Family Festival love

The one thing we love about summer is the prospects of festivals - we have been taking Mr A to festivals since he was around 18 months old and so far we have done Wychwood, Camp Bestival and Beyond the Border, as well as Glastonbury, Reading and Guildfest before Mr A came along. This year as we have Baby G with us so we are looking for slightly more chilled out festivals, perhaps smaller and more intimate ones. I always enjoying camping before having kids - John was pretty indifferent but it has over the past few years become one of our favourite summer pastimes and Mr A just loves sleeping under canvas. We have faired good, bad and terrible weather and this year and it will be interesting to see how coming with a young baby will be like, something we are very excited about.

So here is our mini wish list if you will of festivals for 2015 - ones that are child friendly and offer something a little bit different.

Larmer Tree Festival, 15th-19th July, Salisbury - we have been meaning to go to this one forever, it's said to be the happiest, friendliest and quirkiest festival and set in the heart of the Larmer Tree Gardens it's a safe, secure and intimate space for children and families alike to have fun under the sun. It has a really interesting line-up this year as well with Tom Jones, The Magic Numbers and Bill Bailey to name a few.

Starry Skies, 22nd-26th July - this is more like a Family camping weekend with lots of extras rather than a full scale festival. There is a small stage for live acts but the focus is really on fun and connecting with nature in a child friendly way. With forest school, star gazing, family sports day and cinema club to name a few this is our type of thing

Connecting with nature at Starry Skies

Wilderness Festival, 6th-9th August - with a whole family oriented lineup and exceptional food, workshops and community feels with a focus on connecting with the outdoors, this is one for our list. You can even go wild swimming in the grounds, as well as boating or foraging for food. Plus it has a quality lineup not to be missed.

The Green Gathering, 13th-16th August,  Chepstow - we love the sound of this eco family friendly festival that is all about community, crafts, music and food in a totally non-consumurism way. They have a really interesting line-up of not just bands but also workshops, permaculture, interactive art, stone circle and faerie glen. It's also completely of-grid and the PA systems are said to have a fairly low volume meaning children don't have to wear ear defenders.

Festival No.6, 3rd-6th September, Portmeirion - this is such a magical place to start with and being able to camp within the private grounds of Portmeirion while enjoying art, music, film, food and culture. There is a real eclectic line-up including some interesting talks and discussions

Mr A being a dinosaur at Beyond the Border festival last year