Find your festival!
1 REWIND SCOTLAND BEST FOR... NOSTALGIA 21-23 JULY Camp, glamp or just go for the day to head on back to the 80s at Scone Palace, Perth. Think Billy Ocean and The Human League. Enjoy fairground rides and possibly a night in a luxury cabin. For more details, visit rewindfestival.com 2 BELSONIC BEST FOR... INDIE AND DANCE FANS VARIOUS JUNE DATES This much-loved festival brings a host of international headline acts to central Belfast. Highlights include The 1975, featuring Denise Welch’s son, Matty Healy. belsonic.com 3 FESTIVAL NUMBER 6 – PORTMEIRION BEST FOR... FANS OF THE PRISONER 7-10 SEPTEMBER This music extravaganza happens in the Welsh village where 60s TV series The Prisoner was shot. Stay anywhere from a tepee to a castle! festivalnumber6.com 4 RIVER COTTAGE FESTIVAL BEST FOR... FOODIES 26-27 AUGUST River Cottage HQ in Axminster, Devon, is the place to be for a mix of cookery demos, TV chefs and great music. There’s plenty for the kids to do, too. rivercottage.net
5 HAMPTON COURT PALACE FESTIVAL BEST FOR... HISTORY-LOVERS VARIOUS JUNE DATES The Tudor Courtyard of greater London’s breathtaking royal palace provides a stunning backdrop to shows by artists including Rick Astley, Bryan Ferry and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. hamptoncourtpalacefestival.com 6 THE BIG FEASTIVAL BEST FOR... FANS OF TV CHEFS 25-27 AUGUST Chefs cooking up a storm on musician Alex James’s Cotswolds farm include Rick Stein and Antonio Carluccio. When you’re not eating, enjoy acts like Madness and Olly Murs. thebigfeastival.com 7 LATITUDE BEST FOR... BELLY LAUGHS 13-16 JULY Comedy is among the highlights of this family-friendly Suffolk-based festival –but there’s also poetry, theatre, debate and, of course, music. latitudefestival.com 8 ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL BEST FOR... NOSTALGIA 8-11 JUNE This award-winning, family-friendly affair includes Rod Stewart and The Pretenders in its stellar line-up this year. For more info, visit isleofwightfestival.com
9 FOREST LIVE, VARIOUS VENUES, ENGLAND BEST FOR... A LEAFY LOCATION JUNE & JULY DATES The seven forest locations are almost as important as the performers in this annual festival organised by the Forestry Commission, featuring singers like Tom Jones, Rick Astley and Craig David. It’s all in a good cause, too, as money from ticket sales is used to improve England’s forests and woodlands. How to book: visit forestry.gov.uk/music or call 03000 680 400; ticket prices vary.
STAY: The Travelodge Barton Mills is a short drive from Thetford Forest; rooms cost from £45 (travelodge.co.uk). If you’re heading to Sherwood, the award-winning Forest Lodge Hotel has rooms from £87 per night (forestlodgehotel.co.uk).