Deer Shed has plenty on offer whatever your age and interests

A constant flow of gigantic odd-shaped bubbles floating on the breeze at Baldersby Park brought plenty of smiles to the crowds, young and old, at this year's Deershed Festival.

Together with hot air balloons and birds of prey, they helped to fuel an 'Up in the Air' themed festival. Having become something of a favorite among families in recent times, thousands of feet, small and large – mostly welly-clad – walked, ran and danced their way across the North Yorkshire park over the course of this increasingly popular three-day arts, folk, rock and pop music event. Now into its sixth year, and with tickets selling out at super speed for this one, Deershed differs to many of its festival counterparts in its being truly family-friendly, not just making life as simple as possible for the pint-sized revelers but aiming many activities directly at the little people and pretty much shaping an event around them. And with a plethora of musical acts lined up as entertainment, from longstanding performers such as Billy Bragg, and The Wedding Present, to the more contemporary Dutch Uncles, and John Grant, everyone could expect to find something to suit their eardrums.

No stranger to Baldersby, thanks to having grown up down the road (that's 'darn t'road' in local tongue) and hence being something of a North Yorks' connoisseur not to mention a massive fan of the county, it is with just a teeny amount of excitement I take my other half, our two littlies and some mates of a similar ilk to Deershed for this our maiden family festival come camping trip. Several folk have given the event a huge wrap prior to our arrival, and consequently, there are plenty of high hopes amongst our party for a splendid couple of days of festival merriment.

From the moment we arrive at the gates and began a short walk to the campsite, it is already clear why families like this event. It looks and feels extremely family-focused and is almost oozing precision in terms of organization, with a simple and methodical layout making for an easy life; and as most parents would agree, anything which can assist in this department is preferable.

With some help from our new friend Liz the trolley (our camping paraphernalia chauffeur, if you like, she and other trolleys rented to campers by the half-hour courtesy of festival hero and aptly named Mr Trolley), we stroll through the runway-like illuminated camping field paths - well equipped with plenty of toilets and wash stations - and past the corner shop selling all sorts of necessities to a spot close enough to the arena to save on excess walking, next to our friends and also near a family with a pig-fish flag (as we named it) flapping proudly in the wind. It felt uber clean, here – not clinically so, but certainly not like most festivals I have encountered in years past. And what's best, everybody has brought their smile with them and these remain very much on display throughout.

As it goes, our photographer friend and family had a head start on us, arriving alongside thousands of others on the Friday afternoon, getting the best of the weather and also catching the legendary Billy Bragg put on a turn on the main stage (we, on the other hand, had to settle for seeing him umpteen times while roaming the arena the next day). His gig was great, by all accounts; his spoken word session at the Obelisk Stage the following day would have been just as interesting to hear as his songs. Thankfully, Saturday morning brings with it some sunshine, and provides a day full of musicians from across the globe playing across four stages from mid-day into the early hours.

Once our tent is erected – a relatively easy process thanks to a pile of hay bales close by providing child entertainment for a good forty five minutes – the main stage seems a fitting place to kick off proceedings, particular with the clouds always looking slightly ominous. Sitting listening to London-based singer songwriter Robyn Sherwell's easy listening style while sipping wine and snacking on a cheese plate eases everybody in nicely. She has a powerful vocal range, which seems a standard requirement these days to be fair. Her cover of Fleetwood Mac's Landslide was done tastefully and with less drawl than Ms. Nicks would have dished up, and Haim's If I could Change Your Mind kept with the 80s vibe and was extremely pleasant.

Next up, Hinds, a four piece female bunch from Madrid, who helped to coax in a few more punters thanks to their Spanish style of rather chaotic yet decent sounding Surf Rock. It was no surprise to learn the two founding band members met on a beach, that swirl of sound one attributes to 70s US surf culture.

Close by, on the Lodge Stage, the Dublin duo All Tvvins were firing up and definitely worth having wandered over for a listen; with funky bass lines and heaps of high pitched riffs from the lead guitarist, they seemingly impressed the audience (which it would be nice to think was full thanks to the set rather than the changing weather). They brought the French band Phoenix to mind while playing Thank You; other songs had more of The Police about them. Either way, a great few songs and a band to look out for.

A few umbrellas shot up as the heavens finally opened, which didn't keep a decent sized crowd from watching new talent Dutch Uncles (unlike ourselves, who managed to stay for the sound check before the rain finally got the better of us, clearly a draw-back to not having brought a waterproof pushchair or indeed, a trolley on a weekend loan from Mr Trolley which it appeared some punters had opted for).

Although yet another positive with the smaller festival set up is the ability to hear music from the camping field, and so while we ran away to dry and feed our wet and hungry littlies, the Dutch Uncles helped us to sway along in our tent porches whilst doing so, the singers androgynous warbling tones and keyboard ditties giving our ears a warm and fuzzy feeling despite our eyes having to miss out. Another notable cover today was their version of Seal's Kiss From a Rose; although whilst a nice enough rendition, it was their original material with frequent rhythm misplacement which stood out.

Rain over, and it's off to In The Dock for a couple more bands very much on the personal agenda. The Glasweigians, Honeyblood, put on a great set to a decent sized crowd of old and young alike, many of the latter now up on shoulders making it difficult to see much from the tent's fringe where we were placed, although plenty of punch from this two piece left even those without a view bouncing along to their punk pop tunes, Killer Bangs seemingly the favourite. After a half-hour wait for fish and chips (not bad if the food queues are the one disappointment of the entire event), and a quick settling of two extremely shattered children into their beds, it was back in for legendary Leeds lot The Wedding Present. Nothing different here, including one Dave Gedge who pioneered the band some thirty years ago, and that's the way the crowd preferred it judging by its head nodding bulge of an over-spilling mass, jumping and singing along madly.

