Latitude festival takes place annually in the beautiful Henham Park, Suffolk. The festival is a eclectic mix of culture with literary, poetry, comedy and all genres of music to feast your eyes and ears on. If you are after a festival that your parents will envy if not merely approve of, then Latitude is the festival for you.
The site is beautiful- incredibly clean with attentive staff. The lake is utilised with lake swimming and free gondola rides available for those wishing to cool off or view the site form a different angle. The lake also provides a point of entertainment with urban legend (a man on the train down) telling tales of how in previous years people have tried to gate crash the festival by canoeing in. If taking such grand efforts then people should be granted free tickets simply on the principle of being so desperate to get in.
[Image: Carys Lavin]
The festival is family friendly with a designated kids area and a plethora of activities for all ages. Entertaining and informative activities for young people are laid on; such as vlogging workshops and barns full of material for children to explore their creative sides. Children looked constantly amused and unfazed by those enjoying the other side of festival life (by living it up) around them. It was amusing to see such tiny babies in massive headphones at the end of headline sets, being carted around as the early hours set in.
While the festival is suitable for all the family, it is still possible to have an authentic festival experience at night. The only slightly uncomfortable aspect of the range of ages was young children being surrounded by prepubescent girls, clad in more glitter than clothing. Crotchet tops were matched by a very middle class, bohemian style that older festival goers favoured.
The ethos of the festival is middle class and incredibly friendly; as a student it feels nice to attend such a wholesome festival. Specialist talks are given by experts such as Andrew Marr aswell as comedy and poetry tents which were equally insightful and interesting. If you’re after a festival that’s genuinely a nice experience on a beautiful site, it’s worth heading down to Latitude. It’s one of the only festivals where you can get more than a hangover and a headache from only hearing bands.
