Family Camping (Wicket)

[Lakey91]

Highly likely that I will be taking my one year old this year so probably going to camp in the family area. I have a few queries to anyone who's camped there in recent years:

 

• How quickly does it fill up? We have a fairly large 6 man tent, more than likely be arriving slightly later on the Wednesday.
• Are there any additional facilities? Showers / toilets /etc - or are kids expected to use long drops like anyone else. He'll still be in nappies thankfully but I imagine the long drops are actually quite dangerous for small humans.
• What is the overall vibe? We have plenty of friends going but we are the only ones with a child so hoping we might meet some others in the same boat and mums and dads can take turns on who gets to stay out late, and who stays at the campsite while little ones sleep.

[dotdash79]

45 minutes ago, Lakey91 said:

Highly likely that I will be taking my one year old this year so probably going to camp in the family area. I have a few queries to anyone who's camped there in recent years:

 

• How quickly does it fill up? We have a fairly large 6 man tent, more than likely be arriving slightly later on the Wednesday.
• Are there any additional facilities? Showers / toilets /etc - or are kids expected to use long drops like anyone else. He'll still be in nappies thankfully but I imagine the long drops are actually quite dangerous for small humans.
• What is the overall vibe? We have plenty of friends going but we are the only ones with a child so hoping we might meet some others in the same boat and mums and dads can take turns on who gets to stay out late, and who stays at the campsite while little ones sleep.

Loads of room last year even by Friday you will find a place. 
 

they have smaller long compost loos for children. No showers. 
 

I think people sit round and have a drink in the evening but by it’s nature the noise is kept down. 

[Adam75]

We have enjoyed Wicket the last couple of years, 

 

Finding space on Wednesday is no problem as said above.

 

The other family camping field gets busier much quicker and tents are much more packed in. But they do have a nice 'creche' type tent, I remember bathing our young ones in a garden trug a few years ago! 

 

There are also good facilities at the top of the kids field

 

But definitely camp in Wicket, much nicer!

 

[Johnnyseven]

Not sure re most of your questions but the most minging long drops I went to at the whole festival last year were by the property lock up in Cockmill Meadow family camping, there seemed to be poo spread all over the cubicles.

[cb4747]

18 hours ago, Lakey91 said:

Highly likely that I will be taking my one year old this year so probably going to camp in the family area. I have a few queries to anyone who's camped there in recent years:

 

• How quickly does it fill up? We have a fairly large 6 man tent, more than likely be arriving slightly later on the Wednesday.
• Are there any additional facilities? Showers / toilets /etc - or are kids expected to use long drops like anyone else. He'll still be in nappies thankfully but I imagine the long drops are actually quite dangerous for small humans.
• What is the overall vibe? We have plenty of friends going but we are the only ones with a child so hoping we might meet some others in the same boat and mums and dads can take turns on who gets to stay out late, and who stays at the campsite while little ones sleep.

We would choose a family area next time we go, even over the Hospitality campsite! My 5 year old was fine with the long drops, but wasn't keen and one of us had to hold her each time. I imagine with younger children it could be trickier. 

[Hugh Jass II]

We were in Wickett last year and loved it. Turned up around Thursday lunchtime and there was still plenty of room.

[Cheesey]

19 hours ago, Lakey91 said:

• How quickly does it fill up? We have a fairly large 6 man tent, more than likely be arriving slightly later on the Wednesday.

Loads of room in Wicket - there was a big chunk of empty space on the north west side all the way through the festival last year.

 

19 hours ago, Lakey91 said:

Are there any additional facilities? Showers / toilets /etc - or are kids expected to use long drops like anyone else. He'll still be in nappies thankfully but I imagine the long drops are actually quite dangerous for small humans.

Wicket has its own toilets - the composting kind, with special small ones for the kids, like in the Kidz Field. Toilets are cleaned and loaded with fresh bog roll regularly. No showers though.

 

19 hours ago, Lakey91 said:

What is the overall vibe? We have plenty of friends going but we are the only ones with a child so hoping we might meet some others in the same boat and mums and dads can take turns on who gets to stay out late, and who stays at the campsite while little ones sleep.

