**We attended this, last Sept 2022 and it’s taken me this long to post- tut tut! However, now spring is coming, it’s the perfect time to be thinking about your festival festivities for the year ahead- and Into the Wild’s early bird tickets are about to sell out!
Attending a day festival with a 2.5 year old was really fun! Festivals mean and have meant so much to me, and I’ve attended many pre children (mostly camping at them, which felt just a bit too far for us at this stage!). I spent a lot of time exploring which one to take LM to, that was close to London. I wanted something that was more family focused than your standard music performances, as I knew that wouldn’t hold LM’s attention (understandably), as well as something that was more forest school like, focused on the kids, and “Into the Wild”in Sussex is definitely the one for that. It’s a perfect family friendly festival, perfect if it’s your first, or if you’re a returnee!
We were really delighted with our sunny day at the event. It’s just over an hour away by train from London Victoria: definitely do-able if first you’d like to trial it on a day festival option as we did!
There are many many fun activities to choose from, some of them as with all festivals with an extra charge, and whilst this wasn’t suitable or possible for a 2.5 year old, it didn’t matter anyway. There was enough to engage a 2.5 year old spirit at it was! Music from small, local bands, storytelling with song, the amazing wooden fortress that the children were building with Into the Wild’s Team and brave parents (we LOVED climbing this), people watching, doing random activities like running between stretches of bunting we shouldn’t have been, and onto the crazy golf course to touch the fun designs…it was beautiful! We larked about, we enjoyed the colours and the vibe, we got in (understandable) “trouble” regarding our love of the bunting…it was a proper escape from London, a proper adventure, and evidently a wonderful example of a family friendly festival.
Going solo was another matter of course, that was a bit tricky at times, though extra satisying when you do it. Toilet trips were successfully completed, due to the festival having thought quite clearly that parents would be going with small ones, and making them bigger than your average portaloo size! I did feel restricted to stay with LM in the main area though. There were fun looking things down verges that we weren’t able to manage with a running LM (who as you know if you follow us on Instagram won’t go back into the pram at the best of times, let alone at an exciting festival with so much running space), and navigating a pram at the same time. Then, for us, the festival queues. Whilst not the size of Glastonbury’s, any queue for LM is too arbitrary a concept he can’t quite comprehend and so, a mental note was made to bring more drinks and snacks ahead for mummy next time!
We were asked if we knew where we were going as we were leaving the festival, by one of the nice Into The Wild crew, which just sums up how lovely they were really. A wonderful family friendly festival!
Overall a VERY successful day, and a very proud mummy and happy LM.
Good to know:
Website: https://www.intothewildgathering.com/summer-festival-2023
Ticket details: Last remaining Early Bird tickets left, for end August 2023.
Taxis to and from the venue and the local train station (we used East Grinstead) were about £20.00 each way.