Best Family Festivals 2015

CIAF 2014


Here are our top picks for 2015!

Whether a festival is good for you depends on what music you’re into and what other things you like doing at festivals, as well as the age of your kids. If you are new to festivals with kids, you may want to read our guide to Choosing the right Family-Friendly Festival.

We have included our affiliate links in the listings – if you click “Buy Tickets Now” you will go straight to the ticket page for your chosen festival. You will not pay anything for this but the festival will give us a small commission to keep Festival Kidz up and running – so please use them!

If you need something tried and tested – have a look at our Festival Kidz Award Winners for 2014.

Also have a look at our… Best festivals for first timers and Best festivals for toddlers


 

3 Wishes Faery Festival : ERROR: Festival 3 Wishes Faery Festival not found!
Set on a beautiful hillside with stunning views and gardens. There is a Faery School where your children become little pixies and fairies!
2014 Silver award 2013 Gold award

 

Bearded Theory

Bearded Theory : 24th - 27th May 2024
Friendly welcoming atmosphere and a very loyal crowd who return year after year. Family area run by Angel Gardens. Lots of fun to be had by all.
2019 Recommended award 2014 Silver award 2013 Gold award

 

Beautiful Days

Beautiful Days : 16th - 18th August 2024
Created by The Levellers as a remedy against the increasing commercialism of the bigger festivals, this sells out every year to appreciative fans. There is always a great line up and an exciting and welcoming atmosphere. The kid’s area is set right in the middle of the arena so you can still be part of the festival while you are supervising your kids.
2022 Award 22 award 2019 Recommended award 2017 Best Medium Festival award 2015 Best Medium Festival award

 

Blissfields

Blissfields : No dates for future events
Once a small gathering of friends in the Bliss family fields, now grown into a proper little festival, with an excellent children’s area run by Angel Gardens. Boutique yet entirely unpretentious – friendly and fun with an excellent line up of up and coming bands.
2018 Recommended South England award 2014 Gold award 2013 Silver award

 

Camp Bestival : ERROR: Festival Camp Bestival not found!
The king of family festivals – this is one of the largest family friendly festivals in the UK. Great if you want a ‘proper’ festival line up of big names across many genres, however it is a large site and can be crowded, especially for smaller children. So many activities and shows, you’ll struggle to pack it all into the weekend, but great for mixed age kids as there is something for everyone.
2019 Recommended award 2015 Large Festival Runner Up award 2014 Silver award

 

Chilled in a Field

Chilled in a Field : Discontinued
Teeny tiny and organised with passion. Great quality music and incredibly chilled friendly atmosphere. Fantastic place to have a relaxing time – definitely no trudging about here! There’s only one cafe selling lovely grub, but take your own food if your children are fussy – although it’s so small you can easily drive to the nearest supermarket to get supplies!
2019 Recommended award 2015 Tiny Festival Runner Up award 2014 Gold award 2013 Silver award orange-buy-tickets-button-320x120

 

Cornbury Music Festival

Cornbury Music Festival : Discontinued
‘Posh’, easy to manage, big names on the line up, big kids’ area and very well organised. Lots for the whole family to enjoy.
2019 Recommended award 2014 Silver award

 

Deer Shed Festival

Deer Shed Festival : 26th - 29th July 2024
Organised by families with an aim to make the festival enjoyable for all ages. All sorts of nice touches such as kid’s activities in the camping field so they are entertained while you pitch the tent. Children feel included and they are integral to the programming rather than an afterthought.
2018 Recommended North award 2014 Gold award

 

Elderflower Fields

Elderflower Fields : 24th - 27th May 2024
Oozing quality and celebrating British country-chic… and you can join in a free local produce sampling picnic on Sunday – how lovely is that?!
2019 Recommended award 2017 Small Festival Runner Up award 2014 Silver award

 

End of the Road Festival

End of the Road Festival : 29th - 1st September 2024
Intimate and friendly, and a stunning venue. Dedicated children’s and family area.

 

Farmer Phil

Farmer Phil's Music Festival : No dates yet
Very small and friendly festival, where you can actually park by your tent! You can also make a family holiday out of it and stay for a week in the beautiful Shropshire countryside. Children’s entertainment offered by Panic Circus and Junkfish.

 

Jimmy

Jimmy's Harvest Festival – cancelled
Bands, activities, a playground and a zip wire! All on a working farm. This is a really lovely festival to take the children to.

 

Just So Festival

Just So Festival : 16th - 18th August 2024
A festival of creativity, arts, stories, fantasy and imagination aimed at families. Super friendly and set in a site of true beauty, this festival is ‘just so’ gorgeous. An absolute must for young families wanting to indulge their artistic leanings.
2019 Recommended award 2014 Gold award 2013 Gold award

 

Glastonbury

Glastonbury : 26th - 30th June 2024
If you were lucky enough to get tickets, this is one magnificent party. The Kidz Field and the Green Kids area in the Green Fields offer festival entertainment to kids like no other festival. The line up is staggering and the whole experience is colossal. Go prepared (and make sure you tag your kids!) and this will probably be the best festival you’ll ever go to!
2017 Best Large Festival award 2015 Best Large Festival award

 

Green Gathering

Green Gathering  : 1st - 4th August 2024
Running on 100% sustainable energy, this is a gorgeous community festival, with a huge kids’ field and many different types of music and activities.
2018 Recommended Wales award 2014 Gold award

Use the special Festival Kidz discount code FKIDG15 to get £10 off Green Gathering adult tickets!

