Camp Bestival : July 31st to Aug 3rd : Lulworth Castle, Dorset
This festival is the mummy of all family festivals, and a good choice for first time players. It is curated by Radio1’s Rob da Bank, Creative Director (and wife) Josie and their partners John and Ziggy. It is also the sister to the Isle of Wights more grown up Bestival. The team have won lots of glittery awards, and prides themselves that ‘Kids are Kings’, and all their families will be utterly spoilt for choice with entertainment, music, activities, theatre and art.
Line Up: Basement Jaxx, Laura Mvula, Johnny Marr, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Courtney Pine, D:Ream… and many more
Kids Line Up: Circus skills, bouncy castle, go carts, Insect circus, Kids catwalk, fairground rides, Mr Tumble, Horrible Histories, Kids Yoga, Travelling Barn, Ben and Holly, Medieval jousting,
Camping Overview; 4 different areas, camper van area, caravan area, trailer tent area with their own showers/ loos/ recycling. Open from Thursday to set up camp (buy a entry ticket for this day). Main sites located near The Magic Meadow field (included free with your event ticket). Camping plus offers a reserved plot (be close to your friends). Boutique campsite offers tipis, yurts, squirts, cloud houses, pod pads, bell tents (anyone missed out??). Tangarine fields site offers ready pitched/equipped tents and gypsy caravans.
Tickets;
Adult Ticket (inc. camping from Thurs or Fri) – £195*
Student Ticket (inc. camping from Thurs or Fri) – £180*
Age 15 to 17 Ticket (inc. camping from Thurs or Fri) – £113*
Age 11 to 14 Ticket (inc. camping from Thurs or Fri) – £88*
Age 5 to 10 Ticket (inc. camping from Thurs or Fri) – £20*
Age 4 & Under Ticket (inc. camping from Thurs or Fri) – FREE (but ticket required)*
Adult Ticket – £60 per day Age 15 to 17 ; Ticket – £35 per day Age 11-14 ; Ticket – £30 per day ; Age 5 – 10 Ticket – £15 per day ; Age 4 & Under Ticket – FREE (but ticket required)
Additional costs : You need to add on costs for parking, camper van parking, caravan or trailer tickets, camping plus reserved pitches if you want to bag a good spot.
2. Wilderness Festival : Aug 7-10th : Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire.
Wilderness Festival is a little different, billing itself as ‘A Celebration shaped by Nature, a Landscape Transformed by the Arts’ it takes places in a stunning location in the wilds of Oxfordshire. They have thought of everything and anything. Choose from boutique nannies, long table banquets, lakeside spa, the best pop up food from Soho to Scotch Corner and Polpo of course, Talks, Debates, Theatre from The Royal Court and Mr Shakespeares Globe, yurt making, country runs, philosophy walks, activities from the best House of Fairytales team (Deborah & Gavin Turk no less), and before I pass out from sensory overload, The Chap Olympics, J Sheeky Fish n Chips and (a real treat for those that know) Horsemeat Disco.
Line Up: London Grammar, Burt Bacharach, Jessie Ware, Jess Morgan, Paper Beat Scissors, Jack Cheshire are a few of the select gang.
Kids Line Up : Storystock, House of Fairytales, Anorak, Ping Pong, Angel Gardens, Hullabaloo Arts, The Charles Dickens Museum, The Roald Dhal Museum…
Camping overview; They have it covered, every shape, colour, goose-down feathered, handmade eepy-tepe-sleepy tent you could want, just take a look here.
WEEKEND GENERAL CAMPING £151.50 (£143.50)
WEEKEND FAMILY CAMPING £151.50 (£143.50)
WEEKEND QUIET CAMPING £151.50 (£143.50)
CAR PARKING £10.00 (£10.00)
STANDARD CAMPERVAN £112.50 (£100.00)
MOTORHOME £112.50 (£100.00)
CARAVAN + CAR £112.50 (£100.00)
LARGE MOTORHOME £112.50 (£100.00)
3. Just So Festival : 15-17 Aug : Rode Hall Parkland, Cheshire
The festival is all about families, where the whole family gets painty and messy and sings and plays instruments and dances in the woods, where everyone gets involved in the arts on their own terms, with the beetles and the leaves and the birds.
The family festival experience includes family camping, nice loos, baby changing tents with changing mats and wipes, a breast-feeding boudoir, an area with electricity points for bottle warmers and sterilisers, baby bathtime, a bedtime tent and more.
Line up : Take a look at their whats on page, it covers all the fun to be had here.
Camping overview ;
The camping is in the beautiful parkland of Rode Hall Estate, there are no allocated pitches, if you wish to camp with friends please try and arrive together or the first to arrive can head for the biggest space and save room for friends. If families in tents want to camp with families in campervans or caravans that’s fine they can go in the campervan/caravans field but please pitch your tents sensibly and keep an eye on your children in case of moving vehicles.
There are three shower blocks with lovely hot water, which are marked on the map. If you have tiny tots, please see the ‘babies & toddlers’ section for details of baby bathtime. There is a sink area for pot washing on near the showers as well as sinks for teeth brushing and washing.
