The land of Noz

This year will be our 3rd year at Nozstock, had the dreaded pandemic not struck we would have been on our 5th Noz, we love it that much. Noz is like a mini Glastonbury it’s so diverse from folk to dance, Techo to funk and soul. Ten Dedicated stages are dotted around the West Country farm amidst wellness areas crafts and loads and loads for the kids. If you want to read about some of our previous visits click here. Nozstock leads the way for families, you are sure of a warm welcome wherever you go and there’s an awesome community vibe that can get lost with bigger festivals . Here’s my top festival Tips for Families at Nozstock 2023.

Family Camping 

The team have made it even easier to get onto site with the kids and all that come with them by opening the side gate next to the family field. This means the usual hike to the car and back is one of the shortest on the family festival scene (and we’ve done lots) plus there’s loads of cheerful local stewards to help if you get lost. If you are anxious about finding a spot why not opt for ‘save a space, a marked out area just for you or splash out on a glamping. 

Packing 

Festival camping is not like a week camping in the country, you really don’t need that much. The food vendors are plentiful and so are the drinks and Nozstock bar prices are some of the cheapest we’ve seen. Nozstock also provide a little table of essentials like nappies and even ear plugs in case you forget yours. It’s not unheard of to find complimentary sanitary products in the ladies toilets. Clothes are the main essential, there’s nothing worse than getting wet and having nothing dry to change into. Packing whole outfits separately in plastic bags or those little packing pods helps them to stay dry and also makes it easier for the kids to find outfits.  

Snacks 

You don’t need to take a lot of food to festivals but if you’re on a budget like us a bag of snacks and some breakfast essentials are a great shout. FREEZE EVERYTHING, sausages, bacon, milk and Capri Sun in your cool box will help to keep everything else (the beer!) cool for a night or two. They are generally defrosted by the time you come to use them.

Plan your weekend

Get your merch early. We love having a token of our time at Noz and the T-shirts are great but will sell out, so head there early. We usually spend the first afternoon (after unpacking) doing a bit of a recce of the site to see what’s in store for the weekend taking photos of the boards as we go. There is a really comprehensive show program but a photo makes it easier for the kids to pick things over the weekend they really want to do. We keep everything else quite relaxed but make sure we all get an opportunity to see a couple of acts or activities we really want to do.

The stages 

Explore all the stages! We love the coppice (UV sanctum) in the early evening and elephants graveyard in the daytime. The chamber of secrets has a really fun entrance and is home to some great folk, ska, indie type bands. The main stage comes alive in the evening and there’s usually some cracking acts from Bill Bailey to Elvana! Most stages don’t really get going till after lunch apart from the bandstand stage which is usually home to some family yoga in the morning. Mornings are a great time to check out Little Wonderland. 

Little Wonderland 

Little wonderland Is fantastic for smaller children. A weekend full of activities from arts and crafts to beatboxing and circus skills. Some activities next to it have a small fee but most are FREE and really good. Last year my two brought back some rather interesting clay pots (free) and they still take pride of place in the kids rooms. 

Older Children 

Under 12s are free but teens can join in at a discounted price and they will love it. There’s archery on the hill, circus skills, coconut shys, flame acts, paint fights and crazy competitions. The site isn’t too big and quite contained with security at the entrances so we often let our eldest have a bit of freedom to wander to the clothing stalls for example. We have a festival phone (pay as you go) for this purpose, it gives us a bit of piece of mind. A large Charging bank is useful if you use your phone as much as me.

Showers 

There are 8 showers located in the quiet camping area just before you get into family camping. They are open from about 8am, if my memory serves and cost a couple of quid. They are the only ones for the whole festival so they get very busy on the Saturday especially. Get there early if you are keen on a nice warm shower or alternatively a wet wipe wash never hurt anyone!

The most important thing is to really soak up the atmosphere, some of our fondest memories of Noz are chatting with other festival goers, young or old, making friends and laughing loudly. It really is like a big family gathering spanning all the generations. We love you NOZ! 

I hope you enjoyed my Top Festival Tips for Nozstock 2023. Click here for ticket information for this years festival running from the 20th to 23rd of July.

*Disclaimer- We have been gifted tickets to this years Nozstock but as always my words are my own.