Just enter code FKIDG15 when buying tickets from their website: http://www.greengathering.org.uk/festival/tickets/

 

Green Man Festival

Green Man Festival  : 15th - 18th August 2024
Hottest acts on the new music scene. Beautiful location in the Brecon Beacons. Great imaginative and inspiring kid’s areas to go above and beyond normal festival expectations. Stay for a week and turn it into a holiday.
2019 Recommended award 2015 Medium Festival Runner Up award 2014 Gold award 2013 Gold award

 

Lakefest

Lakefest  : 7th - 11th August 2024
Great line-up, incredibly affordable accommodations options including bunk-houses, on-site waterpark and a kid’s area make this a good choice for families. And you can even take the family dog!
2018 Recommended Midland award 2015 Best Small Festival award 2014 Families Choice award 2014 Silver award 2013 Silver award

 

Latitude Festival : ERROR: Festival Latitude Festival not found!
Fantastic Children’s Arena (practically a festival in itself) and a great Inbetweeners Teen Area to keep older kids interested, engaged and thoroughly entertained. A great mix of Literature and Music, and multi-coloured sheep!

 

Larmer Tree Festival

Larmer Tree Festival : Discontinued
Set in gorgeous surroundings, with excellent facilities including a stunning campsite. Although lacking in an alternative festival vibe, it is friendly and would appeal to families looking for a safe environment. Tons of excellent children’s and adult’s workshops, engaging youth zone, and lots of space. Truly something for everybody, regardless of age.
2018 Recommended South England award 2014 Gold award 2013 Gold award

 

Lodestar Festival  : ERROR: Festival Lodestar Festival not found!
A great well-chosen line-up of emerging artists coupled with good range of food options and a site as flat as a giant bowling green make this a very relaxing festival to be at. It’s a small festival with loads of space to chill out and play.

 

North Nibley Music Festival : ERROR: Festival Nibley Music Festival not found!
Not-for-profit, family-focused, community event with a relaxed and welcoming vibe.

 

Penn Festival : ERROR: Festival Penn Festival not found!
Small and friendly with a local feel. Hidden away in a lovely rural location. Perfect festival for those of us who love a throwback to the 80’s and 90’s. And a fab circus area provided by the lovely team at Bigtopmania.
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Shambala

Shambala : 22nd - 25th August 2024
Truly a ‘festival-goers festival’ – they manage to accommodate and include children in the whole site without removing the festival spirit. The kids’ field includes a fantastic onsite crèche, and there are interactive games and art to climb on across the site. There is separate camping for young families with it’s own entertainment and campfire away from the main festival, and so many workshops, activities and performances your children will be talking about it all year.
2019 Recommended award 2017 Medium Festival Runner Up award 2014 Gold award 2013 Festival of the Year award

 

Somersault

Somersault : Discontinued
No other festival can boast that they have surfing and rock climbing lessons! Definitely one for outdoorsy people, but with a fantastic line up and stunning scenery.|
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Standon Calling

Standon Calling : 25th - 28th July 2024
Swimming pool on site. Fantastic music. Fancy dress mayhem. Reasonably small, so it doesn’t get overcrowded. Popular with mixed-age families and has a very loyal following.
2018 Recommended South England award

 

Starry Skies Family Camp : ERROR: Festival Starry Skies Family Camp not found!
Not quite a festival, but a family camping weekend with a festival twist. Organised by Shambala and includes music and all sorts of back to nature activities for wild free ranging kids to explore.

 

Sun and Moon Festival : ERROR: Festival Sun and Moon Festival not found!
A brand new festival, for those families that want a wellbeing retreat with animals to see and lots of activities, rather than a party. There’s also proper accommodation if you don’t want to sleep in a tent!

 

Sunrise Celebration

Sunrise Celebration : Discontinued?
With their award-winning kids’ area, the whole family can be entertained with arts, crafts and plenty of undercover activities. Their motto: ‘kids always welcome, adults welcome if they behave!’

 

Wilderness

Wilderness : 1st - 4th August 2024
A feast of utter gorgeousness, where nature, art and music come together in a wild yet earthy celebration of our existence. Set in a naturally beautiful site with spas, lake swimming, creative exuberance and expressiveness.
2019 Recommended award 2014 Silver award orange-buy-tickets-button-320x120

 

WOMAD Festival

WOMAD Festival : 25th - 28th July 2024
Stunning and eclectic World Music line up and more cultural education opportunities than you could possibly imagine! Lots of workshops, great festival site and a very warm and music-loving crowd.
2019 Recommended award 2014 Gold award

 

Wood Festival

Wood Festival : ERROR: Festival Wood Festival not found!
Tiny festival in a gorgeous location. Campfires, workshops, yurts, tipis, music, green grass, trees, compost loos, crafts, talks, yoga…
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Wychwood Festival

Wychwood Festival  : 31st May - 2nd June 2024
Laid back and mellow. There are plenty of activities and workshops laid on and there’s a Children’s Literature Festival with lots of top kids authors. You can drive up to the campsite to unload. Copes well with rain due to lots of hard standing areas.
2018 Recommended Midland award

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CIAF 2014 - 76The list could go on and on… and we know you’re all going to tell us we’ve missed some of your favourites off… so come on, what are they? Comment below and share your gems with us! 🙂

It’s not only about the activities laid on for kids, sometimes it’s just about a special ethos or particularly welcoming atmosphere… but not all festivals suit all families – it really depends on the age and stage of your kids, and your level of expectation, experience and personal tastes!

If you’ve been to any of the festivals featured on our website, please leave your comments to help other families decide if that festival will suit them.

PS. If you’re a festival organiser and feel you’ve been overlooked, send a family ticket our way and we’ll send a team member down to check out your family-friendly credentials for future lists – if we don’t know what your festival is like then we can’t recommend you! 😉