Best U.K Family festivals for 2025 that Kids will Love!
Are you looking visit the Best UK Family friendly Festivals in 2025 and want some top tips for taking kids to a music festival? We had so much fun at the family festival we visited last year that this year we are heading off to two family festivals! We got into the live music vibe, the performance and dance, arts and crafts in a field with some rain, some sun, and lots and lots of mud! It was lots of fun and made summer feel like it had properly arrived! Whether you are a hardy camper or more of a family day tripper the UK has some brilliant festivals that cater for families where you can go and enjoy creative and imaginative play, music and shows together. I think that being outdoors and doing something from different from the usual routine is a bonus of family festivals. The UK has lots of festivals that cater for families so it’s a great way to either enjoy an entire weekend as a family or to enjoy the day together if you buy day tickets. We’re big festival fans and they can make a great alternative to a family holiday so if you have never been to a family festival, grab your glitter and face paint and check out the Best UK Family Festivals for 2025 to visit with the kids this summer during festival season……
(Ad: We have been invited as guests to Just So Festival, Timber and The Big Retreat)
Table of Contents
Best U.K Family festivals for 2024
Just So Festival
15th-17th August 2025, Cheshire
We had such an amazing time at the ‘Just So’ Festival in Cheshire a few years ago. It truly met all our expectations and has a well deserved reputation of bringing alive magical childhood fantasies with a large programme literature, arts, theatre, dance, music, comedy and creative pursuits together. ‘Just So’ is the ultimate children’s festival, young children are well considered and it’s not a loud festival, it’s child friendly everywhere, the music finishes early doors and there is plenty of baby friendly changing areas and child centered activities. With areas named ‘The Garden Delight’ and ‘The New Curiosity Shop’ it’s a perfect festival to ignite the imagination! Here’s our Full Review of the Just So Festival to gain the full festival experience!.
Top tips for taking Kids to a UK festival
Timber Festival
5th-6th July 2025 – Derbyshire
The Timber festival is well known for being a relaxed haven to chill out from the 9-5pm. We had a brilliant time at the Timber festival last year – it’s an eclectic mix of art, music, poetry and sustainability talks, celebrating the transformative impact of forests. It’s set in beautiful grounds and the trees play a full part in the festival from Tree Circus’ to relaxing in hammocks between the trees and even woodcrafting for kids and adults to try. There’s talks from explorers, poets and conservationists with folk music and even a Ceilidh Barn dance to top it all off! This year There’s also boutique camping if you don’t fancy a tent! Read here for a full review of the Timber Festival. and check out the 2025 programme here!
The Big Retreat
23rd-26th May 2025 Pembrokeshire Wales
The responsible festival, as it’s know – ‘The Big Retreat’ in Wales, it’s a wellbeing festival that promises you a relaxing time away from the humdrum of your busy lives – relaxing and connecting with nature in the Welsh countryside. There is an eclectic mix of workshops at the Big Retreat, some are for health juicing, raw foods and life coaching – and some are for creativity -woodworking, making a guitar from recycled items, or an art class. We’re looking forward to relaxing and maybe even trying out some of the yoga classes as a family! For more information: see The Big Retreat Website.
Best UK Family Festivals for 2025
Elderflower Fields
23rd-26th May 2025 – Uckfield, Sussex
Elderflower Fields is a festival we’d love to try out one day as it’s not that far from us – it’s set in the woods which sounds idyllic and is a wild weekend adventure, packed full of music, sports, nature and the arts. there’s a kids zone with lots of crafts for little ones to try as well as science experiments, theatre performances and there is a communal camp fire every evening. the festival is all about community and there is a Sunday lunch time picnic for the whole festival which sounds pretty special! It’s one of the best UK Family Festivals for 2023! Read a full review of Elderflower fields here.
Nozstock
19th-22nd July 2025 – Herefordshire
We visited Nozstock, Herefordshire a few years ago and had the best time! It’s a smaller festival so it’s perfect for families. There’s a dedicated space for kids with loads of arts, crafts and dance workshops – my kids loved the circus skills workshop! But what also makes Nozstock great is all the weird and wonderful areas that are amazing to explore with kids – there were Science experiments and music corners at every turn. Night time entertainment is perfect for kids too with fire dancers, neon lit robots as well as the usual bands. See here to read a full review and video of our weekend at Nozstock.
Victorious Festival
23rd-24th August 2025 – Portsmouth
Another one of the Best UK Family Festivals for 2024 is Victorious Festival in Portsmouth has been nominated and won a variety of festival awards. It has a dedicated children’s area with lots of chararcters from Cbeebies making an appearance and lots of face paints, bouncy castles, crafts and even bongo lessons to keep the kids amused. There are also areas for 10+ kids including gaming and console stations. This is definitely a festival for those that love their music, there are tons of popular bands line ups. Read a full review of Victorious Festival. here.
