda at Secret Garden Party
Secret Garden Party
Camels at Wilderness festival
Dinner at Wilderness festival, Oxfordshire
Wilderness festival at Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire
Chasing bubbles at Latitude
Port Eliot, Cornwall
Wilderness
Watching the New English Ballet through the trees at Latitude
