Glastonbury 2025 with a Toddler in tow

[Nice hymer]

58 minutes ago, JimboSlice said:

I wonder if there's a poster on these boards who have experienced it as a toddler/young child who can share their experiences? Festival started getting a lot safer/more sanitised around the early 2000s so might be a few 

Haha, my kids have grown up with the festival. They've been every year since 2008 (one was in mum's tummy that year) but have only managed to get Sunday tickets for 2025. No chance they'll sign up to Efests, they're far too cool for that 😂

Permaculture in Green Futures, 2013

[majormajormajor]

Not being in any was judgemental here (crack on!), but we weighed it up and decided we wouldn't do it with our two year old. I think the overcrowding and size of the place would just make it a really hard slog that I can't be arsed with (especially if it's wet). Plus I just associate the place with being completely off my head and it doesn't seem right 😄

 

We booked Green Man as a more straightforward entry to festivals with a toddler, basically to see how it goes. Not that the weather is expected to be good there, mind you.

Edited November 29, 2024 by majormajormajor

[Someoni]

14 minutes ago, majormajormajor said:

Not being in any was judgemental here (crack on!), but we weighed it up and decided we wouldn't do it with our two year old. I think the overcrowding and size of the place would just make it a really hard slog that I can't be arsed with (especially if it's wet). Plus I just associate the place with being completely off my head and it doesn't seem right 😄

 

We booked Green Man as a more straightforward entry to festivals with a toddler, basically to see how it goes. Not that the weather is expected to be good there, mind you.

The crowds are my main worry, especially when you have a big crossover like the park and pyramid emptying at the same time. I've had 20 years of getting mangled and not done for a few years now, so that's less of worry to be fair

[Justcalledtosay]

Each to their own but taking kids to Glasto under 5 is not for me. I've got a one year old and 3 year old and i don't see what they get out of it at that age. I can understand if you've got no option but to take kids that young to a behemoth like Glasto out of choice is not something i'd do.

Edited November 29, 2024 by Justcalledtosay

[Someoni]

21 minutes ago, Justcalledtosay said:

Each to their own but taking kids to Glasto under 5 is not for me. I've got a one year old and 3 year old and i don't see what they get out of it at that age. I can understand if you've got no option but to take kids that young to a behemoth like Glasto out of choice is not something i'd do.

Further back I've mentioned that if we had the option of him being looked after then yeah we'd take that route, unfortunately we don't. 

[tarw]

17 minutes ago, Justcalledtosay said:

Each to their own but taking kids to Glasto under 5 is not for me. I've got a one year old and 3 year old and i don't see what they get out of it at that age. I can understand if you've got no option but to take kids that young to a behemoth like Glasto out of choice is not something i'd do.

Like you say each their own. You probably don’t see what they can get out of it because you’ve only done the festival as an adult. You see a totally different festival as a parent. 
Having done the festival as both it’s an amazing experience both ways for both you and your children. 
I would be dead against having an adult festival with the kids in tow. Taking your toddler in a buggy to the Temple at 3am is not good

[tigertoo]

Each to their own Justcalledtosay but there are plenty of us who have taken young children to Glastonbury and everybody had a great time.

Took our daughter to every Glastonbury from 9 months old to adulthood.

We'd been to a fair few before we had her too. It's a different experience with a child. Not worse just different. With the crowd movement you just have to sometimes wait for it to clam down before moving off yourself.

If I can find it I will link a post I did with my own recommendations some years ago. 

As plenty others have said the Kidz field is absolutely fabulous 🤩 I miss it now we don't have a child in tow

[tigertoo]

Here is my post from a few years back it was part of a discussion on best wheeled kit to transport kids about at Glastonbury .......

 

My days of having a child in tow at Glastonbury are over but ours went from 9 months old to adult. Over those years we had a quite a succession of transport/resting wheeled kit. Some were better than others.

