Lakefest 2026 Review: Is Lakefest Worth It for Families?

We attended Lakefest 2026 as press guests. As always, all thoughts, experiences and opinions are our own.

This was our first time at Lakefest, so we went into the weekend excited to see whether it would live up to everything we’d heard about its family-friendly atmosphere. Before we packed the tent and headed to Eastnor Castle Deer Park, I shared what families could expect from Lakefest 2026, including the line-up, family entertainment, camping and everything we knew before our visit. Now, having experienced it for ourselves, I can tell you what Lakefest is really like as a family.

Lakefest review: our verdict

Best for: Families who love live music
Ages: We think it works brilliantly from younger children through to teenagers
Camping: Included with weekend tickets
Our highlight: Scouting for Girls
Family highlight: Meeting Roy Stride together
Would we return? 100%
Our verdict: Lakefest managed to feel like a proper music festival for adults while still being somewhere we felt completely comfortable taking our children. After eight years of attending family festivals, it has gone straight onto our return list.

There is always a moment when you arrive at a festival when you wonder what you’ve let yourself in for. We’d never been to Lakefest before, and despite having attended family festivals for around eight years, this one felt BIG.

But I can still remember walking around the corner at the top of the hill on our first evening, just behind the huge LOVE LAKEFEST letters, and seeing the festival arena spread out beneath us for the first time.

Wow.

With the Malvern Hills providing a beautiful backdrop, stages and tents dotted across the site and thousands of people ready for four days of music and festival fun, the sheer scale of it took us by surprise.

By Sunday evening, none of us wanted to leave.

I think it’s safe to say we’re Lakefest converts.

So, if you’re considering Lakefest with children or teenagers and wondering whether it really is a family-friendly festival, what camping is like, whether there is enough for kids to do and, perhaps most importantly, whether Lakefest is actually worth the money, here’s our honest experience of Lakefest 2026.

What is Lakefest?

Lakefest is a family-friendly music and arts festival held at Eastnor Castle Deer Park in Herefordshire. The 2026 festival ran from 5th-9th August, with weekend tickets allowing campers to arrive from Wednesday 5th August and depart by midday on Monday 10th August.

Although music is undoubtedly a huge part of Lakefest, it’s far from the only reason to go. The festival combines well-known artists and emerging performers with children’s entertainment, creative workshops, fairground rides and plenty of other activities.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and stayed until Sunday evening.

Arriving at Lakefest

First impressions count, and ours were excellent.

We followed the sat nav until we picked up the yellow AA festival signs and arrived at around 2.45pm. Within approximately ten minutes, we’d been handed our envelope containing our wristbands and press passes and were making our way towards our camping area.

It was incredibly smooth.

Throughout the weekend, one thing that repeatedly impressed us was how well organised everything seemed to be. Security staff and volunteers knew where people needed to go, were able to answer questions and, just as importantly, were friendly about it.

It felt like a well-oiled machine.

We didn’t queue once to enter the main festival arena during our stay.

Camping at Lakefest

We were staying in the press camping area, so it’s important to point out that our experience wasn’t necessarily representative of the general or family campsites.

One considerable perk was being able to park beside our tent. Anyone who has ever attempted to transport a family’s worth of camping equipment from a festival car park will appreciate what a gift that was!

We found the perfect pitch and started setting up. Something struck me while we were doing it. We’ve been taking the children camping and to festivals for years, but they’re not little anymore. These days they’re practically professionals at putting up the tent. Setting up was effortless.

By 6pm, we’d pitched camp, eaten, changed, and were walking into the arena, ready for our first evening.

There was one thing we were extremely grateful we’d packed: our heavy lump hammer and super-strength tent pegs. After months of very little rain and back-to-back hot weather, the ground was ridiculously hard. Ordinary tent pegs wouldn’t have stood much of a chance.

Of course, despite considering ourselves seasoned campers, we still managed to forget a washing-up bowl. There’s always something!

Toilets and showers at Lakefest

Let’s talk festival toilets.

