Why CarFest is a great family-friendly festival – review

What I loved about it: This family-friendly festival is right on my doorstep in Hampshire and every year I enjoy popular music acts, amazing local food and drink and a fun atmosphere – whether I take our daughter or not! Plus you can’t beat the incredible CarFest sunsets.

Location: CarFest South – Laverstoke Park Farm in Hampshire

Suitable for: families, couples or groups of friends who want all the fun of a festival!

Value for money (out of 10): 10

Tickets: Still available via the website

I love attending this family-friendly festival…

…just a few miles from Basingstoke is the site of CarFest South; where over 75,000 people descend over the August Bank Holiday weekend. This is the UK’s largest fundraising festival and is the brain child of radio DJ Chris Evans.

2022 is the year it became seven festivals in one which meant there really was something for everyone. New additions included SpaFest where attendees could join in with relaxing yoga sessions and eat from a variety of vegan food vendors. And StarFest became bigger than ever with huge crowds for Russell Brand, Rob Brydon and Jimmy Carr.

So what makes CarFest such a brilliant family-friendly festival?

I’ve been attending CarFest regularly for years, initially child-free and then in 2021 we started taking my daughter when she was 3 months old. Last year our son also joined us aged just 4 weeks old! So I know a thing or two about how to navigate CarFest with children.

Firstly, you can take in picnics and soft drinks. Those of you with children will know how expensive it is to feed them at festivals and so this is fantastic! It’s not unusual to see families with large cool-boxes on wheels as they bring in enough food for the day. There are plenty of food stalls to keep you topped up; last year we loved the free frozen Frubes, and the Pip Organic juices.

You can also bring in chairs and trolleys. People will go and set up their chairs near the music stage, and then leave them there for the day. Though I wouldn’t suggest leaving valuables there, I have left my chairs/blankets many times with no issue. A top tip is to set up near a walkway as well so that you can easily access your seats in-between food and toilet trips. Many families decorate their wagons with fairy lights to make them easier to spot in the dark, and if the kids get tired they can curl up and have a nap.

What is there to do during the day at CarFest?

There is a huge kids section with plenty of free activities such as bubble play, sandpit, crafts, colouring, football games and lots more. A marquee area plays host to several live shows including dances with CBeebies friends and opportunities to meet Pudsey. Plenty of freebies are given away; we’ve received a Pudsey cuddly toy, ears and t-shirts over the years. My daughter has been able to meet her heroes Peppa Pig, Bluey and Hey Duggee too. There was also additional paid for entertainment such as the world’s biggest bouncy castle.

Older children appeared to spend most of their time in the funfair which was full of classic rides – the Waltzer, Ghost Train and Fun House among them. A ferris wheel dominates the skyline and offers panoramic views over the festival site. There’s also a Young Drivers school where children can have a go at driving in a safe environment.

In the FoodFest area you can sign up for free foodie activities like cookie and cake decorating, which is a great way to spend time entertaining the whole family. In the Tipple Tents you can book sessions to learn about (and sample) a variety of drinks including my local Hampshire favourite: The River Test Distillery hosted by Sarah and John Nelson.

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The festival is of course called CarFest, so I should mention that plenty of families enjoy watching the action on the race-track. It’s an opportunity to see a variety of vehicles drive past, from supercars spinning donuts to vintage vehicles pootling past. You can bid on various cars to join in as a passenger, or see if you can spot celebrities too. I’ve seen Paul Hollywood and James Martin in their cars in the past.

But is the music any good?

In my experience CarFest caters to a wide range of pop music fans – young and old. Over the years I’ve seen acts like James Blunt, Texas and a special CarFest supergroup made up from The Feeling, Rob Brydon, Max Harwood and Freya Ridings. Headline acts have included Rag n Bone Man, Kaiser Chiefs and Paloma Faith. My stand-out act were Steps – they stole the show with an excellent set list and we were all dancing and singing along.

A few more things which make CarFest an excellent family-friendly festival – there’s a baby changing tent with samples from local business Child’s Farm, microwaves to heat baby food and several highchairs. There’s a lovely breastfeeding tent where you can sit somewhere quieter and more private. There’s also a Lost Children tent where you can personalise wristbands for the family in case you were to lose them.

Why should you book for 2025?

CarFest again will solely take place on the Hampshire site, on 22-24th August 2025. Tickets have been on general sale since November. The music lineup includes headliners Travis, Rita Ora and Madness. There are so many more incredible artists performing over the weekend, including Tom Walker, Sam Ryder and Kim Wilde. The one I’m most looking forward to is Busted – a teen favourite of mine.

The other stages like StarFest will be where you can find over 200 celebrities and experts giving talks and demonstrations. I always enjoy a Rob Brydon interview and he’ll be joined by several other comedians like Chris McCausland, Lee Mack and Ed Byrne.Sir Chris Hoy will be on the authors stage and I can only imagine that’ll be a powerful and emotional chat.

Since CarFest began 13 years ago, they’ve raised over £25 million for UK charities and why wouldn’t you want to be a part of that? The fundraising creates such a lovely atmosphere and Chris Evans is very much at the forefront of this, acting as compere throughout the weekend.