Vibe is generally very good. The stewards are lovely and do a great 24/7 job of keeping bellends from accidentally wandering in. You can smuggle childless friends in as "aunts and uncles" as long as they're well behaved and quiet at night. Obviously not everyone wants to do Glastonbury that way though, and they'll be kicked out if they're too loud.

 

After doing eight festivals in Pennards before switching to Wicket when we had our first kid in 2010, it was like a breath of fresh air. Really relaxed, quiet at night, easy to sleep (guy rope tripping is much rarer), and no fear of being robbed (yes, I was robbed one year in Pennards).

 

My kids are growing up fast and I'm dreading the time that I have to leave Wicket Ground. I'll certainly never go back to Pennards. Too old for that sh*t now 🤣

 

 

Edited April 17 by Cheesey

[Wooderson]

20 hours ago, Lakey91 said:

Highly likely that I will be taking my one year old this year so probably going to camp in the family area. I have a few queries to anyone who's camped there in recent years:

 

• How quickly does it fill up? We have a fairly large 6 man tent, more than likely be arriving slightly later on the Wednesday.
• Are there any additional facilities? Showers / toilets /etc - or are kids expected to use long drops like anyone else. He'll still be in nappies thankfully but I imagine the long drops are actually quite dangerous for small humans.
• What is the overall vibe? We have plenty of friends going but we are the only ones with a child so hoping we might meet some others in the same boat and mums and dads can take turns on who gets to stay out late, and who stays at the campsite while little ones sleep.

 

- Wicket has lots of room. You'll have no issue arriving on the Wednesday.

- Toilets are well maintained and respected.

- Vibe is good. People watch out for each other. Not sure about the level of cooperation you suggest above however. Would really doubt you're gonna get people to look after each others kids.

[Johnnyseven]

There was loads of room in all of those campsites right in the north of the site in 2023, Lime Kiln & Hitchin Hill. I walked through on my way to my Oxfam shift on Saturday for 2pm and there was loads of space, if I was camping on site i'd look at going up there - i've been either in CV East or Oxfield for the last 15 years so I bit of a walk isn't an issue.  

[Nice hymer]

We've never stayed on Wicket but have often visited friends there, always space, clean and pretty chilled.

 

For all the families taking little ones - there's no shame in bringing a potty.

Slightly older ones will giggle at using the baby loo but honestly, it's been a godsend on the odd occasion....

 

As for looking after other people's kids, absolutely not!

Far too much risk of a parent returning completely unfit for parenting and you in some way being guilty by association if it all goes pear shaped (or by being the bad guy if you call the parents out).

There's the potential for it to dampen your festival, through worry/concern if nothing else.

99% of people with kids at the festival are great, but those odd few....

 

[HotChipWillBreakYourLegs]

I've been in wicket last two years.  Great place to camp as others have said.

 

Really nice vibe and always great to see the kid making friends with the neighbours kids.  It does make things a bit easier in the mornings when kids are entertaining each other.

 

Really friendly stewards.  Rolled back in the early hours on a couple of nights to have them say "the wife's turn tomorrow night then!".

 

If you want milk for your kids, bizarrely the nearby breakfast tent would only sell it in 4 pint bottles last year which led to a lot of sharing with the neighbours but unfortunately also a lot of wastage.  Could do with a dedicated milk stall nearby, but was always trying to find one as the last thing we did before returning to camp in the night.

[Lakey91]

Thanks for the info, very useful.

 

Just to clarify, I didn't mean asking other's to look after our child. I meant if me and my missus want to take turns who stays out late with other friends and who stays in the campsite, will we have neighbours to chat to. That said, we'll probably just make the most of the opportunity to get some kip!

[gherkin8r]

5 hours ago, Wooderson said:

 

- Wicket has lots of room. You'll have no issue arriving on the Wednesday.

- Toilets are well maintained and respected.

- Vibe is good. People watch out for each other. Not sure about the level of cooperation you suggest above however. Would really doubt you're gonna get people to look after each others kids.

I had to read the OP back a few times. Did he actually say they were hoping to leave their kids with someone? Surely not.

 

We did family camping in Cockmill last time out and although there was a bit of chat between neighbours it was pretty quiet at night and not really any round is sat drinking with people from other tents.

