Kids at EP

wobblyknees

Anyone any decent advice on whether it is a good/bad idea to bring kids to Electric Picnic? I am thinking of bringing my two girls 7/9, would bus it there, not drive. Anyone done this before? What are the campsites like etc? Am I mad to consider it??

dr.bollocko

Moved from AH.

Nothingbetter2d

the campsites are full of drunks or people off their heads on drugs. its noisy and if wet mucky... in all honesty EP is not really suited for small children.... Teenagers would manage fine but not small kids. the Toilets stink and often have long queues. there is also the odd few trouble makers upto no good and out robbing stuff from tents.


as your kids are 9 and 7 year old girls... those queue for the toilets would be a pain. you could consider hiring a caravan which would be a better & safer option for you and your girls.

Miguel_Sanchez

There's a family campsite so families can avoid the drunks at night.

If I remember correctly children between the ages of 12-17 are not allowed at Electric Picnic. I've seen people with kids there a good bit, there's lots to do aside from watch bands play so they should be reasonably entertained. I would recommend ear protection for them though.

The Camper Can idea may be a good one for toilets etc. You do need a special camper van ticket and they do tend to sell quite fast.

run_Forrest_run

Nothingbetter2d is painting the really glum picture but to be honest with you there is a special campsite for families. It tends to be more quiet with the younger ones in mind. I believe it is well supervised too to ensure the mad folk on drugs don't end up pitching their tent there.

I have often seen many young children at EP, I have even seen babies (which is think is a bit OTT) but 7 and 9 year old should be fine at the family campsite I would think. I am even considering taking my daughter there some time, she is 6 at the moment so I will wait until she is around 8 or 9 (that's if the recession has killed off EP by then:eek:).

Obviously you would adjust your times etc when with kids. For example I wouldn't be heading over to the rave in the Woods after the last stage act;)
It also depends on how chilled or conservative you are as a parent, there is a chance your child will see drunken idiots falling around the place and loved up heads and you don't want to scare your children etc but you do want them to experience a great live music event.
Check out their website for more details on family friendly options.

Greenacres

We have brought our 2 for the last 3 years. Going again this year. Family Camping though is definitely the preferred option. Tickets for this have sold out, but we got ours quite late last year, think the week before through toutless.com. Would highly recommend it as a great experience with the kids. have done it without also and prefer it with the kids. Ours will be 9 and 7 this year and are already excited about it. The Soul Kids area is great and there is lots out in the main arena for them to do also. No, you probably wont be going to the rave in the woods but we have found we get in a lot more of the daytime acts as we are up and more organised and Family camping is quite close to everything so no getting lazy back at the tent which could be a long walk in to the arena. Its really well run and security is great for the kids. I think we have only had one t*t have a go at us one sunday evening when she was worse for wear asking why would we bring kids when she wanted to be comfortable being off her face! Her friends to her to shut the f*ck up and apologised!

wobblyknees

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

Nothingbetter2d is painting the really glum picture but to be honest with you there is a special campsite for families. It tends to be more quiet with the younger ones in mind. I believe it is well supervised too to ensure the mad folk on drugs don't end up pitching their tent there.

I have often seen many young children at EP, I have even seen babies (which is think is a bit OTT) but 7 and 9 year old should be fine at the family campsite I would think. I am even considering taking my daughter there some time, she is 6 at the moment so I will wait until she is around 8 or 9 (that's if the recession has killed off EP by then:eek:).

Obviously you would adjust your times etc when with kids. For example I wouldn't be heading over to the rave in the Woods after the last stage act;)
It also depends on how chilled or conservative you are as a parent, there is a chance your child will see drunken idiots falling around the place and loved up heads and you don't want to scare your children etc but you do want them to experience a great live music event.
Check out their website for more details on family friendly options.

I can confirm that I would have not interest in the rave in the woods! Haha. I wouldn't even be drinking if I did end up going/bringing them.

wobblyknees

Greenacres wrote: »

We have brought our 2 for the last 3 years. Going again this year. Family Camping though is definitely the preferred option. Tickets for this have sold out, but we got ours quite late last year, think the week before through toutless.com. Would highly recommend it as a great experience with the kids. have done it without also and prefer it with the kids. Ours will be 9 and 7 this year and are already excited about it. The Soul Kids area is great and there is lots out in the main arena for them to do also. No, you probably wont be going to the rave in the woods but we have found we get in a lot more of the daytime acts as we are up and more organised and Family camping is quite close to everything so no getting lazy back at the tent which could be a long walk in to the arena. Its really well run and security is great for the kids. I think we have only had one t*t have a go at us one sunday evening when she was worse for wear asking why would we bring kids when she wanted to be comfortable being off her face! Her friends to her to shut the f*ck up and apologised!

Ok, maybe a bit naive to be thinking about this now. I'll try that site you mentioned. Thanks.

Nothingbetter2d

wobblyknees wrote: »

Ok, maybe a bit naive to be thinking about this now. I'll try that site you mentioned. Thanks.

quite often people will try to sell their tickets due various reasons.

but if you cannot get a ticket for the family campsite you will more than likely get one for the caravan camp site which is away from the main campsites where all the drunks are.

i would recommend you do one thing though....... bring enough clothes for each of ye to last a week.... as rain is very likely bring wellies. Also if you do stay in a tent put ALL your bags/suitcases into black bags when your heading out... if the rain is heavy your clothes will get soaked even inside your tent if not in black bags.

Greenacres

wobblyknees wrote: »

Ok, maybe a bit naive to be thinking about this now. I'll try that site you mentioned. Thanks.

ah no, not naive at all. People's plans change. you have a very good chance of coming across someone who bought them before Christmas and now plans have changed and cant go. They guy we got them off bought family and then ended up not bringing kids so was good enough to sell his family and buy general. Get registered on toutless.com and post for them, you are bound to come across someone. Good luck!

wobblyknees

Thanks for all the advice, definitely going ahead with trying to get a family camping ticket. Has anyone any opinion on the boutique camping like pink moon camping?

H8GHOTI

This is Pink Moon's first year at EP. They are replacing Tangerine Fields. So not sure what they are like but probably very similar.
I stayed with Tangerine Fields a couple of years ago & it was grand. Nothing special but better than the normal campsites.
A bit more space around tents, a bit quieter & less hassle than carrying & putting up a tent.

The other boutique options are in a different site (last 2 years anyway) & are much better. I stayed there last year & it would be grand in there with kids.
Better facilities, hardly any noise, shorter walk to the main arena.

wobblyknees

H8GHOTI wrote: »

This is Pink Moon's first year at EP. They are replacing Tangerine Fields. So not sure what they are like but probably very similar.
I stayed with Tangerine Fields a couple of years ago & it was grand. Nothing special but better than the normal campsites.
A bit more space around tents, a bit quieter & less hassle than carrying & putting up a tent.

The other boutique options are in a different site (last 2 years anyway) & are much better. I stayed there last year & it would be grand in there with kids.
Better facilities, hardly any noise, shorter walk to the main arena.

Do you have the name for those other options?

run_Forrest_run

as mentioned, this is pink Moon's first year so we will see.
I stayed at Tangerine Fields and I thought it was excellent, very quiet and generally people had respect for other people...yeah imagine:D

I'm not sure how good it would be for children though.

UsedToWait

Personally, I reckon the smaller festivals like Body & Soul / Spirit of Folk / Vantastival are ideal for kids - there's loads for them to do, and the crowd tend to be a bit older and more chilled.. easier to get around the smaller sites and very few messed-up punters too