Opening the door of a festival loo always comes with a certain amount of trepidation. You never quite know what is waiting for you on the other side.

Yet one of the things we commented on several times during Lakefest was just how impressed we were with the toilets.

I’d say around 90% of my visits were absolutely fine, which considering the number of people attending and the scorching temperatures was pretty impressive. I only remember finding one without toilet roll during the entire weekend.

That said, any seasoned festival-goer knows you ALWAYS keep a packet of tissues in your bag. Festival rule number one!

Our press campsite had approximately ten toilets and six showers. For our first couple of days we didn’t have to queue for a shower at all. It’s worth knowing the showers themselves were just that – showers. There were no sinks or mirrors inside – but the water was mostly hot and the pressure was good.

In the heat, stepping into one immediately after someone else had finished could feel rather like entering a sauna, but they were more than adequate for getting clean and feeling human again. At least until you stepped back outside into the sunshine.

Simon and I also had Posh Loo passes, although I didn’t use them every time because I genuinely found the regular toilets perfectly acceptable.

Is Lakefest family friendly?

Absolutely. (And dog friendly too – there’s even a dog creche).

In fact, this was one of the biggest surprises of the weekend.

Our kids are older now, but there seemed to be something happening for children of practically every age.

We found:

• afternoon foam parties
• BMX stunt shows
• wrestling in the Big Top
• fairground rides
• face painting
• hair braiding
• arts and crafts
• circus skills
• retro gaming
• live science experiments
• junk modelling workshops
• Wood whittling and an iron forge which you could pay to do

There were also organised family activities elsewhere across the festival, including family-friendly yoga and fitness sessions in the wellbeing area.

The BMX stunt team became a firm favourite in our family. We watched them every day and particularly loved their evening performance. Keep an eye out for Harry Gorman, he is 16 years old and hotly tipped to head to the Olympics. We had several chats with his Mum over the weekend and the future looks very promising. He has a natural talent though his Mum’s heart was definitely put through it’s paces a few times.

We also loved seeing the circus skills team again. We’ve known them since our Cornbury Festival days, and finding the same familiar faces at Lakefest felt rather lovely.

The boys spent plenty of time in the retro gaming tent, although it did get VERY hot in there during the heatwave.

The wrestling was another hit with ours. We did notice a couple of younger children getting upset by it, so that’s perhaps one to judge according to your own child’s temperament, but most of the kids around us appeared to be having the time of their lives and the wrestlers were super friendly and still smiling afterwards.

Lakefest describes itself as a family-friendly festival, but for me, the important difference was that this wasn’t simply a music festival that allowed children. There were activities they genuinely wanted to do, and our teenagers felt like festival-goers in their own right.

Lakefest with teenagers

This is where Lakefest particularly impressed me.

When we first arrived, our kids were slightly apprehensive. The festival was considerably bigger than some we’d attended previously, and I think the scale initially overwhelmed them.

Once they’d got their bearings, that disappeared and they were in their element. We were comfortable letting them wander around the festival independently, and they felt confident doing it.

We spotted several families using walkie-talkies to stay in contact with their children, which Simon and I thought was a brilliant idea and something I’d seriously consider another time because the phone signal is virtually non-existent there.

Our three LOVE live music and want to be right at the barrier whenever possible. I’m happy with that, although Mum’s rule is that earplugs are non-negotiable.

They love interacting with the performers, trying to get setlists afterwards and collecting little pieces of festival memorabilia.

Lakefest didn’t disappoint – Lillie managed to catch Example’s towel, and we came home with setlists from both Soul II Soul and Scouting for Girls.

Not your average family holiday souvenirs!

The music at Lakefest 2026

Music is always the biggest draw for us at a festival.

We went into Lakefest particularly excited about seeing Scouting for Girls, Example, Tinchy Stryder, Sweet Female Attitude and East 17, alongside a huge line-up spread across the different stages

The official 2026 line-up included artists such as Madness, Scouting for Girls, Soul II Soul, The Undertones and Bananarama alongside a vast selection of DJs, emerging artists and performers.

