The Family Festival Guide

Best Family Friendly Festivals 2023

All the info on one page!

These are our top picks for 2023, with the ticket prices, headliners and some of the activities on offer to help you choose.

We have also added the themes to help you get to work on your costumes now!

Festivals are listed in alphabetical order.

All prices quoted are for weekend tickets with camping (including booking fee) unless stated otherwise, and are correct at time of publishing. Many festivals offer tickets in increasing Tiers, so check the festival’s website for current prices.

Check out our map, calendar and A-Z list for full details of 2023 festivals.

Read more…

Festival Trolley and Wagon Guide

So you want a festival trolley but you’re not sure which to go for? Whether you want to buy a ready made one or make one yourself, here’s all the information you need!

Space Rocket Festival Trolley
Read more…

Festival Transport Hire

Festival Kidz was contacted by Bike Trailer Hire, a company that hires equipment such as bike trailers, strollers and child carriers. We thought this was a great idea to save families money while helping the environment by reusing items.

But how does it all work? Sarah from Bike Trailer Hire has written a useful guide below to answer all your questions.

WIN a FREE four week hire!

Bike Trailer Hire are offering one of our readers a FREE FOUR WEEK HIRE of either an Osprey Poco Child Carrier or an Out & About Nipper!

Read more…

Carting Kids Round Festivals

Pushchairs, Wagons, Slings, Carriers and Buggies

I once read on the old Glastonbury advice page that parents should get a cheap £20 stroller from Argos and throw it away after the festival. WOW – I was so unimpressed by this comment!

Leaving aside the obvious environmental issues with that approach, for parents taking babies, a good buggy can make or break your festival experience.  Can you imagine trying to get a cheap stroller through 6 inches of mud???!!

Surely we all want our festival experience to be easy and enjoyable?

Read more…

Lifetime Achievement Award 2022

This year for our Festival Kidz Awards, we asked you to vote for your favourite festivals, but also also to vote for the often overlooked side of our family friendly festival experience. Those people who entertain and look after our children. The names you look for in the kids’ field festival line up.

But one stalwart of the festival circuit was not eligible to enter. Because last year, a quiet announcement on a crew page marked the end of Angel Gardens, a kids’ area that was a big part of the festival scene for a long time. Although they may continue to attend some events, they have decided they will no longer run the kids’ field at festivals. 

So we would like to give the very first Festival Kidz Lifetime Achievement Award to Angel Gardens.

angel gardens
Read more…

2022 Award Winners!

Festival Kidz Award 2022

And the winners of our Festival Kidz 2022 Awards are…

Read more…

Washing kids at a festival

Eeeww – smelly!

Well, it is a festival so normal rules on washing and personal hygiene tend to go out of the window for a few days.

Read more…

Festival Survival Guide

Art at Chilled in a FieldSecrets to enjoying a festival with kids

Every year we get lots of parents asking us how to make a festival with kids fun rather than a weekend of stress.

The reality is that going to a festival with your kids is not such a crazy thing to do any more.  There are hundreds of festivals that welcome families of all ages and there’s usually more to do there than at many other holiday destinations so, rather than begrudging being dragged along, chances are your kids will have even more fun than you!
Read more…

Your Teenager’s first festival?

glastonbury 95 with Alison
Glastonbury ’95

A parent wrote to us asking about teenager festivals:

Our 16 year old is off to their first festival this year with some friends. They are all pretty sensible but I can’t help worrying.

Any advice?

Letting our kids spread their wings and explore the world is something all parents will wrestle with at some stage.

Teenage years are tricky – everyone tells you so. We want to give them space to grow and freedom to develop, but most importantly we want to keep them safe. Read more…

VOTE! Festival Kidz Awards 2022

All the nominations are in and it’s time to VOTE!

Please use this voting form to vote for your favourite family festivals, entertainers and traders, and tell us what it is that makes these so special to you! 

Read more…

Nibley Festival 2022 Review

The friendly and beautiful Nibley Festival utterly charmed us first time visitors. It was a joy waking up to the awesome countryside views, the music was well pitched and accomplished, and the kids’ activities were well thought out, varied and fun. We had a great time!

Nibley Festival 2022
Read more…

Festival Kidz Awards 2022

The Festival Kidz Awards are back, but with a difference!

We asked all our writers to nominate festivals in three categories, to reflect the differing needs of the ages of our children. We have restricted the nominations so that festivals are only nominated in one category. We acknowledge that some of these festivals are excellent in more than one category, but we feel they are particularly good for the nominated age.

Read more…

End of the Road 2022 Review

By Natalie Paris (guest reviewer)

It’s the final festival of the season and – if you think you can handle scrubbing all the glitter off the night before your kids go back to school – End of the Road is completely worth it. This compact festival is always hugely popular, selling out months in advance. Now, I always thought this was due to the lineups being full of the need-to-know bands indie music fans love but since our visit this weekend I’ve realised it’s also because it’s just a great, easygoing little festival. Not perfect, of course, but a microcosm of everything you might want in a weekend, with a surprising amount of fun for families alongside the music too.