Edited April 17 by gherkin8r

[Fred Zepplin]

Echo what everyone has said here with camping in Wickets. The toilets are very clean but a bit of a queue in the morning, not the kids ones they generally go straight in. We would just leave wickets and go to the long drops and urinals in woodsies. Literally a 30 second walk and most of the time completely empty and they had been cleaned by 8.30 every morning so I had my pick of 100 long drops.

The cafe next to Wicket did ok breakfasts. I had a couple of fry ups and the kids loved the pastry options. My wife only drinks Yorkshire tea so she took her own teabags and they would give her hot water for free to make her tea.  

[Wooderson]

Enormo queues at the cafe next to Wicket. Nice indoor seating tho - v helpful for those with tiny ones. Lockups next door to cafe also. I was really pro-Cockmill back in the day but with William's Green's demise the area isnt quite so attractive anymore.

[Wooderson]

17 hours ago, gherkin8r said:

I had to read the OP back a few times. Did he actually say they were hoping to leave their kids with someone? Surely not.

 

We did family camping in Cockmill last time out and although there was a bit of chat between neighbours it was pretty quiet at night and not really any round is sat drinking with people from other tents.

 

He's clarified above in fairness.

 

Agree with you that there isnt much socialising. If youre stuck at the tent putting kids to bed whilst others are out for the evening, prolly best to put the nut down too. Unlikely that peeps are standing around family camping boozing.

[dirtysteve]

On 4/17/2024 at 9:22 AM, cb4747 said:

We would choose a family area next time we go, even over the Hospitality campsite! My 5 year old was fine with the long drops, but wasn't keen and one of us had to hold her each time. I imagine with younger children it could be trickier. 

 

The first year I took my eldest, when he was 4, he was so horrified by using the long drops on the Wednesday that he didn't then have another crap until we stopped in Fleet services on the way home on Sunday evening.... lol

[gherkin8r]

1 hour ago, Wooderson said:

Enormo queues at the cafe next to Wicket. Nice indoor seating tho - v helpful for those with tiny ones. Lockups next door to cafe also. I was really pro-Cockmill back in the day but with William's Green's demise the area isnt quite so attractive anymore.

I'll 100% be bringing a stove this time along with bacon and sausages, cereal and milk etc in my cool box. Save a fortune on breakfasts with 3 kids and get a proper feed to set you up for the day. I was really disappointed with the quality of food at the cafe in cockmills. It's always expensive but the food was poor too and you're standing in big queues for ages for the privilege. 

[rachmac]

Just got tickets in the resale (whoop!) have been 13 times before, but not since 2017 and that year my eldest was 8/9 months old and we stayed at Pop-up Motel with our own tent. This year the kids are 4 and 7 and my husband is thinking we camp on site, but I don't think we can come until the Thursday and my husband is working on the south coast that week, so we're thinking he goes ahead with tent and then I come down with the kids - will they let him pitch in Wicket without us/kids there? 

[dotdash79]

21 minutes ago, rachmac said:

Just got tickets in the resale (whoop!) have been 13 times before, but not since 2017 and that year my eldest was 8/9 months old and we stayed at Pop-up Motel with our own tent. This year the kids are 4 and 7 and my husband is thinking we camp on site, but I don't think we can come until the Thursday and my husband is working on the south coast that week, so we're thinking he goes ahead with tent and then I come down with the kids - will they let him pitch in Wicket without us/kids there? 

Yes, so long that the kids arrive by friday it won't be an issue. He might just need to explain. There is quite a lot of people go early without kids then get them dropped off on friday after school.

[gherkin8r]

24 minutes ago, rachmac said:

Just got tickets in the resale (whoop!) have been 13 times before, but not since 2017 and that year my eldest was 8/9 months old and we stayed at Pop-up Motel with our own tent. This year the kids are 4 and 7 and my husband is thinking we camp on site, but I don't think we can come until the Thursday and my husband is working on the south coast that week, so we're thinking he goes ahead with tent and then I come down with the kids - will they let him pitch in Wicket without us/kids there? 

Should be grand. I camped overnight by myself last year and had no problem pitching in family camping with the rest arriving later on Wednesday.