Family Friendly Festivals | Our Ultimate Guide

Bright colours, friendly vibes, the inexplicable feeling of freedom that comes with a festival and brings out everyone’s inner child; so why not bring along your own? The right festivals offer a stimulating new environment for you to introduce children to and enjoy together. The image of the hip family with little ones in tow is a common motif at every festival, ear defender-clad babies atop their dad’s shoulders mindlessly enjoying all of the new surrounding sensations. Where at first this might seem like an impossible task in a stressful environment, the truth is that taking your little ones along to a festival is not such a crazy thing, and this summer we are encouraging it.

Our number one recommendation for the ultimate family experience is Gone Wild Festival 25^th-28^th August

Located in the glorious setting of Powderham Castle in East Devon, this ‘ultimate family festival’ offers the chance for attendees to immerse themselves in the outdoors and enjoy a bonding experience surrounded by nature. Listen to how Gone Wild fan, Bear Grylls, describes the festival…

" I can’t wait for Gone Wild Festival 2022! Last year was such a fun, positive, adventurous weekend for everyone that came! Gone Wild is about families and friends getting outdoors, and spending quality time together. Where else can you push your mum down a 50m mud slide, learn new survival skills then dance the night away? This year is going to be even better, with more music, adventures, and inspiring people. I’ll see you there! "

 

Speaking from our own experience, this festival is one of the best there is for family connection and getting involved in nature’s finest adventures. With a wealth of unusual and exciting activities on offer such as fire-lighting, axe throwing, and a junior jungle family rave, there will be no chance that both youngsters or parents will be bored! The 2022 line-up also caters perfectly to both parents and children with music from artists such as The Script and Sophie Ellis-Bexter, hello nostalgia!

Also in attendance are inspiring people including explorers Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Bear Grylls! Oh and by the way, it’s totally carbon neutral!  

 

With the effect of living impacting so many, Bear Grylls is offering a limited amount of free tickets to children, so if this sounds like the perfect introduction to your first family festival, don’t hesitate in securing those tickets!

 

We have put together our guide for to give your family the perfect introduction to bond in this new environment. The festivals below offer the perfect concoction of education, fun, and most importantly are all environmentally friendly.

Whilst Go Wild Festival is our number 1 pick for the perfect family friendly festival this summer, here are our runners up of family approved festivals from all over the UK to check out…

• Camp Bestival (Now in Dorset 28th/29th/30th/31st July 2022 AND Weston Park, Shropshire 18th/19th/20th/21st August 2022)

• Deer Shed (North Yorkshire 29^th/30^th/31^st July 2022)

• The Big Feastival (Alex James’ Farm, The Cotswolds 26^th/27^th/28^th August 2022)

 

We headed to the experts at Festival Kidz to find out their recommendations, ‘Ideally, you want everything you take to be compact, multi-purpose, and lightweight.’ Agreed! Queuing at festivals is unavoidable, and being weighed down by unnecessary kit is an easily avoided faux-pas with the right preparation.

 

Festival Kidz also says that ‘Waterproofs and wellies, sun hats and sunscreen, warm jumpers and t-shirts and shorts… British weather can be so unpredictable.  A minor rain shower has the potential to turn a festival site into a mud bath, so wellies are always a good idea.

Waterproof Dungarees are brilliant for kids because it gives them the freedom to sit wherever they like and run around while still keeping warm and dry underneath. […] 

Layers are better for maintaining a comfortable temperature – and it’s always a good idea to take an extra warm layer in case it turns chilly because you don’t want to be trekking back to the tent more than you have to!’

 

What better way to kit-out your youngsters than with our range of Töastie garments that cover all the possibilities that British weather offers whilst covering that all-important factor of being compact and lightweight! This experience is perfect for encouraging the independence of your little ones, and all Töastie goods are easily transportable even for little hands.

Töastie Pack-a-Way Puffers pack down into their own pocket, creating a handy little travel pillow; soft and light, ideal for a weekend spent camping. 




Töastie Pac-a-Macs also pack down into their own matching bumbag; retro, stylish and ideal for kids to have slung around their waists should the weather turn. 

 

A handy supply of somewhat healthy snacks will lessen the want for all the sweet-treats usually on offer at festivals, keep youngsters' blood sugar levels stable, and lessen those pesky mood swings. We suggest taking the time to prepare a healthy cool bag packed with chopped fruit, veg and snack bars! Don’t forget to take plenty of water to beat the summer heat, or bring along your refillable water bottles, as now a lot of festivals have refill stations to take advantage of and reduce plastic waste!

 

Most importantly, remember that you are there to enjoy this new-found family experience together and make memories that will last until you are sending your now-little ones off to their first independent festival. So have fun, relax, and enjoy the good vibes of the outdoors!

 
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