But one of my favourite things about festivals is discovering performers you weren’t expecting.

DJ Louis Capaldi knew exactly how to get a crowd going, while Jimmy Moore was brilliant fun to watch and equally lovely when we chatted to him afterwards.

Simon loved Scouting for Girls and East 17 and thoroughly enjoyed reliving his youth through all the retro music. More importantly, East 17 finally proved to our children that Dad’s dance moves aren’t entirely made up. Apparently he’s been demonstrating legitimate 90s choreography all these years. Who knew?

Dancing with my daughter to the DJs of my youth

One of my personal highlights happened away from the main stage. I got to party with Lillie in the Retrospective of House tent while Seb Fontaine, Judge Jules and Todd Terry played.

These are DJs whose music takes me straight back to another period of my life, yet there I was dancing to them alongside my daughter. My knees might not have felt quite the way they did in my youth, but my heart and soul were right there on that dance floor.

It’s funny how family festivals change as your children grow. When they’re little, you’re looking for crafts, entertainment and somewhere they can run around. Then one day you realise they’re helping you pitch the tent, disappearing off to watch bands themselves and dancing beside you to music you’ve loved for decades. Those moments are priceless.

Meeting Roy Stride from Scouting for Girls

If I had to choose our favourite performance of Lakefest, it would have to be Scouting for Girls.

I’ve liked Scouting for Girls for years and was excited to introduce the kids to them when we saw them at Wychwood Festival last year.

Roy Stride is fantastic at interacting with a crowd and getting everyone involved, and after that performance the kids became firm SFG fans too. We’d hoped to see them again closer to home earlier this year, but the date clashed with another commitment, so when we discovered they were playing Lakefest there was a LOT of excitement.

As part of my press visit, I was offered the opportunity to interview Roy, so I asked whether I could bring the family along. When I told them they could come, they were giddy. And then, when the moment arrived, they were more than a little star-struck. Even Simon!

They needn’t have worried. Roy was so down-to-earth that everyone immediately relaxed, and we had a lovely time chatting with him but I’ll tell you more about that another day.

For now, let’s just say meeting someone whose music has become part of our family’s festival memories made an already brilliant weekend even more special. Especially when Roy announced that a family he had met earlier had told them they loved Posh Girls, and then launched into it.

Behind the scenes at Lakefest

Being at Lakefest as press also gave me the opportunity to see another side of the festival. I attended the press launch, where Vince Freeman performed for the press crew, which felt very special.

I also had the chance to sit down and chat with Lee Martin, the man behind Lakefest. I think I could quite happily have sat drinking cider and chatting with him for the rest of the afternoon. It felt less like an interview and more like catching up with an old friend. Hearing some of the story behind the festival also gave me a greater appreciation for just how much work goes into creating the experience festival-goers see (again – that’s a story for another day).

The atmosphere at Lakefest

If I had to describe the Lakefest atmosphere in one word, it would be friendly. We chatted to so many people. People camping near us. People standing beside us waiting for bands. Traders. Performers. Complete strangers in the crowd.

There was a wonderfully relaxed feeling around the festival that made it easy to strike up conversations. For a festival of its size, it still somehow managed to feel welcoming.

Did we feel safe at Lakefest?

On the whole, yes.

There were a couple of incidents worth mentioning because I think an honest review should include what wasn’t perfect.

Before Example came on stage, a group of teenagers pushed rather rudely through the crowd, upsetting several people around us. I saw security speak to some of them, after which they moved further back.

We also witnessed one fight in The Cheshire Cat quite late in the evening. It had been exceptionally hot, people had been drinking and tempers occasionally flare wherever large crowds gather. What mattered to me was the response. The incident was stopped quickly, and those involved were removed.

Across the weekend, our experience was that security did a good job of keeping things safe and enjoyable for the overwhelming majority of festival-goers.

Importantly, we still felt confident allowing our own teenagers some independence around the site.

Lakefest during a heatwave

The heat was probably the biggest challenge of our weekend. It was relentless.

