Last Updated on 15 December 2023 by Colette
This post features a gifted experience & affiliate links
This weekend, whilst we were off galivanting at Camp Bestival Shropshire, Mich and Finn headed down to Trentham Estate to cover Trentham Live for me.
Trentham Live is a series of live music events which takes place across five nights in the middle of August. This year’s line up included headliners Chase and Status, McFly, Kaiser Chiefs, Feeder and Olly Murs with supporting acts including Razorlight, Natalie Imbruglia and Sigma.
Finn, as a City fan, is a regular at huge football matches but hadn’t been to a live music event before so both Mich and Finn were really excited to be able to go and see Kaiser Chiefs together on Saturday night! (Anyone who has seen Kaiser Chiefs live will know that that’s a pretty epic first gig – I’ve seen them loads of times over the years and Ricky Wilson is quite the showman.)
Ten reasons why we think that Trentham Live is perfect for your child’s first live music experience:
Plenty of FREE onsite parking
Parking for Trentham Estate is free of charge and this applies to Trentham Live events too. There is no time limit so you could spend the whole day exploring Trentham Gardens or shopping and not worry if your parking has run out or if it’s going to cost you a small fortune in parking fees.
We opted to get to Trentham early to have food before the gig started. This worked well for us as lots of visitors were just leaving after a day out before people arrived for the evening events so this meant we got parked right near the entrance and afterwards we were back in the car and out of the site within 15 minutes of the last song finishing!
Lots of options for on-site food and drinks before the gig
I hate judging what time to get to a gig so you can get parked but don’t have to wait around with bored kids for hours before anything starts! I found that planning to have tea on site before hand was a great option. We booked in at Frankie & Benny’s at Trentham for 5pm (but I know some people managed to get in without booking) and there were lots of other options for places to eat or just to grab a drink. This meant we got on site easily, parked up and could chill out in the restaurant until we wanted to walk into the actual site.
No queues
We didn’t experience any of the normal queues you might find at a gig. Entering the site was easy with a constant flow moving through into the gardens then the staff were great getting everyone into the fenced event area, sensibly moving people into the VIP and golden circle queues where there was no one waiting. The bar area was huge so there never seemed to be a queue there with more than 3 or 4 people in front of you.
Lots of space
Inside the event the stage was well placed which meant you could see it from anywhere, even if you chose to sit down near the back. There were lots of families with babies and toddlers who had set themselves up with picnic blankets so it was easy to keep children entertained right through the night without having to worry about losing them or holding them for hours.
Lots of lovely food options within the event
If you opted not to eat before entering the gig there were lots of options once in from a range of different food stands. Burgers, halloumi, coffee, doughnuts, Greek gyros – to name just a few! This is also a great option if little ones started to flag or just need something to entertain them during the night.
Trentham Estate is the most beautiful setting
I have never been to a gig somewhere like this and the setting was just beautiful! Also great for families as you could come and go into the gardens and use the play area if children got bored.
Great location with access from the north or south.
I was initially worried about the distance from Manchester but it only took us just over an hour to and from Trentham Gardens from North Manchester. The easy access from the M6 and free onsite parking meant it would be easy from lots of the UK and for us was actually not much worse than it would have been getting to and from a gig in the centre of Manchester.
Option to upgrade onsite
Once in the event there were options to upgrade your general access ticket to Golden Circle or VIP. I loved this option – when you buy tickets online (especially for a family) it’s often hard to know if the upgrades are worth it. This way you could see what you were getting for the extra and make an informed decision on whether it was worth the extra. For us the Golden Circle was amazing – we got right to the front but it wasn’t over sold so you never felt crushed like I have at other gigs. This was also great for a first timer who isn’t used to the huge crowds jumping on you!
Easy exit
As we left, there were lots of exits and again no waiting around. Staff were on hand to ensure that the flow of people moved smoothly both when walking out and when leaving the car park.
The whole Trentham Live event felt really safe
Most importantly for me everything about Trentham Live just felt really safe and family friendly. It wasn’t overcrowded and I wasn’t worried at any point about us losing each other. There were lots of other families there with children of all ages but it still had that great feeling of a live gig. All in all – a perfect family event and a great first live music event for my boy!
Thanks Mich and Finn for covering Trentham Live for us – I’m so glad you had a brilliant time (and kinda envious I couldn’t go myself!
For details of Trentham Live next August, keen an eye on my August Festivals round up as I’ll be sure to update that as soon as details are available!
Check out these posts next:
The best festivals to take your kids to this summer
What’s on for kids in Manchester this summer
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