THE WILD GARDENS FESTIVAL 2025 TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THURSDAY 17 AND SUNDAY 20 JULY 2025 AT THE PORT ELIOT ESTATE IN ST GERMANS, CORNWALL.
If you’re after a festival that serves up big-name acts, woodland raves, riverside saunas, and a cheeky bit of paddleboarding, then The Wild Gardens Festival 2025 might just be your cup of tea—or perhaps more aptly, your glass of bubbly at a paint-and-sip session.
Set against the backdrop of the historic Port Eliot Estate, this four-day extravaganza blends music, wellness, and a dash of the unexpected. Whether you’re grooving to chart-toppers or unwinding in a sound bath, there’s something here to tickle everyone’s fancy.
The Line-Up: A Musical Feast
Thursday kicks off with the legendary Shy FX, setting the tone for a weekend of musical delights. Friday sees performances from Dizzee Rascal, Jax Jones, Eats Everything, Clementine Douglas, and Norman Jay. Saturday brings Hybrid Minds, Dimension, Example, Wilkinson, and The Cuban Brothers to the stage. Sunday wraps up with James Bay, Eliza Rose, and Dub Pistols.
Over on the second stage, expect sets from High Contrast, Beatles Dub Club, Mungo’s Hi Fi, Eva Lazarus, Black Friday, and Gardna. It’s a line-up that promises to keep your feet moving and your spirits high.
Beyond the Music: Activities Galore
But it’s not all about the tunes. The festival offers a smorgasbord of activities to keep you entertained.
At the Riverside Retreat, you’ll find saunas, sound baths, yoga sessions, ice baths, and wild swimming – not a bad way to shake off the cobwebs from the night before. There’s also the ‘Bubbly and Brush’ corner, where you can have a crack at painting while sipping on something fizzy. Results may vary, but that’s half the fun.
The food offering is getting serious attention too. On Friday and Saturday evenings, the Philleigh Way Cookery School is putting on a two-hour feast for those who fancy dining like festival royalty. For those that prefer a more leisurely start to the day, the bottomless brunch includes live Ibiza classics, saxophone serenades and plenty of bubbles. It’s brunch, but wilder.
Fancy getting on the water? You can hire a paddleboard or join a guided SUP tour on the river – a proper Cornish adventure if ever there was one. If you’re more night owl than daytime paddler, the Silent Disco in the Woods might be more your speed. Turn up, tune in, and throw shapes under the trees ‘til late.
Tickets and Camping
Weekend tickets start at £85 for adults and £75 for under-18s. Day tickets are £44 for adults and £39 for the young’uns. If you’re staying the weekend, there are camping pitches as well as glamping setups for those who prefer their tent with a mattress and fairy lights. Pricing depends on your setup, but there’s something for all levels of roughing it.
Getting There
The Port Eliot Estate is in St Germans, which has its own train station a short stroll from the site. If you’re driving, there’s parking available off the B3249. Expect to pay a fiver for a day’s parking or a tenner for the full weekend.
So, What Are You Waiting For?
The Wild Gardens Festival 2025 is what happens when you take the best bits of a classic music festival and throw in a load of wellness, creativity and a good dash of Cornish eccentricity. Whether you’re down at the front dancing your wellies off, halfway through a cacao ceremony or hanging out on a paddleboard trying not to fall in, there’s something here for every flavour of festival-goer.
It’s the kind of event where you can dance to Dizzee Rascal in the evening and wake up with the sun for a meditation by the river. Or don’t – maybe you’ll be in the woods with a headset on, doing your best 90s rave impression at 2am. That’s the beauty of it.
So, grab your mates, pack something sparkly, and get yourself to Port Eliot this July. Just don’t forget a towel – whether it’s for the sauna, the river, or an accidental wine spill at paint-and-sip, you’ll probably need it.