End of the Road 2022
Read more…

Towersey Festival 2022 Review

It has been a long 3 years since our last visit to Towersey. And a lot has changed in that time. As we approached August Bank Holiday I was hopeful that all the wonderfulness of Towersey would remain. And I was also optimistic that their new site at Claydon Estate would bring even more magic to what is already a great festival.

You would be hard pushed to find a more established festival than Towersey. It has been running for almost 60 years and there is no doubt that this team know their stuff. Our last visit, 3 years ago was pretty much perfect. But this year they have moved to a new home. The magnificent Claydon Estate. Would they be able to deliver their usual flawless festival experience at this new site?

Read more…

Deer Shed Festival 2022 Review

It has been five years since we were last at Deer Shed Festival. Our kids were much smaller then and we were keen to see how the festival has changed. It was heart warming to see that the spirit and ethos remains exactly the same. Great music, great food, happy children.

Self Esteem Deer Shed Festival 2022
Self Esteem commanding the stage on Saturday evening.
Read more…

Victorious 2022 review

Victorious 2022

This was our third visit to this festival and Victorious 2022 did not disappoint. The headline acts and range of performances rival those of the more well established festivals. The backdrop of the English Channel made this already great event idyllic. Victorious is simply amazing for families with an inordinate amount of varied activities in the huge kids’ area THAT ARE ALL FREE!!!! It is so good that they are even making it longer for 2023.

Read more…

Womad 2022 Review

Like coming home…

As young adults, we spent many happy summers cutting our festival teeth at WOMAD. At the time it was right on our doorstep in Reading and was responsible for our love of the whole festival scene. WOMAD has and always will be the most welcoming and inclusive festival we know. It continues to hold a special place in our hearts ❤

Read more…

Camp Bestival Shropshire 2022 Review

Camp Bestival Shropshire 22

Blow your socks off fun!! What a fantastic family festival. The first Camp Bestival Shropshire was a huge success. Impeccable organisation offering a jam-packed weekend of first-class family festival fun.

Read more…

Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2022 Review

Possibly the friendliest and most relaxed festival I have ever attended.

Children with crafts made at festival
Crafting fun at Shrewsbury Folk Festival
Read more…

Beautiful Days 2022 Review

Beautiful Days 2013 was our first ever family festival. Way back when we were a family of four and still in need of nappies, buggies and all the other paraphernalia of very small children. The fact that I now spend my summers going to multiple festivals and reviewing them here is testament to how much we enjoyed it.

Read more…

Best Family Friendly Festivals 2023

All the info on one page!

These are our top picks for 2023, with the ticket prices, headliners and some of the activities on offer to help you choose.

We have also added the themes to help you get to work on your costumes now!

Festivals are listed in alphabetical order.

All prices quoted are for weekend tickets with camping (including booking fee) unless stated otherwise, and are correct at time of publishing. Many festivals offer tickets in increasing Tiers, so check the festival’s website for current prices.

Check out our map, calendar and A-Z list for full details of 2023 festivals.

Read more…

Festival Transport Hire

Festival Kidz was contacted by Bike Trailer Hire, a company that hires equipment such as bike trailers, strollers and child carriers. We thought this was a great idea to save families money while helping the environment by reusing items.

But how does it all work? Sarah from Bike Trailer Hire has written a useful guide below to answer all your questions.

WIN a FREE four week hire!

Bike Trailer Hire are offering one of our readers a FREE FOUR WEEK HIRE of either an Osprey Poco Child Carrier or an Out & About Nipper!

Read more…

Lifetime Achievement Award 2022

This year for our Festival Kidz Awards, we asked you to vote for your favourite festivals, but also also to vote for the often overlooked side of our family friendly festival experience. Those people who entertain and look after our children. The names you look for in the kids’ field festival line up.

But one stalwart of the festival circuit was not eligible to enter. Because last year, a quiet announcement on a crew page marked the end of Angel Gardens, a kids’ area that was a big part of the festival scene for a long time. Although they may continue to attend some events, they have decided they will no longer run the kids’ field at festivals. 

So we would like to give the very first Festival Kidz Lifetime Achievement Award to Angel Gardens.

angel gardens
Read more…

Washing kids at a festival

Eeeww – smelly!

Well, it is a festival so normal rules on washing and personal hygiene tend to go out of the window for a few days.

Read more…

Your Teenager’s first festival?

glastonbury 95 with Alison
Glastonbury ’95

A parent wrote to us asking about teenager festivals:

Our 16 year old is off to their first festival this year with some friends. They are all pretty sensible but I can’t help worrying.

Any advice?

Letting our kids spread their wings and explore the world is something all parents will wrestle with at some stage.

Teenage years are tricky – everyone tells you so. We want to give them space to grow and freedom to develop, but most importantly we want to keep them safe. Read more…

Nibley Festival 2022 Review

The friendly and beautiful Nibley Festival utterly charmed us first time visitors. It was a joy waking up to the awesome countryside views, the music was well pitched and accomplished, and the kids’ activities were well thought out, varied and fun. We had a great time!

