Tucked away in the beautiful countryside of Oxfordshire, the award-winning festival of music and nature, Wood Festival is held in the beautiful Chiltern hills at Braziers Park. Every Year, proceeds go towards a charity and this year was the year of the Damselfly.

As soon as you park, the walk to the festival is very short and sweet as you journey through the woods that are beautifully lit up by a string of lights through the trees.

Wood Festival is small and it threw us at first as we are used to much bigger festivals but in fact, it’s small scale was much more welcomed. Various bell tents, marquees and teepees, these all played host to various activities across the weekend for kids, teens and adults. No-one is likely to be bored over the weekend as there is so much to do as well of course as seeing live music. There is no wonder this festival was sold out! It’s such a hidden gem!

The music fits perfectly within the woodland and nature setting with artists of Roots, Americana, Folk, Bluegrass and more entertaining festival goers across the three days.

A small Wood based stage called The Wood Stage is so small you would assume it wasn’t the main stage but it is, but that’s part of the appeal. There aren’t many festivals in which you can see some of the above mentioned genres’ best artists in such an intimate setting. The atmosphere was so wonderfully relaxed and people were casually chilled out on their picnic blankets or picnic chairs watching live music in its purest form as children were safely dancing around and experiencing live music.

Artists such as Demi Marriner, Brown Horse, Frontier Ruckus, Jake Vaadeland & the Sturgeon River Boys, Annie Dressner, Jerry Leger & The situation and more graced the stages across the weekend. These are much loved artists whom you are unlikely to see again in such an intimate and small setting. With many playing other festivals including The Long Road this year, you can guarantee you won’t be able to easily get as close to the stages as you would at Wood.

It doesn’t feel uncrowded, the stages don’t feel like they lack an audience, it’s just how Wood Festival is. It’s calm, cool and therapeutic and you feel incredibly lucky to see these artists this way. Take Jake Vaadeland & the Sturgeon River Boys as an example. A brilliant and vibrant bluegrass band with excellent showmanship, their set was thoroughly entertaining and the crowd absolutely loved them! Not one person’s head in your way, I know I won’t ever be able to see them on such a small scale again.

A headline worthy set, this band are destined for great things. Jake alone was quite the entertainer with his vocals, stories and 50’s Rockabilly stylings that at times make you feel like you’re at the Grand Ole Opry. The band as a whole were masters of their craft showcasing their exceptional skills as musicians.

We were also fortunate to catch and discover Katie Malco. A folk singer songwriter, her vocals were soothing and melodic. We were drawn in from the first note and stayed to enjoy the rest of her set which was stunning.

Annie Dressner delighted the crowd with her set where she played her current album I Thought It Would Be Easier. A gorgeous string of songs, we will definitely be looking up Annie from now on. Her music was a breath of fresh air and perfect for the environment we were in.

Another act that we caught were Loose Music’s Brown Horse. A Norwich based six piece band, Brown Horse play 70’s styled rock, country folk music. Another rare opportunity to see them in a small setting, Brown Horse played the Treeabadour stage which is set in a marquee where the main bar was.

In terms of other things to do, there were a lot of workshops available for all ages. Activities such as Chinese Tea Tasting, T’ai Chi, Slow Flow Yoga, Woodland Den Building, Thatching, Forest School Crafts, Creative Writing, Learn to give an Indian Head Massage, Soulful Singing, Clay Meditation, Nature Walks, Upcycled Glass Jars, Animal Origami for kids, Beekeeping, Sourdough From Scratch and so much more. Some of these activities were even free.

Kids had their own tent as did teens which held activities and more! The kids tent had a breakfast club, face painting , parachute games, nature wand making, bedtime stories and more! The teens activities included Flying Yoga, Pedal Powered Karaoke and Silent Disco, Ping Pong tournaments and more!

The food options were great too and never too much of a big queue, same with the bar. The only queue that was long was the ice cream van and given how hot it was, it was hardly surprising. We had a Deep fried Mushroom Burger, Mini pancakes for the kids, Curry and Tartiflette.

One of the highlights for our children was the woodland play area. Hidden amongst the trees in a very shaded area which was absolutely needed in the blazing heat that we had, the boys enjoyed tire swings, wood houses and an adventure playground.

Overall the weekend was simply amazing. Homely and welcoming, we loved every part of it (well maybe not the toilets but are any festival toilets nice?). The kids settles in from the get go and didn’t want to leave. My husband said it would be hard to top Wood Festival and I think he has found his new favourite event of the year! It was so easy to get from a to b and everything was just so wonderfully chilled that it felt like a retreat, especially with all the activities.

We didn’t camp this year but would like to next year. This will then give us the opportunity to take part in more activities, especially the morning ones. We can’t say enough good things about Wood Festival, it really is that lovely. It’s safe for the kids, fun for everyone and there are things going on even till the early hours of the morning for the adults who aren’t kid bound.

Weekend passes for 2025 next year are currently at £129 an adult for the three days including camping. Teens up to 17 are £65, children 2-12 are £30.

There are also options options. Check out all info here