Last Updated on 2 May 2025 by Colette
This post features gifted experiences
We have always keenly followed Colette and her family’s summer festival adventures but timing, holidays and other summer commitments have meant that we have never actually had chance to attend one ourselves. So, when Colette asked us earlier this year if we would like to attend CarFest, we got the date in the diary and began making plans.
CarFest is a family focused festival which was started in 2011 by radio DJ, Chris Evans. The festival is quite different to others out there as they have a big focus on raising money for UK children’s charities.
This year the festival ran from Thursday 22nd August to Monday 26th August with options to camp for 3 or 4 nights or just opt for day tickets. We chose to camp in our own tent on site and arrived on Friday morning. There is the option to arrive on the Thursday evening for The Big Early, giving you early access to the camp site and a small section of the festival.
10 reasons why we think CarFest is the perfect first family festival!
1. There is a real eclectic mix of artists on over the course of the weekend
This broad mix of performers means that there is something that will appeal to all music tastes. This year’s line-up on the main stage included Johnny Marr, UB40, Sam Ryder, Olly Murs, Richard Ashcroft and Scouting for Girls, to name just a few. We also loved that we were introduced to acts which we have never heard before (but ended up being some of our favourites) such as Furnace and The Fundamentals and Rick Parfitt Jnr. It was great sharing some classic songs from our youth with Finn and Erin; from bands like Deacon Blue and Johnny Hates Jazz whilst also enjoying more current music from Olly Murs and Sam Ryder. Each evening the music on the main stage started from around 5p.m. however for those that wanted music to be the main focus on their weekend there were newer unknown acts on throughout the day at the smaller Wigwam stage.
2. There is a huge range of activities on offer at CarFest
If music isn’t your thing then there is something for everyone in one of the clearly defined zones around the festival site. This included MusicFest, AdventureFest, FoodFest, CarFest, SpaFest, RetroFest, KidFest, StarFest and a Fun Fair. Each area had a range of stalls, activities, food and drink options and famous guest speakers.
For families with young children KidFest and AdventureFest took up a large part of the weekend. In these zones you there were comedy shows aimed specifically at children, visits from Pudsey Bear, Postman Pat and Peppa Pig (to name just a few), giant inflatables, science tents and craft sessions.
For us, we spent most of our time in CarFest and StarFest. Finn and Neil were in their element walking round the Motorsport Paddock, watching cars on the track and listening to the commentators explain all about them. We got to see Edd China’s crazy array of vehicles, including a green house, double bed and a Crème Egg – all of which were apparently road worthy vehicles! Alongside this there were classics, 100-year-old cars, muscle cars, sports cars, Lando Norris’ Maclaren and my own personal favourite – the classic Mini Cooper! Professional drivers did demos with doughnuts on the start line and drifting cars around the corners – the smell of burning rubber and smoke is still with me!
3. The festival encourages a love of reading.
As a teacher this was a big plus for me as it’s one of the biggest pushes in education at the minute, to ensure children are coming away from their devices more and discovering a love of reading.
For Erin and I we absolutely loved the StarFest area where we both got to listen to our favourite authors being interviewed and got to meet them after for a book signing. Erin was also lucky enough to get to ask Ben Miller a question in the interview with him.
Throughout the weekend there were a range of children’s and adult’s authors on site being interviewed, answering questions, having photos and doing book signings. For us Ben Miller and Mike Gayle and Jojo Moyes did not disappoint and only made us fall in love with them more as our favourite authors.
4. There is so much space.
I would say that as a family we aren’t really fans of huge crowds where you feel you can’t get out easily. I know for me and Neil at a gig, we would both prefer to be seated rather then in the standing crowd and CarFest definitely catered for this. In every section of the festival there is a feeling of space. Lots of families had trollies with them and just set up a little area with chairs or picnic blankets so that they could watch a show or just have a break. This was obviously ideal for groups with older relatives or very young children who would struggle to be on their feet all day.
When we set up the tent we were fully prepared to feel like we had no space around us and that it may be hard to find the tent each day but even here it didn’t feel like you were squashed in, in fact I commented that we had more space around the tent than at the last campsite we stayed on!
5. Everyone was so kind and helpful.
In every aspect and area of the festival there is a really lovely family feeling. Everyone we met, both staff and visitors, were so polite and helpful. We felt more than happy letting Erin take herself off to the toilets or to grab some food whilst we were watching the bands, knowing that she would be safe and not feel intimidated by groups or crowds.