Nibley Festival 2022
Read more…

End of the Road 2022 Review

By Natalie Paris (guest reviewer)

It’s the final festival of the season and – if you think you can handle scrubbing all the glitter off the night before your kids go back to school – End of the Road is completely worth it. This compact festival is always hugely popular, selling out months in advance. Now, I always thought this was due to the lineups being full of the need-to-know bands indie music fans love but since our visit this weekend I’ve realised it’s also because it’s just a great, easygoing little festival. Not perfect, of course, but a microcosm of everything you might want in a weekend, with a surprising amount of fun for families alongside the music too.

End of the Road 2022
Read more…

Deer Shed Festival 2022 Review

It has been five years since we were last at Deer Shed Festival. Our kids were much smaller then and we were keen to see how the festival has changed. It was heart warming to see that the spirit and ethos remains exactly the same. Great music, great food, happy children.

Self Esteem Deer Shed Festival 2022
Self Esteem commanding the stage on Saturday evening.
Read more…

Womad 2022 Review

Like coming home…

As young adults, we spent many happy summers cutting our festival teeth at WOMAD. At the time it was right on our doorstep in Reading and was responsible for our love of the whole festival scene. WOMAD has and always will be the most welcoming and inclusive festival we know. It continues to hold a special place in our hearts ❤

Read more…

Shrewsbury Folk Festival 2022 Review

Possibly the friendliest and most relaxed festival I have ever attended.

Children with crafts made at festival
Crafting fun at Shrewsbury Folk Festival
Read more…

Festival Trolley and Wagon Guide

So you want a festival trolley but you’re not sure which to go for? Whether you want to buy a ready made one or make one yourself, here’s all the information you need!

Space Rocket Festival Trolley
Read more…

Carting Kids Round Festivals

Pushchairs, Wagons, Slings, Carriers and Buggies

I once read on the old Glastonbury advice page that parents should get a cheap £20 stroller from Argos and throw it away after the festival. WOW – I was so unimpressed by this comment!

Leaving aside the obvious environmental issues with that approach, for parents taking babies, a good buggy can make or break your festival experience.  Can you imagine trying to get a cheap stroller through 6 inches of mud???!!

Surely we all want our festival experience to be easy and enjoyable?

Read more…

2022 Award Winners!

Festival Kidz Award 2022

And the winners of our Festival Kidz 2022 Awards are…

Read more…

Festival Survival Guide

Art at Chilled in a FieldSecrets to enjoying a festival with kids

Every year we get lots of parents asking us how to make a festival with kids fun rather than a weekend of stress.

The reality is that going to a festival with your kids is not such a crazy thing to do any more.  There are hundreds of festivals that welcome families of all ages and there’s usually more to do there than at many other holiday destinations so, rather than begrudging being dragged along, chances are your kids will have even more fun than you!
Read more…

VOTE! Festival Kidz Awards 2022

All the nominations are in and it’s time to VOTE!

Please use this voting form to vote for your favourite family festivals, entertainers and traders, and tell us what it is that makes these so special to you! 

Read more…

Festival Kidz Awards 2022

The Festival Kidz Awards are back, but with a difference!

We asked all our writers to nominate festivals in three categories, to reflect the differing needs of the ages of our children. We have restricted the nominations so that festivals are only nominated in one category. We acknowledge that some of these festivals are excellent in more than one category, but we feel they are particularly good for the nominated age.

Read more…

Towersey Festival 2022 Review

It has been a long 3 years since our last visit to Towersey. And a lot has changed in that time. As we approached August Bank Holiday I was hopeful that all the wonderfulness of Towersey would remain. And I was also optimistic that their new site at Claydon Estate would bring even more magic to what is already a great festival.

You would be hard pushed to find a more established festival than Towersey. It has been running for almost 60 years and there is no doubt that this team know their stuff. Our last visit, 3 years ago was pretty much perfect. But this year they have moved to a new home. The magnificent Claydon Estate. Would they be able to deliver their usual flawless festival experience at this new site?

Read more…

Victorious 2022 review

Victorious 2022

This was our third visit to this festival and Victorious 2022 did not disappoint. The headline acts and range of performances rival those of the more well established festivals. The backdrop of the English Channel made this already great event idyllic. Victorious is simply amazing for families with an inordinate amount of varied activities in the huge kids’ area THAT ARE ALL FREE!!!! It is so good that they are even making it longer for 2023.

Read more…

Camp Bestival Shropshire 2022 Review

Camp Bestival Shropshire 22

Blow your socks off fun!! What a fantastic family festival. The first Camp Bestival Shropshire was a huge success. Impeccable organisation offering a jam-packed weekend of first-class family festival fun.

Read more…

Beautiful Days 2022 Review

Beautiful Days 2013 was our first ever family festival. Way back when we were a family of four and still in need of nappies, buggies and all the other paraphernalia of very small children. The fact that I now spend my summers going to multiple festivals and reviewing them here is testament to how much we enjoyed it.

Read more…

And thanks to the following festivals for their support in the past