Keeping hydrated became really important, but thankfully there were water stations around the site, so we were able to keep topping up our bottles.

Finding shade was more difficult, particularly if you wanted to watch a performance on the Abbey Stage – we went prepared with hats, fans and plenty of suncream. Well, honestly I forgot my hats but I could have bought one if I wanted to there were plenty of hats available.

Some of the tents also became incredibly hot when packed with people. FunkyTown was particularly sweaty but they also had some of the best acts so we used the fans and drank lots of cold water (or Stowfords Press!)

Simon struggles with intense heat and at one point had to visit the medical tent after sweating suncream into his eyes so badly that he couldn’t keep them open.

We became much more conscious of drinking plenty of water, seeking shade whenever possible and taking breaks.

Obviously Lakefest can’t control the British weather – and let’s face it, we’re usually complaining about festival mud rather than sunshine – but if another heatwave is forecast, prepare accordingly.

Phone signal and keeping five phones charged

Phone signal at Lakefest was dire.

Normally that wouldn’t bother me enormously – disconnecting is part of the joy of a festival – but when you’re there to create content for work, it becomes slightly more problematic. I generally had to be in the press area to publish anything to social media.

There were charging facilities around the festival, and we spotted an opportunity to get 30 minutes of free Wi-Fi around the Secret Rave area by the lake, although we didn’t use it.

Our solution was old-fashioned preparation. We’d taken several power banks and managed to keep all five family phones charged throughout the weekend.

Putting my phone into battery-saving mode also made a HUGE difference!

Eating at Lakefest on a family budget

We didn’t extensively test the festival food, so I’m not going to pretend that we did. With three fairly fussy eaters and five people to feed, festival food can become expensive very quickly.

We were also deliberately watching our budget, so we’d already decided we’d eat most of our meals at the tent.

Because our press camping arrangements allowed us to keep the car beside our pitch, it was easy for us to pop into nearby Ledbury in the mornings and pick up lunch and dinner supplies from the supermarket.

Obviously, that isn’t necessarily an option at every campsite, because Lakefest’s standard camping arrangements use the main car park, and on-site vehicle movements are restricted. The official FAQ does, however, state that festival-goers can leave and return during the weekend, subject to re-entry times.

For us, feeding ourselves made the weekend much more affordable.

Is Lakefest worth the money?

This was something I thought about a lot.

Final 2026 weekend tickets were £229.99 for adults and £119.99 for teenagers aged 13-17, with camping, parking and showers included. Children aged 5-12 were £35.99 and infants were free.

At those prices, our family of five would have cost:

Ticket	Number	Price	Total
Adult weekend	3	£229.99	£689.97
Teen weekend	2	£119.99	£239.98
Family total	5		£929.95

I appreciate that nearly £930 is a substantial amount of money for a family. But there’s another way of looking at it.

We weren’t buying tickets to one concert. We had several days of camping, showers, parking, family entertainment, workshops, stunt shows, DJs and performances from dozens of artists included in that price.

To put individual concert costs into perspective, a 2026 Soul II Soul show at Portsmouth Guildhall was advertised from £55.40 per ticket, while a 2026 Madness event in Norwich was £78.90 per adult general admission ticket.

Five tickets to just a handful of separate concerts can therefore add up remarkably quickly – before you’ve even considered travelling to each venue, parking, potentially booking accommodation and finding separate entertainment for the rest of the weekend.

Act	Est. average ticket	5 people
Example	~£40	£200
Madness	~£70	£350
Scouting for Girls	~£40	£200
Tinchy Stryder	~£30	£150
Sweet Female Attitude	~£25	£125
The Charlatans	~£55	£275
The Lightning Seeds	~£40	£200
Harleymoon Kemp	~£25	£125
East 17	~£35	£175
TOTAL		~£1,800

Of course, this isn’t a perfect like-for-like comparison. Concert prices vary by venue, some artists tour together and we’d be unlikely to buy tickets to every single show separately. But it demonstrates something that’s easy to overlook when looking at the headline cost of a festival ticket: you’re effectively getting multiple concerts, DJs, emerging artists, children’s entertainment and several nights of camping rolled into one family weekend.

