The Family Festival For The Whole North West
WN7 FEST is a two-day family music festival at Leigh Miners Welfare, sitting right at the heart of the North West — live music, a packed kids zone, fairground rides, street food and a proper community welcome. Tickets from just £5.
One Festival For The Whole North West
The North West is spoiled for music and for character, but a genuinely good family festival — one that works just as well for a four-year-old as it does for their grandparents — is a rarer thing. Too many of the big summer events are pricey, sprawling and pitched squarely at adults, leaving families to choose between an expensive day they only half enjoy and staying at home. WN7 FEST was built to be the answer to that: an affordable, welcoming weekender where everyone in the family has a brilliant day on the same field, at the same time.
What makes it the festival for the whole region is its location. Held in Leigh, the site sits almost dead centre in the North West, which means it is an easy day out whether you are coming from Manchester, Liverpool, Warrington, Wigan, Bolton, St Helens, Chorley or Preston. Nobody is trekking for hours to a remote corner of the countryside. Families from right across the region can be on site, kids in the funfair and food in hand, without it eating up half the day in the car.
And this is not some untested newcomer. WN7 FEST is an established, community-run festival that has earned its reputation the proper way — by putting on a weekend that local families come back to year after year. In 2026 the festival sold out completely, and 2027 is shaping up to be bigger still. When word of mouth across the towns of the North West is doing your marketing for you, you know you are getting something right.
Then there is the price. With early bird tickets from just £3 for under-14s and a Family ticket covering two adults and two children for £22.50, this is one of the most affordable family days out the North West has to offer. You can read the full story of how the festival came together on our about page, but the short version is simple: real music, real value, and a real welcome for families.
What makes it a great family festival
- Genuinely affordable — early bird from £3, with family and weekend bundles that keep a full day out within reach.
- Safe and well-run — a flat, secure site with trained stewards throughout, so the kids can roam and you can relax.
- Something for every age — a dedicated kids zone and fairground rides alongside live music for the grown-ups.
- Proper food — a street food village of 20+ vendors, and you are welcome to bring your own too.
- Right in the middle — central to the whole North West and easy to reach by car or public transport.
Two Days, Two Vibes
The clever thing about WN7 FEST is that it is really two festivals in one weekend, and you can come to either day or both. Friday belongs to the grown-ups, Saturday belongs to the whole family, and a Weekend Pass joins the dots. Here is how it unfolds at Leigh Miners Welfare.
Friday: Country Music Day
Friday 11 June opens the weekend with Country Music Day, an evening built around line dancing, country and western tribute acts and that easy, sociable festival feeling. Gates open at 3:30pm and the music runs through to 11pm, so there is plenty of time to settle in with a drink from the bar, find your spot and let the band take over. It is more grown-up in tone than the Saturday — a brilliant evening out for couples, friends and country fans of every generation across the North West — but it is still part of the same warm, family-minded weekend. If you have never tried line dancing, this is the night you finally give it a go.
Saturday: The Family Festival
Saturday 12 June is the heart of the weekend — the Family Festival day, and the reason so many families across the North West mark their calendars. Gates open earlier, at 11:30am, giving you the whole day to enjoy it. The Kids Zone is the centrepiece: a dedicated under-12s arena with funfair rides, fairground games like hook-a-duck, face painting and magic shows, all included in your ticket. Meanwhile the main stage serves up live music and tribute acts for the whole family, so the adults are entertained while the little ones run themselves happy on the rides.
It is the kind of day where you can spread a blanket on the grass, let the kids loose somewhere safe and actually relax. The funfair and fairground rides keep older children and teenagers busy, the games hand out prizes, and there is always something happening on stage. By evening the whole site has that golden, end-of-a-perfect-day glow — tired, happy children and parents who got to enjoy a festival rather than just survive one.
The street food village
No family day out is complete without good food, and WN7 FEST delivers with a street food village of 20+ vendors. Expect stone-baked pizza, low-and-slow smokehouse BBQ, burgers, sweet treats and classic 99 ice creams — something to please even the fussiest young eater. You are welcome to bring your own food into the festival too, which is a real help if you have toddlers with their own routines, though outside drinks are not permitted as there are bars and drink vendors on site. There is a full rundown of what is on offer over on the food page.
