Saturday 18 June 2016

Our First Family Festival - Wychwood 2016

As you know we are a travel loving family. We've been all over the world, had UK breaks and we love camping. However, one thing we hadn't experienced was a festival. In our heads, festivals weren't family friendly.

We were offered a chance to go to Wychwood Festival which takes place at Cheltenham racecourse. After checking the website and seeing how family orientated it was, we decided to bite the bullet and go. The festival ran from Friday - Monday morning but we were only able to attend from late Friday evening to early Sunday morning as we had other commitments. 

We arrived about 8pm on the Friday evening (note to selves to arrive earlier next time so we don't get so stressed erecting the tent). The camping was on the racecourse itself and there were a few areas to choose from such as family and quiet. We opted for the family area which was the furthest away from the festival but the walk wasn't too far. The grounds were all flat which was a huge bonus. We were able to park the car near to where we were camping but it then had to be moved to a separate car park after unloading the car. 

The camping grounds and facilities were lovely. Not how I imagined facilities to be at a festival. It didn't feel cramped and overcrowded. The toilets were actually clean all weekend. There was only a couple of times that we used them and they didn't have toilet roll, which over a few days is very good. 
At night you could hear the music at the festival but nothing too loudly which was ideal for a family area.



There was a fabulous bakery stall in the camping area which served hot drinks and breakfast goodies. The coffee was amazing, so much so that we couldn't be bothered to make our own at the tent, we frequented here instead. They also baked all their own breads etc on site. 


We ventured into the festival itself on Saturday morning, just in time to see Justin Fletcher. This was definitely the highlight of the weekend for Eva. In fact every time someone went onto the main stage she was hoping it was him again. His act lasted for at least half an hour and was enjoyed by parents and children alike. I did think the main stage area needed a bit more room in front of it. It was situated in the middle of the festival area and I do think it should have been at one of the ends to allow more space for people to enjoy it more and be able to sing and dance. 




There was lots of things to keep children entertained. We partucalrly enjoyed having a wonder into all of the stalls. There were lots to view such as clothing, sweets, bubbles, tattoos etc.


There was a circus tent area which Eva thought was fantastic. It was filled with all circus themed things for the children to play with. I think this was the area in which we had the most laughter. 


There was also a craft themed tent where children were able to design and make their own tote bags, do painting etc. Annoyingly we didn't have time to make a bag which we were gutted about. 

Eva thoroughly enjoyed the bouncy castle area. There was a huge inflatable slide which made her day. It was £2 for 5 goes which is pretty good value for money. 

One area that I loved was the baby feeding and changing tent. This was such a lovely touch and the people running it were super friendly. I breastfeed Ophelia so it was nice to be able to have some privacy and some shelter from the sun. Plus there was water and cake in there. What more could a mum want.

Waterstones were involved in the kids literature festival. They had a tent which was a book shop and there was also an area where authors were reading their books. We couldn't get Eva to sit and listen to anything as she was far too hyper and wanted to be on the go enjoying everything outside.

She took part in a belly dancing class. This was super cute to watch. If she'd had her way she would have stayed in there all day.

We were really impressed by the amount and variety of the food stalls. There really was something for everyone. Eva had a children's meal at one of the stalls which was £5 for a hot dog, chips and a drink. The portions were large so we thought this was really good value for money. 

Overall, we had a fantastic time. The campsite was easily accessible, clean and not too far to walk to. The food was all yummy and reasonably priced. There were plenty of activities for the children to keep them entertained. All the staff were very friendly and approachable. It certainly felt like a very safe place to be. The atmosphere was infectious. By the time we left we were immersed in bubbles and floral crowns and planning our next festival trip asap.






I would've liked to have seen a few more children's acts on the stages throughout the day as seeing Justin Fletcher was Eva's favourite part of the weekend.

