Chilled in a Field keeps getting better and better. This was the fourth time our family have attended this event, and it was by far the best. A mix of great music, a friendly vibe, and an amazing venue has made this little festival one of our families’ firm favourites.
The Venue
The Bentley Wildfowl museum is such a lovely place. The family campsite is right next to the main field so the older children can go into the festival site and back on their own, great when you’re attempting to cook!
Then there’s the woodland stage deep in the woods which provides both protection from the weather (another sunny hot year!) and a sense of getting back to nature.
This year one of those treetop climbing things had opened, which my 9 year old absolutely loved – an extra expense but really worth it! All the children were excited about the miniature train, and at only £1 per person was also well worth the small cost. You can even get off at a station and then board the next train, all using the same ticket.
Everything else was free – the bouncy castle, the inflatable slide, all the activities and workshops – which made it a great place to relax while the children have fun.
The Music
We love the fact that the main stage, the DJ tent and all the children’s activities were all a short walk from each other. So there was no chance of missing the music while the children play. This makes Chilled in a Field the most relaxing place for adults, especially if you have younger children or toddlers.
The Woodland stage was our favourite part of the festival, as it’s a place where we can listen to music or even fit in a quick dance class while the children are occupied with nature play – there were plenty of fallen logs to climb on, sticks to build dens with and wildlife to look at.
The Food and Drink
The Chilled in a Field cafe is fantastic for families – it provides home cooked food all day – there are always children’s options such as fish finger butties or pasta (and it’s a relief from the usual festival fare of organic quinoa or vegan curry which only the most unfussy children will eat). We particularly loved the Sunday roast.
If you have really fussy kids like ours, there’s a stall selling spiralled fried potato on a stick – a fun and less messy way of getting them chips.
With a vegan stall (serving the ubiquitous vegan curry!), a pizza van and pancakes also on offer you might not need to bring your own – but if you do want to cook there’s not much food on offer in the shop so its best to bring everything you need.
Even the bars at Chilled in a Field are child friendly. The main bar had a low children’s bar next to it serving soft drinks and tap water – something I’ve not seen at any other festival but such an excellent idea as it meant all the kids had somewhere to go when they were hot.
The cocktail bar in the woods was also a wonderful place with lanterns at night, and lovely virgin cocktails for the children to try!
The Vibe
As it’s such a small festival, it’s one of the most friendly you’ll ever go to. It’s very safe and relaxed, there’s not a whole lot of wild partying going on although the music carries on through the night and there’s a silent disco in the early hours if you have the energy!
The Activities
There were lots of lovely and imaginative things for the children to do. My favourite was the acoustic disney song singalong in the woods – I was pleased to see I wasn’t the only adult joining in!
New this year, Wonderland took over the activities on Saturday so added their own surreal madness. The glitter shower, an actual shower with glitter replacing water, was an extremely fun and silly addition to the usual glitter wrestling!
Chilled in a Field is a lovely place to spend time with your children, I thoroughly recommend it especially for families who are considering their first festival, or anyone who wants to enjoy a festival without all the nasty crowds.
For 2016 Chilled in a Field is moving to the Hop Farm, and we are looking forward to seeing how they settle into their new venue. Judging by other years I expect to see even more Chilled out fun.
Find out more about Chilled in a Field here.
