Family festivals can be brilliant.
A weekend outdoors. Live entertainment. New experiences. Children discovering things they didn’t know they loved. Grown-ups getting to enjoy a festival without having to leave the kids behind.
But choosing the right family festival matters.
A festival that works brilliantly with a 12-year-old might be exhausting with a toddler. A music festival that describes itself as “family friendly” can also be very different from a festival designed specifically around children and families.
So, before booking your tickets, here’s what to look for when choosing a family festival in the UK.
What is a family festival?
A family festival is an event where children are actively considered as part of the festival experience.
That distinction is important.
Some traditional music festivals welcome children and provide a family area or a handful of children’s activities. At a dedicated family festival, children’s entertainment, facilities and experiences form a much bigger part of the event.
Depending on the festival, you might find:
live music and family entertainment
children’s shows and performances
character appearances and meet & greets
creative workshops
sports and outdoor activities
circus and performance skills
fairground rides
play areas
sensory activities
food and drink
family camping
activities for babies and toddlers
The right festival should give children plenty to discover while still feeling like an enjoyable festival for the adults accompanying them.
1. Start with your children’s ages
This is probably the most important question to ask.
“Family friendly” covers an enormous age range.
A two-year-old, seven-year-old and 12-year-old have very different ideas about what constitutes a good weekend.
Festivals with babies and toddlers
If you’re taking a baby or toddler to a festival, entertainment is only half the equation.
Look carefully at the practical side of the event.
Are there baby-changing facilities? Is the site suitable for buggies? Are there quieter areas? Is suitable food readily available? How far will you need to walk? Are there activities specifically designed for very young children?
If you’re camping, investigate showers, toilets and the distance between the campsite and main festival area too.
A little preparation can make an enormous difference.
Festivals for children aged 4–8
This is arguably peak festival age.
Children are old enough to participate independently in many activities but still young enough to find enormous excitement in meeting characters, watching performers, going on rides and trying something completely new.
Look for a varied programme rather than one headline attraction.
A festival offering performances, creative activities, outdoor adventures, music and opportunities to play gives children alternatives when their interests—or moods—change.
Because they will.
Festivals for children aged 9–13
Older children need something different again.
They may have grown out of activities aimed at younger children but aren’t necessarily ready for the experience of a mainstream music festival.
Look for activities that give them some independence and challenge: sports, performances, workshops, adventure activities, music, gaming, circus skills or opportunities to learn something genuinely new.
If you have children of different ages, check that the festival has enough variety to keep everyone interested.
2. Check whether it’s family-friendly or family-focused
These sound similar, but there can be a significant difference.
A family-friendly festival is generally a wider festival that welcomes families and provides some facilities or entertainment for children.
A family-focused festival has been designed with families and children at the centre of the experience.
Neither format is automatically better. It depends on the weekend you’re looking for.
If the adults primarily want to see particular bands and would also like somewhere for the children to play, a family-friendly music festival might be exactly right.
If you’re looking for a weekend where the children themselves have an enormous choice of things to see and do, investigate festivals created specifically for families.
At Gloworm Festival, this distinction is central to what we do.
Gloworm is designed around families with babies, toddlers and children up to the age of 13.
That’s why we describe ourselves as:
Family focused. Not just family friendly.
3. Find out what’s actually included in your ticket
This is one of the easiest things to overlook when comparing family festivals.
The ticket price doesn’t necessarily represent the total cost of the weekend.
Look at what happens once you’re inside.
Are children’s activities included?
Do workshops cost extra?
What about rides?
Are character meet & greets included?
Will children repeatedly encounter activities requiring additional payment?
Those extras can quickly change the cost of a family weekend.
At Gloworm, we deliberately keep this simple.
Once you’re through the gates, the fun is included.
Activities, workshops, performances, character meet & greets and fairground rides until 5pm are included with your festival ticket.
It means fewer conversations that begin with:
“Can I have a go?”
and end with somebody reaching for their wallet.
When comparing UK family festivals, look beyond the headline ticket price and consider what your family will actually spend during the day.
4. Look at the variety of children’s activities
Children are spectacularly unpredictable.
The activity they’ve talked about for three weeks might suddenly become deeply unacceptable the moment you arrive.
Variety is therefore your friend.
Look for festivals that offer several different types of experience rather than variations on the same activity.
A good family festival programme might combine:
Entertainment
Live shows, music, performers and character appearances.
Creativity
Arts, crafts, making, building and imaginative workshops.
Adventure
Outdoor activities, challenges and opportunities to explore.
Movement
Sports, dance, circus skills and active play.
Discovery
Science, nature, demonstrations and hands-on learning.
Play
Fairground rides, play areas and opportunities where nothing particularly organised needs to happen at all.
That last category is underrated.
Children don’t necessarily need to be entertained every minute of a festival. Sometimes they just need space to play.
5. Don’t choose a festival from the line-up alone
Headline acts attract attention, but a family festival is a long day.
Your children may be considerably less interested in the artist you’ve been waiting six months to see.
Look beyond the main stage and ask:
What could our family actually do from morning until evening?
Explore the full programme.
Look at workshops, performances, activities, attractions, play areas and smaller stages.
The strongest family festivals give you enough possibilities that you don’t have to plan every minute before arriving.
Have a few must-dos.
Then leave room for discovering things.
Some of the best festival memories tend to be the things you weren’t expecting.
6. Consider whether to visit for a day or camp
Camping changes the festival experience considerably.
For some families, staying overnight is part of the adventure. Children get the excitement of sleeping under canvas and you don’t have to leave just as everyone has settled into festival mode.
For others, particularly with very young children, a day ticket and their own bed afterwards sounds considerably more attractive.
Neither is the “proper” way to experience a family festival.