 

The baby carrier was excellent, then came the Maclaren buggy, great when it wad dry not good in the mud, one or more wheels came off, then we bought a second hand three wheeler buggy more robust than the Maclaren but not as substantial as dondo's bike sidecar above. The three wheeler did ok but at one point the pin attaching the front wheel broke.... top tip .... I replaced it with a tent peg and whacked the unbent end at an angle to secure. Lastly and most disastrously as said child got older we got a fold up wheelbarrow thing. That was a very poor experience and I wouldnt recommend it.

 

Nowadays you see a lot of parents with those little wagons that remind me of little house on the prairie, they seem very popular but I have no idea where you buy them.

 

The biggest recommendation I have is not on transport but to definitely spend time in the Kidz field. It's quite a revelation, it's very chilled, the children's entertainment is of very high quality and totally fab from the all day children's caberet tent to the brilliant helta skelta to the excellent craft marquee ( face painting included) and the circus skills marquee, and so much more. All ages of kids are catered for...........and it's a marvellous way to get over the hangover from the night before. 

 

I'm getting all nostalgic about the kidz field now 🥰

 

One other recommendation is at the back of the greenpeace field there is another kids bit and further back again is the ancient oak tree, a nice shady spot to rest and there used to be a children's book tent there hopefully it will still be there this year. Worth a visit with children.

 

It's a totally different festival with kids in tow some things you might miss but others are an unexpected bonus that you will love, I hope you have as brilliant a time as we did.

 

 

[PaulieV]

Quote

 

Thank, that's very helpful. 

I'll be returning to the festival for the first time since 2017. This time with daughter who will have just turned 2. We'll also be in a campervan and I'm quite happy to be looking forward to a different festival than my previous years. My daughter loves to boogie so I am sure she'll enjoy the music and the kids field sounds great fun. 

 

if anyone finds where to buy the Little-House-On-The Prairie Wagon, could you post a link. 

 

And any more advice will be gladly welcomed.  

Are there baby change places anywhere? What's it like getting up and and down the Hill Of Death with a wagon / buggy?

 

 

Edited Thursday at 05:45 PM by PaulieV
added more detail

[Old_Johno]

On 11/29/2024 at 1:23 PM, majormajormajor said:

Not being in any was judgemental here (crack on!), but we weighed it up and decided we wouldn't do it with our two year old. I think the overcrowding and size of the place would just make it a really hard slog that I can't be arsed with (especially if it's wet). Plus I just associate the place with being completely off my head and it doesn't seem right 😄

 

We booked Green Man as a more straightforward entry to festivals with a toddler, basically to see how it goes. Not that the weather is expected to be good there, mind you.

it’s always mind blowing to me how many people don’t want to do a trial run at a smaller festival, let alone people who have never been camping before, and want to dive in at the deep end!

[Daimo]

16 hours ago, PaulieV said:

Thank, that's very helpful. 

I'll be returning to the festival for the first time since 2017. This time with daughter who will have just turned 2. We'll also be in a campervan and I'm quite happy to be looking forward to a different festival than my previous years. My daughter loves to boogie so I am sure she'll enjoy the music and the kids field sounds great fun. 

 

if anyone finds where to buy the Little-House-On-The Prairie Wagon, could you post a link. 

 

And any more advice will be gladly welcomed.  

Are there baby change places anywhere? What's it like getting up and and down the Hill Of Death with a wagon / buggy?

 

 

went two years ago with our 2 year old and she had an absolute blast. Didn’t take her last year as we went with our usual crew who didn’t get tix for 2024 but taking the wee one next year. Totally different experience having a kid with you, obviously more sober and actually more chilled out.

 

for wagons try here https://www.festivalkidz.com/advice/festival-trolley-festival-wagon/?amp

 

we didn’t go with a wagon in the end and got a buggy with bike wheels, a Hauck Runner (£130 in Argos but found a second hand one for about £40) it was perfect and had no issues with it except for having to repair a puncture on the Sunday.

 

for baby changing their are facilities in the Kidzfield which we spent most of Thursday at it’s great.

 

the way we worked it with crowds at stages was that obviously don’t go into the pit, stayed quite far back and for some Pyramid acts sat on the hill. 

As I said you’ll have a totally different experience, and our kid enjoyed it.

 

Of you want to know anything else just ask or PM

 

Edited Friday at 10:34 AM by Daimo