Latitude Festival 2024 Thursday 25 July to Monday 29 July 2024 Henham Park, Suffolk

Review by Lucy Fink, and her three daughters (ages 8, 12, 14)

Early Bird Tickets for 2025 are available now at http://bit.ly/MiniTravellersLatitude24

We have been curious for a long time about what gave Latitude the accolade of Best Family Festival at the UK Festival Awards and now we know. Our Mini-Travallers have grown up visiting festivals, and now bridging ages 8 to 14, they have a collective critical eye. Latitude 2024 ticked all theirs, and ours as parents, boxes.

To be a family-friendly festival is a high bar, families need entertainment from the moment their sleep-deprived children wake up at dawn in a tent, to the moment they sleep, and hopefully for the parents, beyond. They also need endless, easily accessible facilities. Camping with kids is wonderful but can have its moments so there are high expectations on the festival to deliver easy, endless, fun.

Latitude 2024 was an absolute triumph. I will come onto everything above, but in the first instance, the most striking thing about Latitude from all our festival-going experiences was the unique line-up of music, arts and entertainment for every age and interest, and the stunning setting. The family-friendly atmosphere was evident from the moment we arrived.

Set in Henham Park, Latitude used every aspect of its landscape. The woods hosted after-dark entertainment, and there was everything from wild swimming to paddle board yoga and synchronised swimming in the lake and the wide open arena for the headline acts.

You can visit for the day, or camp for the weekend. The designated Family Camping has an entertainment area of its own with activities and a mini fairground in the campsite. Or you can choose luxury camping with pre-erected bell tents and a wonderful bar and play area.

The dedicated Kids’ Area had arts and crafts workshops, interactive theatre and storytelling sessions, a helter-skelter and an amazing diy pirate ship taking centre stage. The space was thoughtfully laid out, allowing parents to relax and enjoy much-needed coffee or wine while keeping an eye on their children. The sunshine added to the joy, making outdoor play even more enjoyable. The staff in the Kids Area were particularly kind and eager to help younger visitors enjoy their festival experience. My youngest and I also enjoyed time out in the Zen Area, with its healthy food, yoga workshops and mindful activities including mural colouring.

All our family revelled in the music. The variety of headliners including London Grammar, Kasabian, Keane, Nile Rogers, Rag n Bone Man and Duran-Duran, made it wonderful to discover what the children loved the most. As we staggered back to our tent we also came across Mass-Kareeoke and DJs playing sets in the beautifully lit woods, which were hard to resist.

We were pleased to see a focus on sustainability including a Climate Stage in the village. The 10p per cup return scheme encouraged ‘wombling’ – a great message and learning experience for children where they could earn up to £20 and help the litter effort. 

We all loved our first Latudie experience and can’t wait to visit again. Whether you’re a seasoned festival-goer or a family attending for the first time, we’d highly recommend Latitude as a perfect choice for creating lasting memories together.

Practical Low-Down

Here are a few of Mini-Travellers’ top tips and things to know if you are planning a family trip to Latitude.

• Glass is not allowed on the campsite or arena – bottles of wine are obvious but the security gates looked like the aisle of a duty-free shop, so I don’t think many people had realised this extended to cosmetics and perfume. Decant or leave them at home, or if you need them nearby, in the car.

• You can bring food & alcohol to the campsite, but not into the arena. And not, in glass bottles (see above!). Bags are searched going into the campsite and then again into the arena. 

• Lake swimming looks idyllic but is popular first thing in the morning on a sunny warm day. If you don’t want to queue, arrive 15 minutes before it opens and be in the first 100. After that, it is one-in one-out. It quietens down later in the day if you can wait.

• Some Campers and Day Visitors enter the Arena via The Village, which has many food outlets and shops, but there is more choice and it is more peaceful up in the arena. Keep walking.

• More bohemian festival shops can be found in the arena near the wellness area.

• The main music-buzz is around the Obelisk Stage and the sheltered Stage Two, next door. After the main stage closes ‘Into the Woods’ comes alive with bars and late-night DJs running until 3 am.

• I am always told to pack earplugs and an eye mask but I don’t. I could hear the music from our tent at Latitude, but it didn’t keep us awake. And there is no need to bring torches, walkways and campsites are lit all night with festoon lights along each walkway.

• There was so much to do and see that I found myself glued to the app. The alerts help if you set up your schedule before you arrive. If you like to be organised, discuss with your family what you want to do and allow time to get your bearings when you arrive.

• At times it felt like everybody else knew where they were going, but I suspect lots of people return year after year. Chill, soak up the atmosphere and if you find one thing you are desperate to do, work out where and when you will get there.

• Although super helpful, the app doesn’t have guidance on the age ranges for each activity in the extensive kids’ line-up and is a bit short on detail. With a teen, pre-teen and child eager to have fun this would have helped. From our experience, the kids’ area was great for under-10s, and the Trailer Park was great for the pre-teens and teens, but all our family were happiest watching the headliners on the Obelisk Stage or the creative art shows by the lake.

• It can be a long walk back to the tent. Take everything you need for the day into the arena if you don’t want to miss any of the action later (e.g. jumper for the evening and picnic blanket). But try not to carry too much as it will slow you down

• Be prepared for lots of walking. Great for the step count, although nothing by Glastonbury standards. Sensible shoes are a must you’ll get dusty and potentially muddy if it’s rained. Despite the wonderful weather boots or trainers were the order of the day.

• We made do with a picnic blanket in the day and stood in the evening, but you can take camping chairs into the Arena. If you are quick there is some tiered seating at the back of the main obelisk Stage Arena. There are also plenty of picnic benches around the food outlets.

• The Riverside Restaurant is stunning. If you are keen on a sit-down restaurant meal then book in advance as it was sold out before the festival opened.

• There are separate ticket prices for teens (aged 13- 15) and age 5-12. All under 16s must be accompanied by an adult ticket holder aged 18 or older. Under-5’s go free. Day and weekend camping tickets as well as luxury glamping tickets are available.