Last Updated on 23 March 2026 by Colette
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Regular readers will know we love a festival and, in all the years we’ve been taking the kids to festivals, we’ve struck pretty lucky with the weather and, bar the odd shower, the only festival that we’ve experienced that was really wet and muddy was Y Not Festival in 2019 – the biggest issues for us were the paths in and out of the festival to the campsites which were a real slog (especially as the kids were still quite young at the time) and just generally keeping our spirits up when the weather wasn’t playing ball – in fact we ended up packing up Sunday morning and, rather than heading back into the festival arena for the day, we just went home.
This year Dave and I ummed and ahhed about what to do for Y Not Festival. The plan had been to head down Thursday lunch time, set up camp, chill and enjoy a few bonus sets in the evening from the likes of Circa Waves and Bombay Bicycle Club – but as the event drew nearer and the forecast showed no sign of the weather letting up, we started to question staying off site and just heading into the festival each day after lunch.
Staying off site does feel like a bit of a cheat – and one Ben really wasn’t keen on. Of all of us, Ben was the one who most wanted to dive into the full festival experience no matter the weather – and, if we hadn’t had a second festival planned in a few weeks, I think I’d have been on his side, but the more we considered the pros and cons, the more staying off site for Y Not Festival seemed like it would be a good idea!
Y Not Festival takes place at Pikehall, Derbyshire – around an hour’s drive from our home in Manchester and so is perfectly doable as a drive there and back each day. I’m not much of a drinker anyway and almost never drink at festivals, so driving home after the event doesn’t bother me in that sense. Obviously if you lived further away and wanted to consider staying off site for Y Not Festival, you need to look at alternative accommodation be that a campsite, hotel or Airbnb.
9 reasons we chose to stay off site for Y Not Festival this year:
The weather
You don’t need me to tell you that the weather in the run up to Y Not Festival has been pretty grim this year – it feels like it has rained non-stop for the whole of July and then some. The BBC weather app basically shows more rain for as far as the eye can see, and whilst we’re generally of the attitude that you should just dress for the weather rather than letting it trap you indoors, the idea of three nights and four days at a very soggy festival wasn’t filling me with joy . . . and even if the forecast decided to be absolutely glorious for the festival weekend, the ground under foot has had quite the hammering in recent weeks and will of course be very soggy, making life quite difficult.
No faffing about setting up camp
We absolutely love camping but there’s no denying that packing for camping and setting up – especially at a festival – is a bit of a ball ache. The idea of dragging all our stuff across muddy fields to set up camp in the rain when we didn’t have to . . . well you can see where that’s going can’t you!
It works out to be significantly cheaper
Staying off site works out to be considerably cheaper for us – which this year, after car troubles and the breakdown of a few household appliances, is a bonus. Had we stayed on site, we’d have spent three nights and the best part of four full days at the festival – halving the number of meals we’d eat in the arena makes a significant impact and, on top of that, there will be a lot less money spent on beer – so whilst we will have an extra round trip of about 80 miles, that’s nothing compared to the money we’d have spent on food and drink to take and food and drink in the festival arena itself.
Read our tips for saving money at festivals with kids!
Daily hot showers with no queues!
One of my overriding memories of Y Not Festival in 2019 was the lack of showers – and whilst we are well prepared with a stock of FreshWipes for festivals this year, I know that we’d all find the rain and mud much easier to handle knowing we can have a proper hot shower at the end of the day rather than having to clean up as best we could before getting into a sleeping bag!
It’s easier to rest my back
Earlier this year I ended up in hospital with a prolapsed disc and a number of bulging discs – which, as I’m sure you can imagine, was intensely painful. Whilst, for the most part, my back is much much better now, I’m still finding that long periods of standing still or walking up hill in particular can cause it to flare up. Obviously festivals involve a lot of standing so staying off site each day means I have more chance to rest my back in a comfortable setting (i.e. not in a camp chair or sat on the floor) giving me a better chance of surviving the longer periods of standing / dancing through the afternoon and into the evening.
Sleeping in my own bed
Look, I love our camp set up – I love our Berghaus air tent and I love my camp bed – but, I will always sleep better in my own bed! Festival camp sites can be noisy – either with people enjoying themselves late at night after you want to be asleep, or with early rising children who can’t sleep once the sun is up! Either way, my own cosy bed and blackout blinds will always make for a better night’s sleep!
The kids will be better rested
Whilst our three are pretty good with flexible bedtimes be that camping, festivals or just being out and about in the holidays or on a weekend, they do still get tired – sleeping in their own beds at home means that firstly they will just sleep better and secondly they’ll have a much more relaxed start to the day being able to chill out and get ready in the comfort of their own home. Essentially, with the festival conditions being less than ideal, I want the kids to be as well rested and resilient as possible to make sure they are still able to have a good time – if they’re tired then they will feel less able to cope with the rain and mud!
We don’t have to entertain the kids during the day
Although Y Not Festival does have a full programme of kids’ entertainment each day, we were conscious that in terms of music, the stuff we want to see most doesn’t start till later in the afternoon – now if the weather was going to be ok this wouldn’t matter as we’d just stroll about, taking it all in and seeing what we can find – but I think with a wet forecast, we need to concentrate on making sure we are on form to see the bands we are most excited about (hello Wombats and Everything Everything).
I know last time we went to Y Not when the weather was bad, we spent quite a lot of time in the tent during the day but because we had Uncle Chris and Aunty Custard with us, this was good fun – with just the five of us, it felt like that could be quite hard work and that the kids might be a bit bored.
The weather
Yes, I’m going to come back to the weather again as this really is the single biggest factor in our decision to stay off site for Y Not Festival this year – all of the the things I’ve mentioned already like showers, setting up camp, being well-rested, having stuff to do during the day – they would all be a completely different kettle of fish in the sunshine. If the weather was warm and dry and the fields not muddy, then it would be easier to find places to sit to rest my back, the kids wouldn’t need to be cooped up in the tent for extended periods of time and nobody would mind not being able to have a hot shower for day or two! Don’t get me wrong, we’re not nesh, but given the choice, it makes sense to make life as easy as possible doesn’t it!
So, as I write this, it’s Thursday afternoon and we should really be on site, setting up camp but right now its definitely feeling like staying at home was the right choice and we can’t wait to head over at lunch time tomorrow! I’ll be sure to report back on our experience after the weekend and of course you can keep an eye on my stories to see what we get up to! (I’ll come back to this post and update it with some pictures from this year’s festival too!)
Have a read of these post next:
Our 2023 Y Not Festival highlights
European music festivals (if you want a better chance of sunshine!)
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