The VIP experience
If you fancy treating yourselves, VIP tickets are available across both days and the Weekend Pass. VIP gives you access to the exclusive VIP bar and VIP toilet facilities — a small upgrade that makes a big difference when you are out with the family for a full day. For the complete picture of times, tickets, food and accessibility, our info & FAQ page has everything you need to plan your visit.
Right At The Heart Of The North West
WN7 FEST is held at Leigh Miners Welfare, Kirby Road (off Twist Lane), Leigh, WN7 4EF— and that WN7 postcode, Leigh's own, is part of the festival's identity. More than that, it puts you in one of the best-connected spots in the region. Leigh sits squarely in the middle of the North West, which is exactly what makes this such a convenient festival for families wherever they are coming from.
By car it could hardly be simpler: the site is reached easily via the M6, M62 and M58 corridors, putting Manchester, Liverpool, Warrington, Wigan, Bolton, St Helens, Chorley and Preston all comfortably within reach. If you would rather leave the car at home, regular public transport runs into Leigh town centre, with local taxis available to bring you the last stretch. And once you arrive, the grounds themselves are flat, pushchair-friendly and fully wheelchair accessible, with accessible toilets, baby changing and trained stewards on hand across both days — so getting around the site is as easy as getting to it.
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Last Time? It Sold Out
The best proof that WN7 FEST works is the simplest: in 2026 it sold out. Families came from right across the North West — Liverpool, Manchester, Wigan, Warrington and beyond — the field filled up, the kids zone buzzed all day, and the atmosphere on both days was everything a community festival should be. The photos below are from that sold-out weekend, and they give you a genuine taste of what to expect in 2027.
Because it sold out last year, early bird tickets are the smart move for 2027. You can browse the full set of photos in our gallery, but here are a few favourites to set the scene. Prefer the Manchester angle? Our family festival in Greater Manchester page has more on getting here from the city.
Book Your Family Day Out
Early bird tickets are live and limited. Under-14s from £3, adults £12.50, and a Family ticket — two adults plus two children — for just £22.50. A Weekend Pass covering both days starts from £22 for adults and is the best value of all. A booking fee of 2.5% + 30p applies online.
New to the festival? Start on the homepage for the full picture of the weekend.
North West Family Questions, Answered
Planning a day out with little ones in tow? Here are the questions families across the region ask us most. For anything else, the full info & FAQ page covers tickets, times, food, accessibility and more.
How far is it from Liverpool and Manchester?
Leigh sits almost exactly between the two. From Manchester it is a short drive west, and from Liverpool you are looking at around forty minutes along the M62 and M6. That central North West position is the whole point — wherever you are starting from across the region, WN7 FEST is an easy day out rather than an expedition.
Is it suitable for toddlers and little ones?
Yes. The Family Festival on Saturday is built for every age, with a dedicated Kids Zone, gentle fairground rides and plenty of open, flat space for younger children to roam safely. There are calmer, shaded spots near the food village too, so babies and toddlers have somewhere quiet for a feed or a nap between the music.
What is there for kids to do?
Plenty. The Kids Zone brings together funfair rides, fairground games like hook-a-duck, face painting, magic shows and a dedicated under-12s arena. Live entertainment runs on the main stage all day, and the whole site is designed around families enjoying a proper day out together rather than queuing or counting the cost.
Is the festival accessible and pushchair-friendly?
Yes. Leigh Miners Welfare is a flat, fully wheelchair accessible site with accessible toilets and baby changing facilities, so it is easy to get around for wheelchair users, prams and anyone less steady on their feet. Trained stewards are on hand across both days if you need a hand or directions.
What does a family ticket cost?
WN7 FEST is deliberately affordable. Early bird tickets start from just £3 for under-14s, with adult tickets at £12.50 and a Family ticket — two adults and two children — at £22.50. A Weekend Pass for both days starts from £22 for adults, so a full family festival day out costs a fraction of the big-name events.
Can we make a weekend of it?
Absolutely. The Weekend Pass covers both Friday's Country Music Day and Saturday's Family Festival, and Leigh's central position makes it easy to base yourself nearby and explore the wider North West. Plenty of families travelling in from Liverpool, Preston, Chorley or further afield turn it into a proper weekend away.