Your Complete Guide to Festivals with a Baby

Quick Answer

Taking your baby to a festival can be a brilliant family adventure with the right preparation. Choose a family-friendly event, plan for changing British weather, take a comfortable pushchair, protect little ears and skin, and build your day around feeds, naps and safer sleep. Most importantly, stay flexible and expect the unexpected.

Festivals can feel very different once you're travelling with a baby or toddler, but becoming a parent doesn't mean leaving festival weekends behind.

More UK festivals now cater for families with dedicated camping, baby-changing facilities, children's activities and quieter spaces, alongside the music, food and atmosphere that made you want to go in the first place.

With a little planning, a festival can become one of those family experiences you remember for years: first live music, afternoon naps beneath the trees, muddy boots and all.

Before booking Choose a family-friendly festival

Getting around Take the right pushchair

Rest matters Plan around naps and safer sleep

Festival rule Stay flexible

Festivals with little ones

Can you bring a baby to a festival?

Absolutely. Most festivals don't set a minimum age, although every event is different, so always check the organiser's family information before booking.

Look for dedicated family camping, baby-changing facilities, quieter areas and activities designed for younger children. The right event can make the whole weekend considerably easier.

If you're camping with a newborn, having a familiar sleep setup can also help make evenings feel less disruptive.

Explore MiStand

Festival-ready travel

What pushchair should you take to a festival?

A pushchair quickly becomes one of the most useful pieces of kit on a festival weekend: somewhere comfortable for naps, a way to move through a large site and valuable storage for all the essentials that come with family life.

All-round versatility

iCandy Core 2

Core 2 combines advanced suspension with puncture-proof wheels to help tackle grass, gravel and uneven festival ground while maintaining a comfortable ride.

Its generous canopy also provides welcome coverage when the weather turns sunny.

Explore Core 2

Compact festival companion

iCandy Pip

For parents who want something lighter and easier to carry, Pip combines a compact footprint with a lie-flat seat, suspension and an effortless one-handed fold.

It's particularly useful when you're navigating busy areas or moving between the festival and your accommodation.

Explore Pip

iCandy Core 2 pushchair for family adventures

Pack smart

The pushchair essentials worth taking

Festival sites can involve long days away from your tent or car, so the pushchair often becomes your mobile base for the day.

Nappies and wipes

Pack more than you think you'll need and keep a small supply within easy reach.

Milk, bottles and snacks

Plan feeds before leaving camp and carry enough for delays or unexpected changes to your day.

Spare clothes

British festivals and clean children's clothes don't always stay acquainted for long.

Rain and sun protection

Take a rain cover, suitable shade, hats and sun protection so you're prepared for either version of the forecast.

Familiar comforts

A favourite toy or comfort item can make nap time and quieter moments feel more familiar.

Camping with a baby

Keep bedtime familiar

Family camping areas are often quieter and more spacious than general camping, making them well worth considering when you're travelling with a baby.

Keep as much of your normal evening routine as possible. A familiar feed, story or wind-down routine can help signal that the day is over even when you're sleeping somewhere completely different.

iCandy carrycots approved for permanent overnight sleeping can also provide a familiar sleep space when used according to their instructions.

Safer sleep

Create a clear, firm and flat sleep space

When you're away from home, the fundamentals of safer sleep remain the same. Keep the sleeping area clear and avoid loose pillows, duvets, bumpers or bulky bedding around your baby.

Festival temperatures can change significantly between afternoon and night, so check your baby's temperature regularly and adjust clothing rather than relying solely on how warm or cold the tent feels.

Always follow the instructions supplied with any carrycot or other sleep product you're using.

Festival baby safety

A few things worth knowing before you arrive

A festival is easier to enjoy when you've already worked out where to go if you need help.

Locate family, baby-care and medical facilities when you arrive.
Protect babies and young children from excessive noise with suitable hearing protection.
Make time for shade, feeds and rest throughout the day.
Keep checking your baby is comfortable as temperatures change.
Don't feel you have to stay for every performance you planned to see.

Make the day work for you

Plan enough. Then leave room for the unexpected.

Pick out the performances and activities you'd really like to see, but avoid planning every hour of the day.

Feeds take longer than expected. Naps happen at inconvenient moments. Toddlers become fascinated by something completely unrelated to the stage you were heading towards.

Building flexibility into the day makes it much easier to enjoy those moments rather than feeling like you're falling behind schedule.

Often, they're the bits you remember most.

Family using an iCandy Peach All-Terrain pushchair outdoors

Food and feeding

Feeding your baby at a festival

Many festivals provide dedicated feeding and changing areas, although you may also find your own quieter spot away from the busiest parts of the site.

Bottle feeding

Pre-measure formula where appropriate or consider ready-to-feed cartons. Plan how you'll store bottles safely and take the equipment you need for cleaning or sterilising.

Breastfeeding

Festivals are generally relaxed environments for feeding. Keep yourself hydrated and wear something comfortable and easy to feed in throughout the day.

Weaning

Pack simple foods that travel well, such as pouches, dry snacks and suitable fruit. Reusable spoons, bowls and containers can keep the setup practical.

From a festival-going parent

One parent who attended Glastonbury while both bottle and breastfeeding found breastfeeding much easier on site because it required no equipment, while bottle feeding simply needed a little more planning around sterilising and supplies.

Their biggest reassurance was how relaxed and non-judgemental the festival environment felt.

Before you leave

Your Ultimate Festival Checklist

The aim isn't to bring the nursery with you. It's to cover the things that make the biggest difference once you're on site.

Daily baby essentials

The everyday kit

Nappies and wipes
Milk, bottles or baby food
Spare clothes
Comfort items
Changing essentials

Weather preparation

Prepare for Britain

Lightweight layers
Waterproofs
Wellies where needed
Sun hats and protection
Pushchair rain cover

Food and drink

Keep everyone fuelled

Baby-safe snacks
Refillable water bottles
Reusable containers
Feeding utensils

Pushchair setup

Ready for the site

Suitable wheels and suspension
Generous storage
Rain cover
Sun protection
Carrycot stand if required

Comfort and protection

The easy-to-forget bits

Baby ear defenders
Picnic blanket
Wet bag
Torch and spare batteries
Travel potty if needed

The important one

Bring the right mindset

Expect plans to change
Take breaks
Embrace the mess
Don't try to see everything
Enjoy it

The best thing to pack

A little preparation. Plenty of flexibility.

Taking a baby to a festival probably won't look exactly like the weekends you had before children, but that's part of what makes it special.

Embrace the muddy boots, unexpected naps, first encounters with live music and the inevitable change of plan. With the right setup, a festival can become one of your family's favourite shared adventures.

Explore All-Terrain Pushchairs Explore Pip