Dear Mummy, we’re always excited about attending a festival we haven’t visited before especially one that we’ve heard so much about. We’re super stoked to be going to Larmer Tree Festival for the first time! It is a 3-day music, comedy and arts festival held at the Larmer Tree Gardens near Tollard Royal on the Wiltshire-Dorset border.

It’s described as “One of the most family-friendly festivals around” and has been running since 1991. Nestled in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for the last 29 years I’m sure the location offers a wonderful backdrop. We can’t wait to enjoy top-notch local, national and international artists in music, outdoor theatre, live performances, arts and comedy, as well as blissful retreats and legendary international cuisine.

It’s one of the few festivals that has remained small by choice and offers a community vibe for all ages. We can’t wait to chill out during the day and party at night! These are the top things we’re looking forward to doing at Larmer Tree Festival this year

1. Seeing Children’s BBC star Andy Day

I love watching children’s TV presenter Andy Day and can’t wait to see him perform with his band Andy and the Odd Socks! Andy will be joined by Rio from Planet Rock on guitar, the mega Moxy on drums, cool Blu on bass and crazy Cousin Mac on the keyboard. He always makes me laugh on his wild adventures on CBeebies and I’ve seem him live before and he’s great!

2. Hanging out on the Village Green 

Being new Larmer goers (does that make us Larmers?!) we can’t wait to head to the epicentre of the festival. The Village Green will be packed full of entertainment! With pop-up activities to super silly Village Green Games we can’t wait to join in. On Saturday and Sunday night there’s going to be a Hula Disco with swirling, colourful hoops lighting up the green. There is something about a natural environment, music and entertainment in good company that makes everything feel alright.

3. Peacock Parade Carnival

We love dressing up at festivals so the Peacock Parade Carnival will be a major highlight for us. We’re definitely going to be making flags at the Peacock Parade Crafts session to embellish headdresses, masks and more with Makendo. Joining the Parade will be fabulous bands and dancers; Sambatastic, Inta Africa, SUJ, Lost & Rambling Collective, Tall Tails Theatre and rumour has it that the Queen will be attending with Electric Cabaret!

4. Larmer Spa

Of course my mummy will be looking forward to relaxing at the Larmer Spa. With hot tub experiences, relaxing massages, and reiki session she can’t wait to indulge in some self-care amongst the hustle and bustle of the festival. In this hidden sanctuary there are 32 different replenishing treatments on offer. We might even manage to persuade daddy into a hot tub!

5. Woodland Crafts

I can’t wait to join in with the Woodland Crafts at The Wilds. Dorset Rewilding are nature-based education providers covering a wide range of creative activities for the whole family. Visitors can either book on the day for workshops such as Natures Musical Instruments or Willow Weaving, or pop in anytime for a wide array of free drop-in sessions including Den Building, Minibeast Hunts or play detective in a game of ‘Whose Poo?’. Nothing ignites my imagination more than playing in a woodland setting with dens and natural props to play with. Maybe a witch, maybe a unicorn or maybe a princess in search of magic.

6. Festival Cinema

This is such a great idea, when you just want to chill-out and have some downtime the cinema is on hand to provide some classic films. Plus, there’ll be family-friendly stand up with the Comedy Club 4 Kids and unraveling the big issues with How Does This Politics Thing Work Then? Hopefully it won’t lead to the usual debates in our house about someone called “Brexit”?!

7. Pavilion Workshops 

Larmer Tree have teamed up with Salisbury’s Fisherton Mill for the first time, offering a series of premium workshops for those wanting to learn a new creative skill under the tuition of expert practitioners. These are set to include calligraphy, crochet, silver jewellery making, screen printing and more. Taking place in the brand new Pavilion Workshop Tent, these are all bookable on-site. My mummy would love to try her hand at calligraphy and if it involves crafts, we will probably lose her for hours.

8. The main stage

Hanging out at the main stage is always a great way to past time with family and friends. We can’t wait to see Kate Tempest, Jack Savoretti, The Cat Empire, The Shires, Gomez and especially KT Tunstall. Some we’ve had the pleasure of enjoying before at festivals and others we will be discovering for the very first time – how exciting! Hopefully I won’t sleep through them with all the activities to enjoy during the day!

9. The Village Inn

One of the places I’m sure we’ll be spending a lot of time at in the evenings (well my folks anyway). The Village Inn is a live music pub in a festival and it sounds ace. It will be showcasing a thrilling mix of local talent alongside an extensive range of local brews. My mummy can’t wait to see Hampshire ‘death Western’ rockers Lady Winwoods Maggot along with Ska jams courtesy of Town of Cats.

Have you ever been to Larmer Tree before? Pop back and we’ll tell you all about our adventures!

Love Bella x

Disclosure: We’ve been invited to Larmer Tree to share our experience, review, laughs, frolics and lots of fun 😉

Book yourself and the family a weekend ticket now and enjoy four nights of festival fun or just come for the day and see just how much you can do in 24 hours. Book your tickets now. Kids 10 years and under are free! One day tickets include overnight camping for the full festival experience, so pitch up your tent, grab a tipple and get ready to party the night away!