Mum shares her best tips for taking a baby to a festival

A mum has shared her top tips for taking a baby to festivals - after rocking out at Download with her nine-month-old.

Anne Shirley, 36, and partner Andrew Harris, 37, began planning to take little Ziggy to a festival during pregnancy.

They then organised tickets for Download when their youngster was just six months old - and set about preparing for their trip.

And, after having a "blast" at the British rock event last weekend, maths teacher Anne now wants to speak about taking babies to festivals.

The mum, who lives in Birmingham, said: "It was something we always talked about doing while I was pregnant - we couldn't wait to take him to a festival with us.

"We're both super passionate about music so wanted to get him started young, plus tickets are even free for children under four years old.

"We had a big chat about whether or not it was realistically a possibility to take him and would he actually get any enjoyment out of it, but it turned out that he loved it!

"I think it's fair to say Ziggy had a blast. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone thinking about taking their baby to a festival!"

Anne and Andrew had initially planned on going to Download Festival in the day and returning home to sleep, but brought a tent in case Ziggy needed any downtime during the day.

ANNE'S TOP TI

- Bring suncream if you're lucky, rain suit if you're not.
- Bring plenty of snacks and pre-made bottles of formula.
- Take your own toy musical instruments so your baby can play along with the bands.
- Put up a tent in the 'quiet camping' area, even if not camping, for somewhere for downtime if the music gets too loud for your baby or to change wet clothes.
- Ask security for easier access routes.
- Buy baby ear defenders.
- Cover your pram in fairy lights so people don't trip over it.