Tickets
Weekend Adult with camping :: £105 face value (£111.83 including booking fee)
Weekend Child with camping :: £45 (£47.93 including booking fee)
Weekend Under 3s :: Free
Campervan/caravan pass :: £20
Programme (posted with your tickets) :: £4
Day tickets are available for Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th August:
Adult Day Ticket :: £35 face value (£37.28 including booking fee)
Child Day Ticket :: £15 face value (£15.98 including booking fee)
Under 3s Day Ticket :: Free
For each order, £2.99 Post and Packing will be added. Tickets will be posted out to you 4 weeks before the festival.
4. Deer Shed Festival : 25-27 July : Baldersby Park, Topcliffe, North Yorkshire
Deer Shed Festival is an independent festival run by a family for families – with a welcoming atmosphere, a strong passion for decent music, food and entertainment for all the family. The festival is a stand out event for the discerning festival going family. With an ethos celebrating top quality in everything from music to food, eclectic entertainment to outstanding array of workshops and activities, they ensure that all the family are catered for in an exciting and engaging way whist maintaining affordability in ticket price and food and drinks on site. Over the past three years the festival has carved out a solid reputation for putting on a fantastic show and an experience that is different from other family focused festivals on the market.
Line Up; British Sea Power, Toy, All We Are, Bleech, Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, Johnny Marr, Steve Mason, We Were Evergreen, Summer Camp, PAWS, Girls Names to name but a few
Kids Line Up : here
Camping overview : Free camping in a tent is available over the weekend. If you forget your tent, you can chat up someone who has cleverly saved up all year and hired a boutique number from Black Dog Tipis. Camp fires and BBQs are not permitted. There is plenty of camping space, please spread out your tents accordingly. Small camping gas canisters only permitted (up to 2.7 kg in gas weight). No cylinders. Camp site wardens will be stationed in the camping area throughout the festival to answer any questions. We have a family camping area which is away from the main arena to minimise noise at night. Please do not camp here if you don’t have your family with you. Please respect your neighbours and keep noise to a minimum especially after 11pm. The camp site and festival site as a whole will close at 7pm on Sunday 27th July.
Tickets
3rd tier adult full weekend ticket (16+) £109 + booking fee
AVAILABLE
4th tier adult full weekend ticket (16+) £119 + booking fee
NOT RELEASED
Child full weekend ticket (6+) £30 + booking fee
Child full weekend ticket (5 and under) £1 + booking fee
Campervan / caravan / trailer tent full weekend £30 + booking fee
Camping in a tent, no size restrictions FREE
Car parking FREE5.
5. Blissfields : 4-5th July : Location: near Winchester, New Forest
Line Up : Chloe Howl, Spector, Dan Crooll, Wolf Alice, Famy, Dj Little Chef, too many to mention here, as I’ve got to pick up the kids in a minute ! For a look at the family activities scroll down this page.
Camping overview ;
THURSDAY CAMPING:
The campsite will be open from 12:00 noon Thursday 4th July. A Thursday camping pass must be purchased before arrival for all individuals 10 yrs and over. Entertainment will be open in the arena from 6:00pm..
BOUTIQUE & LUXURY CAMPING
For the ultimate Blissfields experience we are bringing you two boutique camping experiences, Camel Camp will be with us as normal but also this year we are joined for an ultimate luxury experience by sshh… yurts make sure you book early to avoid disappointment, more information here.
LIVE-IN VEHICLES
These will have a separate entrance into the live-in area, it will be adjacent to but seperated from the tenting campers by a low level rope fence. Sorry but we are unable to allow tents into the campervan area for health and safety reasons. Please make sure that every vehicle has it’s own pass to enter the area.
FAMILY CAMPING
In a quieter area of the field it is furthest from the arena but don’t let that worry you nowhere is too far at Blissfields. Please make sure that if you camp here that you are especially aware of your neighbours and keep as quiet as possible during the night.
Tickets
Blissfields 2014 Tier 3 Weekend Tickets
Weekend Adult (17yrs +): £90.00 + £5 Rubbish Bond Deposit + Booking Fee £5.45
Weekend Youth (10-16yrs): £62.00 + £5 Rubbish Bond Deposit + Booking Fee £5.45
Weekend Child (under 10yrs): Free and No Booking Fee (A nominal fee of 1p is charged)
Weekend Family Ticket (2 Adult/2 Youth): £265.00 + £20 Rubbish Bond Deposit + Booking Fee £21.80
Weekend 10 Adult tickets for the price of 9: £810.00 + £50 Rubbish Bond Deposit + Booking Fee £54.50Thursday Camping: £16.00 Arrive early from 12 noon Thursday 3rd July (you may only camp on Thursday night in conjunction with a weekend camping ticket
Posh Wash: £10 Showers and “proper” loos for the weekend
Live-in Vehicle Pass: £35.00
Car Park: £10.00
Not to be missed;
Firstly take a look at the Festival Kids, for the complete guide to everything ever thought of in the history of festivals for kids and also consider Cornbury Festival (4-6th July) in Great Tew Estate, Oxfordshire. A gently does it, well heeled crowd who like their pimms, morris dancers and welsh blankets. Jools Hollands and Simple Minds fans can apply too. Secret Garden Party, Glastonbury if you can dig a tunnel from your house to Pilton Farm tonight, Standon Calling, and a few others that are easily found on Miss Google. xo
Creative Bus Stop 