For the UK’s young carers, life is a cycle of adult responsibilities and social isolation. But for one weekend a year, the Young Carers Festival helps them swap domestic stress for the simple joy of being a child
For most UK festival fans, the last weekend of June is important for one reason: Glastonbury. But for the country’s young carers, there’s another let-your-hair-down jamboree held that weekend that leaves lasting memories.
The Young Carers Festival in Hampshire is an annual residential weekend held exclusively for children aged 11 to 17 with caring responsibilities.
Run by the YMCA Fairthorne Group, in partnership with The Children’s Society, for attendees “it’s the only weekend that they getaway from their caring responsibilities”, organiser Karina Barnett tells Positive News.
Estimates for how many young carers (described as someone aged five to 18 who helps care for a loved one) there are in the UK vary wildly. The 2021 census put the figure at around 120,000, but other surveys estimate hundreds of thousands more.
However, despite there being so many young carers in the UK, the group remains largely forgotten, unseen by society.
“They don’t get paid for what they do. They don’t get asked to do what they do. It’s almost like they’re just [brushed] under the carpet,” says Annie Jones, a former festival attendee. “They put their life on hold to do this.”
That’s where the Young Carers Festival comes in. Over three days, hundreds of young carers descend upon YMCA Fairthorne Manor, an outdoor activity centre in the Hampshire countryside, and unpause the childhood that many of them have not been able to prioritise.
There, the air is thick with the chatter of new friendships being formed and the yells of kids, often adorned with glitter or face paint, racing from activity to activity. Do I want to kayak or climb? What about the dance classes? This is a festival, so I should stop by the hair braiding or silent disco… but we can’t miss the farm animals, can we? For these children, the YCF (as the attendees excitedly call it) is a rare thing: not only somewhere that they can be kids, but somewhere that they can do so surrounded by other young carers.
Jones cared for her mother growing up and went to the festival for the first time when she was 16. “It feels like these people that you’re with at this festival you’ve known forever, because they just get it and understand,” she says. “It’s like you can relate to them and you’ve known them a long time. If you’re feeling a bit wobbly, they just get it straight away.”
Over the years, the numbers of children attending the YCF has fluctuated dramatically. When the festival was first created, there were more than 1,500 young carers present. Due to a lack of funding, only roughly half that came along in 2025. Still, it remains the world’s biggest gathering of young carers.
They don’t get paid for what they do. They don’t get asked to do what they do. It’s almost like they’re just brushed under the carpet
Angel Brown, who cares for her mother, attended the festival between the ages of 11 and 16, and only then began to grapple with how many young carers like her there were in the UK.
“You don’t realise how many people are in the same boat as you,” she says. “I didn’t realise how much of a big deal it actually was.”
This summer, the Young Carers Festival returns with the theme ‘celebrating you’, and more activities than ever. The kids will arrive on Friday to live music, fun fair rides and a firework display, then spend the Saturday doing whatever their hearts desire: painting, playing on inflatables, yoga. Beyond meal times, there is no itinerary for them to follow. For young people so used to living their lives for their loved ones, such freedom can be life-changing.
Still, the barriers preventing people from attending have grown in recent years. Ticket costs are kept as low as possible (a spot including a tent costs £140), and while local groups pay rather than attendees themselves, budget cuts and the closure or merging of young carers groups by councils means that many organisations have had to cut the number of kids they can send.
Travel costs are also high for those coming from further afield. While The Children’s Society offers grants to assist, the need far outstrips supply.
The Young Carers Festival leaves its mark on those who do attend. Keren Ben-Dor is a group leader with the Romsey Young Carers, and says that older children return with stories from the festival, leaving their younger counterparts itching to go.
“There’s almost a bit of a legacy to the whole event… so [the] young people build up and wait for the opportunity when they get to be invited,”she says.
While some kids seek adventure at the festival, there are options for those wanting to take part in mental health workshops, speak to organisations who help young carers, or simply switch off in the chill-out zone.
You don’t realise how many people are in the same boat as you
“Being a teenager, being a young carer, going through exams, everything can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, and some kids do get a little when they’re in that situation,” says Jones.
Having benefitted from the Young Carers Festival as an attendee, Jones now volunteers at the event. Brown does the same. Whether it’s volunteering, donating or sponsoring a child to attend through the YMCA Fairthorne Group or The Children’s Society, any action that can help more children experience the YCF comes hugely appreciated, Jones says.
“It’s hard to describe the atmosphere, but if you came down you’d feel it,” she says. “It’s so full of love.”
That, ultimately, is what Barnett wants for the kids: for them “to have that weight off their shoulders for a weekend to just enjoy themselves”.
“I hear that every festival, and then I know that they’ve had a good time, and I’ve done a good job,” she says.
Images: YMCA
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