Bear Grylls announces 2024 dates for UK’s fastest growing family adventure festival – Gone Wild

Following the biggest and best Gone Wild festival to date Bear Grylls, co-founder of the UK’s fastest-growing family adventure festival, has announced that next year’s event at Powderham Castle will take place from 22-25 August to coincide with the August Bank Holiday weekend. Tickets, which include camping and an under-18s go free early-bird offer, are now on sale alongside a monthly payment plan option to help beat the cost-of-living crisis.

Based in Devon, the hugely popular family festival will feature headline bands and acts over four days and nights. This year’s line-up included Scouting For Girls, Feeder, Ella Henderson, Sugababes, and Gabrielle, with fitness icon Joe Wicks, astronaut Tim Peake, and Bear Grylls attending as headline speakers.

The festival, which packs four days of action-packed adventure, rewilding and live music into the grounds of the Powderham Estate, aims to provide an unforgettable and affordable escape where families can spend time together in the great outdoors camping, getting back to nature and participating in over 100 free adventure activities, as well as premium experiences. These range from archery, axe and spear throwing, to tree climbing, break dance workshops, paintballing, foraging walks, shelter construction, raft building, rock climbing, abseiling, and even SUP experiences.

Co-founders Bear Grylls and former Royal Marine Oliver Mason believe that the appeal of Go Wild lies in the creation of experiences that are hard to get in everyday life, but which the festival makes accessible to all, bringing families together in new and exciting ways.

Commenting on the sell-out success of this year’s festival, Bear said: “2023 has been a fantastic event that’s sparked the imagination of thousands of children, building confidence and inquisitive minds grounded in outdoor activities. Families have been able to come together, have fun, enjoy music, relax and refocus while having the opportunity to destress with ‘inner chill’ sessions, and even experience bare foot fire walking. It just goes to prove that kids don’t need to depend on digital devices to have fun.”

Bear added: “In 2022 we had 8,000 people attend the festival. This year that’s grown to over 12,000 from around the world, giving families the best time of their lives. Next year, Gone Wild will be even bigger and better, with yet more activities to enjoy alongside the introduction of larger, luxury camping pitches, including new backstage camping.

“Whatever your age, or budget, adventure should be for all. We deliver this in a way no other event can, alongside amazing entertainment, headline bands and incredible speakers too. Where else could you get all this in one place?”

Tickets for Gone Wild 2024 are now on sale. Early bookers bagging a place before 30th September are able to benefit from a special under-18s go free offer, allowing families to guarantee four unforgettable days of bonding and life-learning experiences from as little as £16.75 a month via the Festival’s payment plan option, not including booking fee. Under the offer a family of four, based on two adults and two under-18s, can book tickets from just £368, which includes camping.

Looking forward to 2024, Oliver Mason, co-founder of Gone Wild, said: “Kids of all ages love to explore, experiment, and challenge themselves, as well as mum and dad too.

“We make that possible by providing exhilarating experiences in a safe and secure way, which teaches individuals about themselves and what they are capable of in a fun-filled environment.

“Whether you’re into explosive science experiments, DJing with Bez from Happy Mondays, taking on the Gone Wild commando assault course challenge, or watching mum descend the 50-foot mudslide, Gone Wild is for you. We can’t wait.”

Commenting on their experience, first time Gone Wild festival goer Mark Ormes, who was camping with his family from Essex, said: “The bands have been great, and we loved watching the Red Devils parachute in while we were paddleboarding on the lake.

“The quad biking was a big favourite too, and the dinosaur experiences were a big hit. We’ve tried tree climbing, making a fire poker at the forge, paintballing, and the Colour Run too.

“It’s a big thumbs up from us. The food’s great and we’d certainly recommend it to friends. We’ll be back again next year. The activities are brilliant.”

Click here for more detail and ticket availability.