At Lakefest we saw artists including Scouting for Girls, Example, Tinchy Stryder, Soul II Soul, Madness, East 17, Chesney Hawkes and many more, plus DJs, emerging artists and performers we hadn’t encountered before.

For a family who genuinely loves live music as much as ours does, that’s where I think Lakefest’s value lies.

Would I personally consider paying to return? Yes.

Things I wish we’d known before Lakefest

After eight years of family festivals, you’d think we’d have this nailed.

Apparently not. My biggest tip?

BUY THE PROGRAMME!!!

We kept saying, “We’ll get one later.” Then we’d get distracted and forget about it until the next day.

Then we’d realise we’d missed somebody because we’d been in completely the wrong place at the wrong time.

Next year, buying the programme is happening immediately.

I’d also recommend:

• taking more power banks than you think you’ll need
• switching your phone to battery-saving mode
• carrying tissues for emergency toilet-roll situations
• taking refillable water bottles
• packing serious sun protection if hot weather is forecast
• considering walkie-talkies if older children will explore independently
• taking earplugs for children who want to be near the stage
• bringing heavy-duty tent pegs and a decent hammer when the ground is dry
• accepting that no matter how experienced you are, you’ll probably still forget something obvious

Washing-up bowl, I’m looking at you.

The beautiful setting

Eastnor Castle Deer Park is an absolutely stunning setting for a festival. You don’t really see much of Eastnor Castle itself while you’re inside the main festival, but we saw it as we were driving away.

For me, it was the surrounding countryside that really made the location. Eating breakfast outside our tent while looking towards the Malvern Hills was pretty special.

Then there was that view from the top of the festival arena. Gorgeous.

Unfortunately, beautiful views generally come with hills. And that hill was a KILLER – especially after dancing the night away to Todd Terry at 1am!

Who would I recommend Lakefest to?

I’d happily recommend Lakefest to families with children of different ages, including teenagers. I’d also recommend it to people considering their first family festival or even people without children – it really is a festival for everyone.

Despite the size initially taking our kids by surprise, we found Lakefest remarkably easy to navigate once we’d settled in. The organisation was good, the atmosphere was friendly and there was enough happening beyond the main music stages to keep different ages entertained.

If your family loves live music, even better.

Would we go to Lakefest again?

One hundred per cent.

By Sunday evening we were exhausted.

Our feet hurt. We’d danced for days. We’d walked up that blooming hill more times than I care to remember. We’d survived scorching temperatures and were all looking increasingly festival-worn.

But we didn’t want to leave. Ideally, we’d have stayed on Sunday night and packed up on Monday morning, but Lillie needed to be back for work.

The funny thing is that when we first walked into Lakefest, the children were slightly overwhelmed by how big it was. A few days later, nobody wanted to go home. For me, that’s perhaps the best review I can give it.

Family festivals have been part of our lives for around eight years now, and I’ve watched the way we experience them change as the children have grown.

Once upon a time, we were looking for ways to entertain little ones. Now they’re helping us pitch the tent, heading off to explore by themselves, fighting their way to the barrier for their favourite bands, collecting setlists and dancing alongside us.

At Lakefest, I got to dance with my daughter to DJs I danced to in my younger years.

Simon got to prove to the kids that his East 17 moves really are a thing.

We watched our children meet Roy Stride from a band we’ve come to love together. And somewhere amongst all the music, laughter, ridiculous heat, aching knees, late nights and that enormous hill, we made another collection of family memories.

That’s why we go to festivals. And that’s why we’d go back.

We’re Lakefest converts now!!

You can now buy Lakefest 2027 Priority Tickets starting at £99.99 per adult for Priority 1. Sign up to the Lakefest 2027 Priority List for exclusive early access to tickets at the lowest prices that will be available. You can buy up to 4 Adults and 6 Teens/Child per order.

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