22nd-25th May 2026
Ashdown Forest, Sussex
Elderflower Fields returns for a special 15th anniversary celebration, encouraging families to reconnect with the natural environment and disconnect from tech. Well-known as the ideal first festival for families, this independent, award-winning weekend has grown organically into a much-loved celebration of play, discovery, and community.
Over the past 15 years, thousands of families have made their first festival memories at Elderflower Fields. Children who once raced through the woods now return, helping to put on the show! Adults who first brought excited toddlers now volunteer alongside their teenagers, spending precious family time together. This sense of continuity and connection makes Elderflower Fields more than a festival. It is a community that welcomes old friends and new families to unplug and unwind in this unique wild playground each late May bank holiday weekend.
The festival combines live performance, creative workshops, sports, woodland activities and non-stop adventure. Guests can explore and discover in a safe and spacious setting, with facilities designed to make festival life easy with kids. Tickets for under-fours are completely free, helping young families take their first steps into festival life.
Food and drink are a highlight, with the finest local suppliers serving Sussex ales, artisan coffee, and freshly prepared delights to suit all tastes, diets and ages. Stages host festival favourites alongside exciting new live performances and DJs, whilst the forest itself provides the perfect backdrop for activities and games to discover through the Lazy Glades, Urban Woods and Tumbledown Meadows.
Festival Director Nigel Greenwood said: “With the average British child spending 6 hours a day on screens, our weekend of escape feels more important than ever before. Elderflower Fields began with a simple idea: to create a safe and inspiring first festival for families to spend time together trying new things in the great outdoors. Fifteen years later, we are proud to welcome back generations who have grown up with us, while also opening the gates to families coming for the very first time. It feels like one big family reunion in the woods.”
Set in the heart of the Ashdown Forest, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and part of the Weald to Waves nature corridor, Elderflower Fields offers a rare chance to fully disconnect and enjoy the arts and the outdoors in one of the UK’s most treasured landscapes.
For ticket details and more information, visit elderflowerfields.co.uk
Watch the Elderflower Fields highlights video
