Tucked away in the fields just by Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire near Ledbury sits the wonderful family festival that is LakeFest! You can see the stunning castle upon arrival and even in the festival grounds themselves which really is a striking view!

2023 marked the first time we had ever been to Lakefest despite being pretty local (about 45 mins away). Being a family of four with a 7 and 2 year old, we have become more and more interested in family focused music festivals and Lakefest looked absolutely perfect. We are pretty lucky for festivals where we live – Firm fans of Nibley Festival we also have the likes of Chalfest (which we haven’t yet been to) Forest Live and many more.

We could only attend Lakefest on Saturday and Sunday. We did plan Friday night to catch The Zutons, Ferocious Dog and Clean Bandit but unfortunately it didn’t quite work out!

We arrived about midday on Saturday and getting into the car park was very smooth. In fact, the entire entry process was as so with no large queues to exchange tickets for wristbands nor for entry.

Immediately you could feel the Festival vibe and we had a good explore of the festival grounds first. Just the right size for a bigish festival, it didn’t take too long to walk around which was great for us with two kids and a pull along trolley. The trolley came in handy for the kids, our camping chairs and snack/drinks.

When you first enter, you are right by the Funkytown stage which played host to many fantastic bands across the weekend including The Scribes and The Beat. Also by the entrance are some fantastic food outlets, many of which were local and we knew such as The Beefy Boys and Guilt Trip.

The Beefy Boys were by far one of the more popular food vendors across the festival site and understandably so. Around £11 a burger on its own without fries, you are definitely paying for quality here. Many years I have spent paying on average £10 for a burger and chips at Festivals which are mediocre and always make you feel like you have wasted your money. With The Beefy Boys, you are paying for top quality burgers that are even better than you would get in most restaurants. It’s worth that extra few pounds. The fries are a meal in themselves with various options such as Bacon Fries, Poutine and more!

Guilt Trip are a Doughnut Shop based in Cheltenham, Broadway and Worcester. These are some of the best doughnuts you will ever have. Our recommendation would definitely be the Blueberry Cheesecake one.

The kids enjoyed the fairground attractions and went on the Helter Skelter and Fun House. Much joy came from these two attractions and there were no queues at this time. In fact, that area was mild throughout the weekend which made it very easy and stress free. Despite being a sell out festival, the entire festival was easy going with no crowds walking from place to place which made it perfect for families as no fear of getting lost or getting anxious with too many people.

On the main stage we caught a bit of Fireroad. Fireroad were the perfect opener for the day. A well crafted rock band, they reminded me of my early festival days at Reading in the 90’s as their material had that sort of 90’s rock edge to it.

We ended up spending most of our time at The Willow Garden. This was the most perfect and serene place for families and for any adult who just wanted to get away for a bit of a break or to do some arts and crafts.

The majority of kids there were completely satisfied with playing with the giant hungry hippo for hours. Not like the game we are familiar with, this was a giant hippo on a maybe 12 ft stand with a wide opened mouth for kids to throw tennis balls into. The kids loved the challenge and it really kept them focused for a long time as well as helping them make friends and learn how to share with others and be patient.

There was a lot on offer crafts wise, these were sessions you had to pay for though but definitely worth it for us! You could book a Blacksmith session, you could weave baskets and other items, make items out of copper and much more! We wanted to make tye dye t shirts but sadly timed it badly each day and it was full. However, we found solace and enjoyment in the Wood Wand Making tent Amerton Arts where they hosted woodcraft workshops. Using the traditional carpentry tools of a shave horse and a spoke shave, children from 7 and above could make a wooden wand and adults could make various types of butter knife.

The session was easy to book and very engaging and educational. It is a lengthy process but gets the mind working and the people who are teaching the session were very hands on, enabling that each customer were sure of what they were doing and that they left with a great result.

https://www.amertonartstudio.com

As well as crafts you could have a massage, do yoga, pilates sessions and more!

Drawn into the Funkytown Stage by The Scribes, the hip hop group had us hooked on their set as it was energetic, engaging and simply quite brilliant. It brought me back to 90’s hip hop and I loved the whole vibe they brought to the festival stage. This is an act that I will definitely be listening to from now on!

A return was made to The Willow Gardens where the kids played more Hungry Hippo and other games.

We noticed there were opportunities to play Archery and Axe throwing but we didn’t do that this time!

The rest of the day was trying foods such as Pulled Pork Loaded Fries..

Wood Fired Pineapple…

Sweet Pineapple Chicken…

And more…

Catching music from The Hoosiers, we enjoyed a nice evening listening to songs such as Goodbye Mr A and Worried About Ray! The Hoosiers as ever were great live and drew a massive crowd!

We set off home after this as the kids were tired after a full on day of fun! We also needed to get some sleep to lead another full on day on the Sunday! Read about that here! Saturday was amazing though and such an amazing debut for us at Lakefest. With such a high calibre of artists playing, Lakefest isn’t in the slightest overwhelming but quite simply easygoing and fun! You won’t find yourself pushing to get close to any of the stages nor queueing long for food and drink!

One of my biggest fears at festivals is the toilets…I have had many a traumatic experience at previous events. Whilst these weren’t exactly loos to write home about, they weren’t that bad! (Thankfully for all our sakes, I did not take a photo).

We walked through the campsite to get in and out and that also looked very peaceful and had plenty of space. Many people brought BBQ’s and there were food vendors and a general store for those who needed them. It seemed it was probably a very fun place to stay with people happy sleeping and people happy having an all nighter! I doubt anyone bothered anyone! It just wasn’t that type of festival!