HushAway® at Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place Festival 2026

At Happy Place Festival in London, HushAway® ran a Quiet Zone, a small, deliberately calm space where families could step out of the noise and listen together. Nearly everyone who came in left calmer than when they arrived.

On 11 and 12 July, HushAway® took a Quiet Zone to Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place Festival at Old Deer Park in London. Happy Place is a wellbeing festival built around connection, rest and feeling good, so it felt like a natural home for us. Our space was small on purpose. In the middle of a busy, sunny festival, we wanted somewhere sensitive and neurodivergent children, and their grown-ups, could pause, breathe and land for a while.

A small, deliberately calm space

Inside the Quiet Zone, families could sink into a beanbag, pop on a pair of headphones and listen to our soothing soundscapes and stories, including the bedtime story Blueberry Moon. There was a gentle introduction to the P.E.A.C.E Framework, a look through the Sound Sanctuary library, and our team on hand to warmly welcome people in and chat about using sound to support sleep, focus and big feelings at home. It was never about footfall. It was about the pocket of peace a child could find in the middle of a loud day.

The moment that stayed with us

Early on, a mum and her daughter came in, both a little overwhelmed. The mum said her little girl had just had a meltdown. Her daughter settled onto a beanbag, put the headphones on, closed her eyes and listened to the stories and sounds. A short while later, a friend and her daughter joined, and that little girl did exactly the same, sinking into a beanbag beside her friend. Both girls stayed for almost an hour. The families left, then came back, and this time the parents felt happy to leave the girls with us for a while.

“It was quiet, nothing dramatic, but it was the exact thing we built the space for. Nearly everyone who stepped in left calmer than when they arrived. For me, that was golden.” Nicola Maria Rose, founder of HushAway®

That is the whole idea in one small scene. When a child is close to overwhelm, a calm, predictable place to land can change the shape of the day. If you have ever helped a child through a meltdown, you will know how much that quiet matters.

Measuring the shift

We wanted to understand what the space actually did for people, so we ran a simple feelings board. As visitors came in, they told us how they were feeling, peaceful, not sure, or buzzy, and placed a sticker. On the way out, they did the same on an exit board. Counting the stickers, and adding a small estimate for the visitors we could not catch, gives us around 350 people across the two days. On the exit board, 99% of stickers landed in the "peaceful" box.

“Why doesn’t every festival have this?” A phrase we heard from parents again and again across the weekend.

The Quiet Zone was small by design, so this was never a numbers game. The story is in the shift, the change from how someone arrived to how they left. In a setting full of noise and new things, which can quickly tip a sensitive child into sensory overload, watching nearly everyone leave calmer than they came in was exactly what we had hoped for. We captured some of it on the day, and you can see the Quiet Zone in action over on our Instagram.

Even the grown-ups

One thing surprised us. A lot of adults, mostly mums, came in without their children, simply for a few minutes of calm of their own. Several asked whether we make a version of the sounds and stories for grown-ups too. We even had other festival exhibitors slip in for a five minute reset between the busyness of their own stands. It was a lovely reminder that the need for a moment of peace does not stop when you grow up.

Coming to Cheshire in September

If you missed us in London, there is another chance to say hello. HushAway® will be at Happy Place Festival at Tatton Park in Cheshire on 5 and 6 September 2026, with the Quiet Zone and the feelings board back again. We would love to share a moment of calm with you and your family there.

Find your own moment of calm

You do not need to wait for a festival, though. You can start a free 14-day discovery of HushAway®, with no card details needed, and find what soothes your child gently and in your own time.

At Happy Place Festival in London, HushAway® ran a Quiet Zone, a small, deliberately calm space where families could step out of the noise and listen together. Nearly everyone who came in left calmer than when they arrived.

On 11 and 12 July, HushAway® took a Quiet Zone to Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place Festival at Old Deer Park in London. Happy Place is a wellbeing festival built around connection, rest and feeling good, so it felt like a natural home for us. Our space was small on purpose. In the middle of a busy, sunny festival, we wanted somewhere sensitive and neurodivergent children, and their grown-ups, could pause, breathe and land for a while.

A small, deliberately calm space

Inside the Quiet Zone, families could sink into a beanbag, pop on a pair of headphones and listen to our soothing soundscapes and stories, including the bedtime story Blueberry Moon. There was a gentle introduction to the P.E.A.C.E Framework, a look through the Sound Sanctuary library, and our team on hand to warmly welcome people in and chat about using sound to support sleep, focus and big feelings at home. It was never about footfall. It was about the pocket of peace a child could find in the middle of a loud day.

The moment that stayed with us

Early on, a mum and her daughter came in, both a little overwhelmed. The mum said her little girl had just had a meltdown. Her daughter settled onto a beanbag, put the headphones on, closed her eyes and listened to the stories and sounds. A short while later, a friend and her daughter joined, and that little girl did exactly the same, sinking into a beanbag beside her friend. Both girls stayed for almost an hour. The families left, then came back, and this time the parents felt happy to leave the girls with us for a while.

“It was quiet, nothing dramatic, but it was the exact thing we built the space for. Nearly everyone who stepped in left calmer than when they arrived. For me, that was golden.” Nicola Maria Rose, founder of HushAway®

That is the whole idea in one small scene. When a child is close to overwhelm, a calm, predictable place to land can change the shape of the day. If you have ever helped a child through a meltdown, you will know how much that quiet matters.

Measuring the shift

We wanted to understand what the space actually did for people, so we ran a simple feelings board. As visitors came in, they told us how they were feeling, peaceful, not sure, or buzzy, and placed a sticker. On the way out, they did the same on an exit board. Counting the stickers, and adding a small estimate for the visitors we could not catch, gives us around 350 people across the two days. On the exit board, 99% of stickers landed in the "peaceful" box.

“Why doesn’t every festival have this?” A phrase we heard from parents again and again across the weekend.

The Quiet Zone was small by design, so this was never a numbers game. The story is in the shift, the change from how someone arrived to how they left. In a setting full of noise and new things, which can quickly tip a sensitive child into sensory overload, watching nearly everyone leave calmer than they came in was exactly what we had hoped for. We captured some of it on the day, and you can see the Quiet Zone in action over on our Instagram.

Even the grown-ups

One thing surprised us. A lot of adults, mostly mums, came in without their children, simply for a few minutes of calm of their own. Several asked whether we make a version of the sounds and stories for grown-ups too. We even had other festival exhibitors slip in for a five minute reset between the busyness of their own stands. It was a lovely reminder that the need for a moment of peace does not stop when you grow up.

Coming to Cheshire in September

If you missed us in London, there is another chance to say hello. HushAway® will be at Happy Place Festival at Tatton Park in Cheshire on 5 and 6 September 2026, with the Quiet Zone and the feelings board back again. We would love to share a moment of calm with you and your family there.

Find your own moment of calm

You do not need to wait for a festival, though. You can start a free 14-day discovery of HushAway®, with no card details needed, and find what soothes your child gently and in your own time.