Lots of families we met have been going for years so were happy to offer tips and advice about how to get the most out of your weekend. Everyone also really respected the site. The cleanliness of the whole area, considering the number of people (around 35,000) was amazing. Hardly any litter was dropped and picture of the camp site as everyone left on Monday showed that there was literally nothing left behind.
6. You can take in your own food and drinks.
With the exception of glass bottles and alcohol you can take any food and drink into the festival with you. This obviously offers families a much greater choice for saving money or if there a dietary needs or fussy eaters in the family. For us, we opted to have breakfast at the tent, take lots of snacks and butties for lunch and then paid to have our evening meal in there. The choices of food were amazing and we didn’t think the value was bad. We paid between £10 and £17 for each meal but the quality of everything was fantastic. We could have stayed there for a week and still not had chance to try everything we wanted to. Erin also opted to treat herself to churros on a couple of nights and got a big portion for £5, again we felt it was good value.
(A limited amount of alcohol is allowed on the campsite but can not be taken into the festival with you.)
7. The festival focuses on raising money for UK children’s charities.
We loved that the festival wasn’t just about stars and making profit, it had a real focus on children with additional needs and the charities which support them and their families. Each evening on the main stage we had the chance to hear from children who had been helped by the charities the festival supports.
For us a highlight of the weekend was Chris Evans chatting to the child who was the president of the festival as they talked about the opportunities the role had given them and handed over to the new president for the coming year. The difference that the festival has made to the charities and the thousands of children they support was so heart warming and knowing that the money we spent was supporting them made it feel even more special. This was also something lots of the famous faces over the weekend also commented on – always saying that the festival is like no other in the country.
8. You can set up with chairs and picnic blankets in the evening.
In the music zone there are two clearly defined areas. Right in front of the main stage there is a standing area; behind this there is a huge section where you can set up chairs and picnic blankets to sit and enjoy the music. As I said earlier, for us standing in a huge crown for 5 hours wouldn’t have been too appealing so the option to sit and still enjoy the music was perfect. Lots of families set up their things in the morning so that they can just come and go throughout the day, as the area is so big this isn’t a problem and everyone is really respectful of other people’s space and belongings. When Olly Murs was on Erin was desperate to get into the standing area which again wasn’t a problem as we could just leave Neil and Finn with the chairs to go up to the front. For us having this option was a big win and something that would definitely draw us back in the future.
9. The toilets and showers were great.
We must admit that temporary toilets are not one of our favourite things and we were dreading a whole weekend using them! However, we were very pleasantly surprised at how well they were kept clean and serviced throughout the weekend. On a number of occasions, I went to the toilet and there was a team of staff there cleaning and restocking toilet rolls. Yes, on the final visit of the toilet before bed there were getting a little bit smelly but otherwise they were great. The showers were also manned by a team of volunteers making sure that outdoors shoes were not taken in and the queue was moving forwards nicely. If you timed it wrong then yes there were some big queues here but by going very early or a little after the breakfast time rush we managed to queue for no more than 5 minutes.
10. There are lots of ticket options.
We loved that for those who may not be sure if a full weekend festival is for them then there is the option to just visit for one day. We had friends who chose to do this on Saturday and loved it so much that they are looking to camp for the whole weekend next year. There are also lots of different camping options if you are not seasoned campers with all of the kit. The Tangerine fields offered tents which were pitched for you and there were even glamping hotel fields where breakfast was provided. Obviously these options come with a much bigger price tag but it does mean that there is an option that will work for everyone.
All in all, we had an absolutely fantastic weekend at our first big festival and will definitely be looking to return to CarFest next year. For us the family feel, the wide range of activities and the eclectic music made it the perfect festival for our family.
Tickets for CarFest 2025:
CarFest 2025 returns across the August Bank Holiday from Friday 22nd – Sunday 24th August 2025 offering up even more more exhilarating action and endless fun for the whole family. Pre-registration for Limited Early Bird Tickets is now open! Tickets will be available from 8am, Wednesday 3rd September for those who have signed up for the pre-registration, and open to the public on Thursday 4th September until 23:59 on Sunday 8th September.
To benefit from this offer, pre-register today at https://carfest.org/early-bird-sign-up/
For more festival related content check out these posts next:
Family Friendly Festivals 2025
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