We would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting a safe, enjoyable family festival and we would go again next year. Advanced tickets are already on sale for 2017. You can get more information about local events here, http://www.whatsgoodtodo.com

**We were gifted a weekend camping ticket with festival passes in exchange for our honest opinions**





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37 comments

  1. You look like you had fun, now I want to go. I'd have to go glamping though Lol

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  2. I'm not really into festivals, but it looks like you had a great time x

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  3. This looks so fun. My two would be very happy to see Justin too!

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  4. Lovely photos, the wee smiley faces say it all x

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  5. What a lovely festival and it looks like you all had lots of fun.

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  6. Oh I really like the look of this. Just look at the kids faces,loads of entertainment to keep them happy. Love that a kids meal doesn't cost an arm and a leg too. Would you go again?

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  7. It looks like you not only had a fab time but you had great weather too x

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  8. Glad you enjoyed, thank you for going last minute :)

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  9. Looks like you had a great time - never heard of this before but sounds really good x

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  10. Going on a festival with T while she is still a child, is on my bucket list (in my head, really should write it down). We've been talking about going to Camp Bestival for the longest time, but never seem to manage it. Must get organised more. x

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  11. Wow looks like you had a fab time - I've not heard of this festival will have to add it to our list! x

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  12. We love Wychwood festival, this was our second year and it just gets better each time. Glad you all enjoyed it too :-)

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  13. It sounds like a fanastic adventure. It is good to know how well organised these festivals are. Glad you had a great time.

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  14. Oh wow! Looks like you a fabulous time!

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  15. I absolutely loved seeing this across your gorgeous instagram feed. It looked like you had so so much fun - it even mdd me consider taking my tribe! H x

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  16. I bet it was so much fun seeing Justin Fletcher, he is pretty awesome my little sister loves him. The craft tent looks fun too.

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  17. It looks fab and lots to do for the children. Something for us to think about for next year x

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  18. I have always wondered what was available at a festival. I thought it was music and that's the lot. I had no idea all that other stuff was available! Thanks for sharing.

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  19. I would want to take my kids to a festival like this. It looks like so much fun.

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  20. Sounds like a really great festival, Toby would have loved to see Justin too! The photo of Eva with the bubble is awesome. I'm going to look into this for next year as Toby will be about to turn 3 xx

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  21. We love a good family festival and this looks like it has enough to interest all ages!

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  22. looks like you had a really fab time that eva enjoyed. brilliant idea to have children focused events

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  23. looks like you had a really fab time that eva enjoyed. brilliant idea to have children focused events

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  24. What a fab festival and so cool that they got to see Justin. I think my little one would be just as thrilled as yours and wanting him to be on stage the whole time. xx

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  25. What a lovely time you had Kerry. Really great Photos. The bubbles looked like so much fun! x

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  26. Looks like you had a great time, it does look fun!

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  27. I know I've said this before but your children are so adorable! Sounds like a great event - my little one LOVES justin fletcher!

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  28. I am ashamed to say that even though I live just down the road from Cheltenham, we have never been to the festival but I read good things about it every year and really should make the effort next year.

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  29. So much fuN!! I've never been to a festival myself but heard great things. It's super for a family day out too.

    Alina | DIY lifestyle blog

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  30. It does look like you had such an amazing time x

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  31. I've not been brave enough to go camping with my two yet! It looks like it was a brill trip!

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  32. I've never even thought about visiting a festival with my little ones in tow but it sounds great. I'm glad your eldest enjoyed it :)

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  33. festivals have never really appealed to me, but family festivals do look quite good, great review, you may have convinced me ;)

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  34. Wychwood was actually our first family festival back in 2013 - we loved it and just like you said the toilets were clean all weekend and it was very civilised - perfect introduction to family festivals!! Sounds like you had a fantastic time :)

    Laura x

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  35. I have to say after reading your post I'm very tempted to take BattleKid next year. So much so I'm bombarding BattleDad with messages about it this morning! Glad you had such a good time xx

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  36. Looks like a fabulous day out!

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  37. This sounds absolutely amazing! My kids would love something like this. I'm so pleased to hear you say the toilet facilities were good too as this is something that always worries me about taking kids to a festival x

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