The Three Wishes Faerie Festival in Cornwall England

The first thing I heard on arrival at the Three Wishes Faerie Festival in Cornwall, England, was: “Hi, do you need some help setting up your tent?” Which is exactly what a mother with two seven-year-olds to look after by herself wants to hear at ten o’clock at night after a long drive.

The second thing I heard (from the depths of the tent) was from the seven-year-olds: “Mummy, there’s a WISHING TREE! And we made wishes! I wished to be a FAIRY!!”

In other words, from the get-go we were convinced by this family-friendly gathering of fairytale and fantasy lovers in idyllic Cornwall. They had us hook, line and tutu.

Three Wishes Faerie Festival Location

Cornwall is, of course, the perfect setting for a fairy festival. This beautiful south-west corner of Britain is rich in mythology and folk traditions, many related to pre-Christian era and especially stories of piskies, mermaids and ‘pobel vean’ or little people.

The festival is held on a hilly peninsula with magnificent views over Plymouth Sound and the River Tamar. The Mount Edgcumbe Country Park has 885 acres of historic beauty, with a Tudor house and 18^th-century gardens.

The Three Wishes Faerie Festival is for fairy-lovers of all ages and has been named one of the top three child-friendly festivals in the United Kingdom.

It is organised by the lovely Karen Kay and the imaginative and detailed decoration of the site, from the stone circle to the miniature fairy garden, and even a real unicorn, was truly magical. The food stalls were all high quality, ethical and delicious.

There are free workshops for children from dawn until dusk, which as the festival is held at midsummer is quite late. The children made wands with Faerie Liz, tutus with Pendle Faery, and loved circle time with the completely lovable Magical Mel.

If anything, the workshops were almost too popular and we missed out on some of them because the lovely fairies running them were overwhelmed by enthusiastic participants. This is something that could easily be addressed for future events.

3 Wishes Faerie Festival Things to See

There were walkabout fairytale characters to entertain the crowds and, in some ways, the crowds were the most entertaining and wonderful thing about the whole festival. The costumes were incredible. I could have just wandered around all day enjoying the fantastical creativity of people’s getup.

A huge favorite with the children was the Fairy Dog Show, run by the gorgeous Frejya Faery. That’s right, dogs dressed as fairies, competing to be the best-dressed or best-trained, or something. It was just tremendously cute and highly entertaining as fairy dogs of all shapes and sizes cooperated or refused to go around the obstacle course to the cheers of the excited crowd.

The big showpiece event on Saturday was the world record attempt for the most number of fairies in one place. We danced, drummed and sang our way in a huge parade from the festival site through the park and to the lawn in front of Mount Edgecombe House.

Through the afternoon and into the evening there were a huge range of bands and musical performances on the main stage and in the Lotus Tent. From pure folk to heavy metal there was something for everyone.

I was hugely envious of the glamping accommodation options. Who wouldn’t want to stay the night in a Hobbit hole? Or a caravan as beautifully crafted and decorated as this one?

Until next year’s Three Wishes Faery Festival, we’ll be remembering our chant: “I do, I do, I do believe in fairies!”

All photos by Natasha von Geldern