John Grant headlined the Main Stage this evening, with his deep, haunting voice and dramatic piano compositions providing something of a treat to the North Yorks' crowd. While perhaps not a typical sound to close out a Saturday night, it is fantastic to hear Grant live and to experience first-hand the mix of hope and angst which fuels his music, in effect providing something of a set of lullabies to those who remained present.

In amongst all of this music had been, of course, much kid-driven activity with what can only be described as a smorgasbord of options available, without doubt having helped all involved flop into their beds with little by way of a protest that evening. Sitting proudly at yonder end of the arena lay a rather impressive fairground complete with a circus big-top, chair-o-plane ride and a traditional red and white striped helter-skelter, the latter having had a constant stream of bums on mats and Dads alike, both helping to provide a source of speed for eager kids to hurtle down its slide.

Before even reaching this side of the field, however, a plethora of options stand in the way. A sports area included regular football and rugby practice sessions with professionals showing kids how to throw and kick; a mini bike circuit made from straw bales allowed the very wee ones a turn on balance bikes, although this rather quickly turned into a mess of hay, which became an activity in itself of course and no amount of security folk were going to stop it!

The Teesside University-sponsored Science Tent was constantly full of budding nerds, who were able to try their hand at all sorts including circuit board and robot building; and, who knew you could construct a mini hot air balloon from a polythene bag and a toaster? There was a space for building things out of boxes – no specific rules or format to follow here, just 'build stuff, kids!'. And they did, from towers to cardboard go-karts, this was one massive brown corrugated free for all.

The den building also proved popular and had a constant hub of folk around it on the Sunday afternoon, resembling something of a Territorial Army meeting with disrupted pattern fabric a plenty, branches and yet more cardboard boxes as materials. The place reeked of 'interactive', with metal sculptures which the children could experiment with to make do amazing things. You could make a google-eyed cloud, a pipe-cleaner insect, a finger puppet; you could even make a broomstick which you could then play Kidditch with – the smaller child's version of Quidditch – in the sports area.

Music wise, there was drum, percussion and ukulele workshops or the chance to learn to be a DJ. Or if like mine and still on the extreme side of young, under-fives had their very own soft play tent complete with several tonnes of sand plonked into a square hole and beach scenes painted on the surrounding walls, to everybody present ignore what was really happening with the weather outside.

Sunday saw the music taking something of a backseat, what with more of the old wet stuff tumbling from the sky, although there were a couple of notables to mention. The wonderful Ibibio Sound Machine and their African funk come disco style not only entertained a wet and yet extremely involved crowd on the main stage but also inspired the rather restless Fish and Chip van queue into a frenzy, beating hands down the neighbouring Pizza and Coffee vans, both of which barely rustling up a sway amongst them. This was exactly what was needed lunchtime Sunday as the clouds opened fire, music which sounded as though it was pre-dipped in sunshine and lead singer Eno Williams helping to spread joy and smiles around the now somewhat soggy fields surrounding her.

Soon after on the Lodge Stage, Emmy the Great provided a similar warmth, arriving centre stage courtesy of a Mr Trolley's trolley and throwing sweets to the crowd, both of which earned her a great reception. She has had much of a talking up of late and it is easy to see why, with her brand of indie folk quite beautiful to listen to, her melodies floating across the audience and into the skies above to hang amongst the clouds. It was a pity they could no nothing to coax the sunshine back, and with the rain looking to have firmly set in, a good choice appeared to be to take solace in the soft play area with its sand pit, deck chairs and beach-like frescos. And pints – for that real feeling of being on a beach holiday, don't forget to bring a few of those, too.  

There is so much to do here that the real difficulty lies in squeezing it all in. Some things definitely appeared too much to handle when you arrive armed with pre-schoolers – the spoken word and literary shows springing to mind. There was also plenty of comedy and cabaret to be found in the big top, the Punk Science show on the creation and management of poo sounding like it would have had our little people in stitches, if only able to tear themselves from the soft play tent or chasing those ever present giant bubbles; who needs SamsamBubbeman when kids can buy their own bubble making devices for twelve quid a pop?

As for the food, there was no hope whatsoever in sampling everything the festival had to offer with just about every culinary option available, and the simple fact is- festival or not - kids will always happily deviate toward fried potatoes. What was absolutely impossible not to miss was the joy around the place. Not one screaming child witnessed in two whole days – and I refer not to my own, but those running madly around the entire venue, campsite included. Smiles on faces were infectious, kids happy with the multitude of action to be had, and parents satisfied their little people were entertained. Certainly, the exceedingly young looked content too, wrapped in blankets and riding the park grounds in their trolley chariots. Even the eco-loos were erring towards decent, with the chaps able to do their business on a hay bale and the ladies' including sawdust to assist in the composting process.

No question, this is a fantastic festival with plenty on offer whatever your age and interests. Hard to imagine how, but it will only continue to improve, and there is every likelihood the early bird tickets for 2016 soon to be released will be snapped up fast. Well worth grabbing some early, if you already have next summer's festival planning head on and the cash to splash.

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