Larmer Tree Festival 2019 Review

*I was provided with tickets in exchange for an honest review of Larmer Tree Festival

Larmer Tree Festival has been on our festival bucket list ever since my eldest came onto the scene in 2010 so we were really excited to finally be able to tick it off this year. For those who don't know Larmer Tree festival, started in 1990,  is a three-day music, comedy and arts festival that takes place yearly at the beautiful Larmer Tree Gardens and is known for being very family-friendly.

While Larmer Tree isn't as small as The Big Retreat Wales we went at the start of summer, the fact it's capped at 5000 festival-goers means it's still really manageable with young children. This year they had a stellar line up with artists such as Kate Tempest, Gomez, Josie Long and family favourites such as Andy and the Odd Socks. I do have to be honest though and say when we attend a festival as a family we usually just play it by ear and not schedule the day too much as children have a limited attention span when it comes to watching live music, especially when there are so many activities and workshops going on and we like to go with the flow and let the kids lead the way.

As I was attending the festival on my own with my two young boys, 4 & 8, with this being my third solo-parenting festival, I have learnt how to massively prioritise what we do and do not need when camping for 3 days especially when you're limited on what one adult can carry. If your thinking of attending a festival on your own with kids I would recommend looking into glamping options - yes they cost more but it massively reduces the stress of carrying & setting up a tent, which is usually the heaviest thing to carry.  Larmer Tree has plenty of options, including Campeazy which has already pitched and set up tents starting from £125 for the weekend. We stayed with Honeybells bell tents and I can't recommend them more, the tent was beautiful and having thick duvets provided again meant lugging less from the car to the site, which when your on your own is a massive help.

The campsite and festival site are adjacent to each other and only a 30-second walk away - again great for families and there was plenty of free water stations, toilets and hot showers. Inside the festival, they had some excellent catering options this year with a vintage fire truck that had been converted into a Mac and Cheese store, as well as the popular double-decker tea shop, along with pizza, crepes, burgers and plenty of vegetarian and vegan options - we felt spoilt for choice. As with most festivals, food is a bit pricey but we always make a point of packing for breakfast and a light lunch and treat ourselves to an evening meal out.

Larmer Tree, like most festivals, had different sections or areas, some more family-friendly than others with our favourite being The Wilds and Lostwoods which hosted plenty of crafts, workshops and stories next to a campfire and this is where we spent the majority of our time. We made wands and origami moons in the Wolly Woods, relaxed in the forest reading nook, played musical instruments in the Lostwoods and my youngest absolutely loved the Peachick tent aimed at the younger festival-goers which had an abundance of toys and sandpit area.

We also spent each evening enjoying the circus skills workshops in the village green, roamed around the Water gardens which offered a lovely haven of peace and tranquillity when you're in need of a moment of calm and made clay animals with the Pottery Parlour. On the last day there is also a vibrant and colourful parade which while we didn't participate in we loved watching and seeing all the creative costumes. There was an endless amount of things for families and kids to do that we literally didn't have enough time to do all of them.

While Larmer Tree offers loads for kids it is still very much a festival for all ages and there is still a mix of more teenage/adult performances, comedy and cinema shows in the late evening meaning if you have older children they will be equally entertained and offers scope to return year after year. We really enjoyed our weekend at Larmer Tree and look forward to returning in 2020 and really recommend this festival if you're looking for an action-packed weekend that's not too overwhelming and offers something for all ages.

You can join Larmer Trees Mailing list to be the first to know when tickets are live for 2020 which is taking place 16th-19th July. There are a few options and a payment plan to help spread the cost and under 6's go free.

*I was provided with tickets in exchange for an honest review of Larmer Tree Festival