If you’re considering camping, check:
when the campsite opens and closes
how far camping is from the main festival area
toilet and shower facilities
whether family or quieter camping is available
what you’re allowed to bring
parking arrangements
accessibility
whether campervans or caravans are permitted
food availability in the morning and evening
First festival?
Don’t feel obliged to camp.
A day at a family festival can be a very good introduction before committing to an entire weekend under canvas.
7. Think about the boring things
They’re only boring until you need them.
Toilets.
Baby changing.
Water.
Food.
Parking.
First aid.
Accessibility.
Lost children procedures.
Phone charging.
Shelter.
These things aren’t going to feature prominently in the children’s post-festival review, but they can have an enormous impact on your weekend.
Before booking, visit the festival’s information and FAQ pages.
A festival designed seriously around families should be able to answer practical questions clearly before you arrive.
8. Check accessibility and sensory information
Accessibility means different things to different families.
If somebody in your family has additional requirements, don’t rely on a general statement that the event is “accessible”.
Look for detailed information about the actual site and facilities.
That could include:
accessible parking
accessible toilets
accessible camping
viewing areas
site terrain
distances around the festival
personal assistant or companion arrangements
quieter spaces
sensory considerations
medical facilities
procedures for requesting additional support
If the information you need isn’t published, contact the festival before purchasing tickets.
Knowing what to expect can make planning considerably easier.
9. Investigate the food before you arrive
Feeding children at a festival can occasionally resemble negotiating an international trade agreement.
Check what food will be available and whether there are options your family will actually eat.
If somebody has an allergy or dietary requirement, investigate this beforehand rather than assuming suitable options will be available.
It’s also worth checking the festival’s rules on bringing your own food and drink, particularly if you’re travelling with babies or young children.
And carry snacks.
This isn’t festival advice so much as universal parenting law.
10. Prepare for British weather
A UK family festival can contain approximately four seasons before lunch.
Don’t let that put you off.
Just prepare for it.
Check the forecast before leaving, but pack for conditions either side of it.
Depending on the forecast, useful kit can include waterproofs, wellies or sturdy shoes, sun hats, sun cream, refillable water bottles, spare children’s clothes and something warm for the evening.
If you’re camping, keep an emergency set of dry clothes somewhere genuinely waterproof.
You may feel excessively prepared.
Then it rains.
Suddenly you’re a genius.
11. Look at the festival through your child’s eyes
Festival websites naturally show their biggest performers, busiest stages and most spectacular photographs.
But ask a slightly different question:
What will my child remember?
It might be seeing their favourite character.
Going on a fairground ride again and again.
Making something in a workshop.
Learning a circus trick.
Dancing in front of a stage.
Trying a new sport.
Camping for the first time.
Or spending an entire afternoon doing something you’d barely noticed on the programme.
The best family festival for you isn’t necessarily the one with the biggest line-up.
It’s the one that gives your family the greatest opportunity to have a brilliant time together.
Questions to ask before booking a family festival
Before buying tickets, run through this quick checklist.
What ages is the festival designed for?
Don’t stop at “children welcome”. Find out whether the programme actually suits the ages of your children.
What’s included in the ticket?
Check whether activities, workshops, rides and other attractions cost extra.
Is there enough to do besides watching the main stage?
Especially important with younger children.
Can we attend for one day?
A useful option for younger families and festival first-timers.
Can we camp?
And, more importantly, what are the campsite facilities actually like?
What happens if it rains?
Look for covered entertainment as well as outdoor activities.
What facilities are available for babies and toddlers?
Baby changing, appropriate activities and practical facilities matter.
What accessibility support is available?
Read the festival’s detailed accessibility information rather than relying on a general claim.
What food is available?
Particularly important for allergies, dietary requirements and selective eaters.
How much are we likely to spend once inside?
Tickets are only one part of the cost if attractions and activities are charged separately.
Which type of UK family festival is right for you?
There isn’t one family festival that’s right for every family.
If live music is your priority, look for a music festival with an excellent family programme.
If you’ve got very young children, prioritise facilities, manageable distances and age-appropriate activities.
If you’re bringing older children, look for challenges, workshops and entertainment that don’t feel designed exclusively for little ones.
If this is your first festival, consider starting with a day ticket.
And if you want the festival itself to revolve around children’s experiences rather than simply accommodating children alongside an adult programme, look for an event specifically created for families.
Discover Gloworm Festival
Gloworm is a UK family festival created for children and grown-ups to enjoy together.
Held at Thoresby Park in Nottinghamshire, Gloworm is designed primarily for families with babies, toddlers and children up to 13 years old.
Across the festival you’ll discover live entertainment, children’s performances, character meet & greets, workshops, creative activities, outdoor adventures, play and fairground rides.
And because Gloworm is family-focused rather than simply family-friendly, children’s entertainment isn’t tucked away in one corner of the festival.
It’s the point of the festival.
Even better, once you’re through the gates, the fun is included: activities, workshops, performances, character meet & greets and fairground rides until 5pm are included with your festival ticket.
Come for the day or make a weekend of it with family camping.
Family focused. Not just family friendly.
Planning your first Gloworm?
Start with the age of your children and build your day around them.
Babies & Toddlers
Discover activities and facilities designed for Gloworm’s smallest festival-goers.
Ages 4–6
Characters, play, performances, rides, making and plenty to explore.
Ages 7–9
Adventure, creativity, entertainment and opportunities to try something new.
Ages 10–13
Bigger challenges, activities, music and experiences for older children.
Then explore the full festival programme, camping options, visitor information and ticket prices before planning your family’s Gloworm weekend.
Ready to discover Gloworm?
Explore what’s on, find activities for your children’s ages and start planning your family festival adventure.