Come for a Cwtch
We fell in love with Green Man Festival last year and I have to admit to being worried about how it could possibly meet the expectations we had from it being so wonderful. I need not have worried because yet again this beautiful festival filled my heart with happiness. I did not think it would be possible for us to love it even more than we already did.
Arrival and the Site
You may think you have taken a wrong turn driving to Green Man, you travel along very narrow roads to get to it but when you see the top of the tents poking through the trees you know you have arrived. The family car park sold out quick this year so unless you want quite a walk with kit from the west car park to family camping I would suggest getting your family parking passes in good time. The family car park is a reasonably quick walk to family camping. Mr Trolley was on site at both car parks to provide a trolley either just for the day or for the weekend with cushions and covers. We could not have managed without the trolley – it makes everything so much easier, I would always recommend getting one.
We camped with friends this year. One family with 3 children under 6 and another family with 2 boys ages 6 and 10. So a wide range of ages but all the children loved playing together having space to run around the tents and enjoyed the space in the camping field to chase each other and play. We camped quite far back so it was 10 minute walk to the arena with little people so we tended to load up everything we needed to save the walk back and forth.
Little Folk
I hesitate to call the Little Folk area a childrens area as you could have as much fun as a adult in Little Folk as you could as a child. The space is a perfect size with entertainment going on all day in every corner that you turn. This year it was transformed into Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.
Next to Junkfish was a teacup ride – again this was free with very helpful volunteers running it (unlike the main fairground rides, which I will come on to later). On the other side of Junkish you could find The Flying Seagulls. All summer my son had been desperate to see Bash and his crew of Seagulls, and yet again they did not disappoint. They do no stop, from first thing in the morning till the end of day they perform at an incredibly high standard providing laughter and memories. Please keep the seagulls forever at Green Man, the festival would not be the same without them!
The children’s toilets had gone this year which wasn’t a massive issue as toilets could be found directly outside the area, but as they were in high demand from the area you could expect queues and I noticed some parents having to take little ones in the bushes around the outside of the area which seemed a shame. Can the toilets come back next year for little people please? You could spend all weekend in the Little Folk area and not see another thing but we managed to drag ourselves away to check out the rest of the festival.
No Fit State Circus
Einstein’s Garden
This was another area that you could easily spend all weekend in. A huge array of scientists, musicians and comedians took you on a journey of science and nature.
Somewhere
Somewhere is an action packed area for 13-17 year olds, somewhere to make friends and have a mini-festival all of their own. We did not spend a lot of time in this area but the time we did spend was mainly enjoyed by my 5 year old watching the older boys in awe on the skateboard ramp – so much that he now wants a skateboard for Christmas!
Just outside of Somewhere was a bell tent run by a group called Festival Parents. They provide a place where young people (16-24) can relax, unwind and recover, until they feel confident enough to get back to festival life. They support and guide the festival kids’ good decisions and choices, reducing the risk of harm from themselves and others (a cup of tea, a piece of toast and a chat) in an informal setting set up a bit like a living/ dinning room. All Festival Parents are qualified youth workers with a wealth of experience. I have personally never seen anything like this at a festival before – you normally have first aid areas these young people can go to if needed but nothing like such a welcoming area with supportive people. I think every festival should have a support area as such, invaluable at many festivals now.
Music
Food and Drink
All the food and drink was very reasonable as festival prices go. A wide choice and everything we and our friends had was of a high standard. They have thankfully not gone too over board with the food side of things which some festivals tend to do now. The majority was locally sourced and home made. We loved the paella from Jamon Jamon, a huge portion for aprox £7 – we even shared it a couple of times. You could get real ale for £3.80 from the real ale bar and cider and lager at the same price. No children’s portions or anything specially catered for them but so much choice and I am sure if you asked they would have done a smaller cheaper portion for children at most places.
Anything else
Green Man has a couple of fairground rides (we will be covering festivals and fairground rides in another piece) but generally they are always expensive and always a source of arguments if you have children that want to go on them. Maybe they are a necessary evil but I think I can speak for all of the reviewers from FK, please get rid of them Green Man.
Is it for families?
YES, YES and YES, everything about this festival is family friendly, it is like getting together with one big family when you get to Green Man. Everyone has a smile on their face, I only ever heard positive things from people when you chatted and once people come to it they tend to come year after year and never want to go to another festival.
To sum up Green Man
We adore this festival, and I worry that my words do not do it justice. On the last day the Flying Seagulls lead a parade around site. The children play instruments and sing; they carry the creations they have made over the weekend and proudly walk from the Little Folk area, past the main stage and right to the top of site then back to the Little Folk. It is quite a special thing to be part of and makes you realise what a real family atmosphere there is. When back at Little Folk a party was held in the one tent and children got to go on stage and show their performances and skills they had learnt. Bash from the Seagulls asked if any children wanted to come on stage and show the audience one thing they had learnt. To my shock my son sprung up and ran on the stage telling Bash he could do a back flip. I did not even know he had learnt to do one! It was such a magical moment – not just seeing him on the stage but the confidence he had to jump up and do it – I thank Green Man for this. A festival to build and develop and nurture, to make new friends and memories. For us, Green Man is like coming home.