Deer Shed
25th-28th July 2025 – North Yorkshire
Deer Shed takes place in North Yorkshire and is a riot of Music, Science and Art activities. There’s a bubbly bubble rave for the under 5s and a cinema programme for the full festival too. Deer Shed has a wider programme than many festivals I’ve seen including comedy and spoken word line up so it means there would definitely be something for everyone – whatever the age. To read a mini travellers full review on Deer Shed, click here.
(Photo Courtesy of Mini Travellers)
Car Fest
22nd -25th August 2025 Hampshire
If you want to dabble in a UK Family festival to find out if it’s right for you, you could do an overnight or day long visit to Car Fest. Car Fest and is established to raise money for charity so it’s a worthwhile festival to visit. As the name suggests there is a focus on racing cars but there’s a whole host of art and craft activities for kids too from screen printing to silent discos as well as music entertainment and trampolines/ fairground in the Kings Kingdom. To find out more, see here for a full review of Car Fest.
(Photo Courtesy of Dear Bear and Beany)
Camp Bestival
31st- 3rd August 2025 – Dorset
Camp Bestival is a much loved and award winning family friendly festival based in the UK. There are two venues for Camp Bestival is set in the grounds of Lulworth castle, on Dorset’s beautiful Jurassic coastline. It is jam packed with activities, entertainment and music for the family to enjoy and kids under 5 go free! They also have a festival in Shropshire with just as brilliant a line up and jam packed with crafts, rides, theatre, workshops, circus skills and watersports! Read a full review of Camp Bestival here.
Wychwood Festival
30th May-1st June 2025 Cheltenham Racecourse
If you’re in the South, Wychwood festival is a fabulous one to visit which takes place in Cheltenham Racecourse. It’s got a great line up and is an award-winning festival – it’s one of the best UK festivals in 2025 for families It has an impressive line up of music and lots of activities and circus attractions and workshops for little ones plus comedy workshops and talks for older kids. The tickets are very reasonably priced for kids and adults too.
If you’ve caught the bug after reading about all the wonderful festivals the UK has to offer, then here are some top tips to help you make the most of your family time at the festival as possible! Here’s a list of ESSENTIAL THINGS TO PACK FOR A FAMILY CAMPING TRIP WITH KIDS for the best UK Family Festivals for 2025.
10 Top Tips for Surviving a Family Festival with Kids
If it’s your first time visiting a child-friendly festival – these are our top things to remember to bring and our top tips for both the camping area and for enjoying the music itself with younger children or older kids! A top festival tip is to relax around bed times and meal times and go with the flow! And if the British Summer doesn’t hold out – try our top tips for camping in the rain!
- Bring a trolley! Lots of the festivals have a long walk from the car park to the festival and a trolley is a must for little legs and also carrying your tent and equipment. You can also pile it with blankets so kids can nap in it during the day when you’re out and about. Here’s a great post about finding the right festival trolley for you!
- Make sure you have lots of warm clothes for the night as however sunny the weather during the day, it will get cold at night.
- Pack suncream and wellies to be prepared for every eventuality.
- Bring lots and lots of snacks as festival food can be expensive.
- Pack glitter and sequins and even dressing up clothes for the kids – festivals are the place to be a little crazy and let your hair down! It’s part of the fun and your kids will love it.
- A good tip is to make sure you write your telephone number on children’s wristband or write your number on their arm with pen. Talk about a memorable meeting place or meeting point with older children just in case they get lost!
- Bring a ball and a few other outdoor activities to do back at the tent, just so you can retreat for some down time as well as some colouring books for quieter moments.
- Bring water bottles as many campsites have a tap you can refill your water bottles, saving money and waste.
- Read here for top tips for saving money on festival food!
- Make sure you bring sun hats and sun cream!
- There are lots of bubble wands and facepaints and glow sticks on sale at festivals, bring your own as a cheaper alternative. Try LED balloons and fairy lights for tying around your tent to make it easier to find at night.
- Make sure you bring toilet paper and a travel toilet is essential for saving you night trips in the dark to a festival toilet!
- Bringing toddlers to a festival? You’ll love these top tips and ideas!
Reducing waste at family festivals
There is a lot of waste created at festivals but the Paper Bag Company have come up with a great idea of a ‘Leave No Trace Bag’ festival bag where everything inside (and the bag itself) is completely recyclable. The bag is made of paper but it’s strong and even has a zippable pocket for valuables. The bag contains a T-shirt, a Foldable Wheat Cup biodegradable cup, biodegradable toilet roll and a Cornstarch Poncho (rain is always guaranteed at festivals) we have more top tips for camping in the rain here. There’s even Biodegradable Glitter made from plants because every festival needs some sparkle! The best thing about the festival bag is it comes with a Wash Bag filled with everything from bamboo face wipes, body wash and beeswax ear plugs, to toothpaste tablets and a bamboo toothbrush. It’s everything you need for a festival in one bag!
Best UK Family Festivals for 2025
Here’s some more family festivals in the North of England.
I promise if you try one of these family-friendly festivals this year – you’ll have a great time!
*We were sent a family ticket for two festivals in exchange for an honest review. All words and thoughts are my own.*
*This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. Clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details.*
