FESTIVAL FEVER!
It’s not all loud music and beer — these revelries offer life-enhancing family breaks
SOUTH-WEST
SOMERSAULT, DEVON, JULY 17-21 BRAND new lifestyle festival with the spirit of an oldfashioned holiday camp held at Castle Hill, owned by the Earl and Countess of Arran.
It makes the most of its position close to the North Devon coast and Exmoor, with surfing, kayaking, coasteering and hiking.
Pop stars Jack Johnson and Ben Howard launch the show, while Pearl Lowe hosts a gypsy tea party and fashion show.
Food is courtesy of chef Nathan Outlaw and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant, and luxury yurts are on offer for camping softies. WHO GOES: Everyone from teen surf dudes to families. DETAILS: Weekend ticket from £114 ( somersaultfestival.com). CHALKE VALLEY HISTORY FESTIVAL, WILTSHIRE, JUNE 23-29 MAkINg history fashionable and fun was the ambition behind this popular seven-day festival ( sponsored by the Daily Mail) featuring starry speakers, an air show by historic war planes and a living history encampment.
Set in the chalk hills of Wessex, history talks roll into wine-fuelled dinners, while D-Day veterans rub shoulders with Damian Lewis, Jeremy Paxman, Michael Morpurgo and kate Adie.
A World War I trench, real gunfire, sword fights, soaring Spitfires and lots of dressing up will keep children enthralled. Spend the night in a shepherd’s hut or bell tent at nearby Elcombe Copse campsite ( elcombecopse.com). WHO GOES: Intelligent, inquiring types. DETAILS: Daily talks from £8 ( cvhf.org.uk). PORT ELIOT, CORNWALL, JULY 24-27 A HIPStER literary festival in the Earl and Countess of St germans’s beautiful estate. In the house there are masterpieces by Reynolds and Van Dyck, in the grounds a maze to get lost in.
Heavyweight appearances from poet Murray Lachlan Young and director of Liberty Shami Chakrabarti, food from Moro, Skye gyngell and tom Parker Bowles. WHO GOES: Posh hippies. DETAILS: Weekend tickets from £165 ( porteliotfestival.com).
SOUTH-EAST AST
LOVE SUPREME, SUSSEX, JULY 4-6 BOutIquE three-day jazz weekend in the stately grounds of Elizabethan glynde Place, which offers blues, funk and soul, and furnished safari tents. Blends big name jazz musicians Jamie Cullum and gregory Porter with hip-hop stars De La Soul and Eighties dance legends Soul II Soul. WHO GOES: Anyone who takes jazz seriously.
DETAILS: Weekend tickets £125 ( lovesupremefestival.com). BESTIVAL, ISLE OF WIGHT, SEPTEMBER 4-7 RADIO 1 DJ Rob da Bank pioneered the concept of dressing up and general craziness with this much-loved festival. the music is always spectacular — disco giants Chic and Nile Rodgers close the festival — but most people come for the unexpected.
Wake-up aerobics classes with Mr Motivator, cocktails in the Bollywood tent, fortune telling in the woodland gypsy camp and even an inflatable church for weddings. WHO GOES: Hedonistic twentysomethings and accountants dressed as teacups. DETAILS: Weekend tickets from £195 ( bestival.net).
EAST ANGLIA
LATITUDE, SUFFOLK, JULY 17-20 DuBBED the Sunday papers of festivals, the idyllic woodland glade setting of Henham Park is as middle class l as it gets. t the th hills hill are dotted d tt d with sheep dyed pink and blue, and there’s a line-up of cabaret, comedy and poetry.
the food is organic and families are spoilt for choice with everything from yoga to stargazing.
Posh camping: Port Eliot. Below left: Take a dip at Wilderness
WHO GOES GOES: Ald Aldeburgh b h arty t t types and hipster Londoners.
DETAILS: Weekend tickets from £195 ( latitudefestival.com).
NORTH-EAST
THE DEER SHED, NORTH YORKSHIRE, JULY 25-27 families take centre stage at Baldersby Park for this unusual music, arts and science festival.
There’s a science show with chemical rockets, balloons and dry ice, plus the organisers trawl the Edinburgh Festival to provide a PG comedy tent.
No compromise on music, with headliners Stornoway, British Sea Power and Johnny Marr. WHO GOES: Brian Cox fans and Yorkshire’s great and good.
DETAILS: Weekend tickets from £109
( deershedfestival.com).
MIDLANDS
WILDERNESS, OXFORDSHIRE, AUGUST 7-10 AlWAYS a hit with the beautiful people, this award-winning festival combines the picturesque location of Cornbury Park with a wild, creative spirit — torchlit processions lead the way to late-night parties and a midnight lakeside spa.
There is music from Seventies icon Burt Bacharach and banquets by Angela Hartnett, Moro and St John.
An epicurean feast for the soul. The boutique camping field has luxury tents with duvets, a welly box, baby wipes and handmade velvet eye masks. WHO GOES: Boho beauties. DETAILS: Weekend tickets £ £ 151 151 ( wildernessfestival.com) THE BIG FEASTIVAL, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, AUGUST 29-31 THE clue’s in the name: foodie heaven from Jamie Oliver and Blur’s Alex James, bringing the best chefs, pop-up restaurants, street food and artisan producers. Music is taken care of by Fatboy Slim and Jamie Cullum (pictured).
A clean- cut, wholesome affair with a vintage funfair and a luxury village with 24-hour concierge service.
WHO GOES: Foodies, families and Jeremy Clarkson. DETAILS: Weekend tickets from £115 ( jamieoliver.com/thebigfeastival).
NORTH-WEST
KENDAL CALLING, CUMBRIA, AUGUST 1-3 FOOD and booze are stars of the show in the lake District’s lowther Deer Par. There’s a real ale festival with eight bars and every delicacy from vegan curry to well-hung steaks.
Diverse headliners to suit all ages, a jazz brass band and late-night cinema with popcorn and ice cream. Head to nearby Deer lodge campsite ( fromthefields.co. uk/deerlodge) for luxury camping. WHO GOES: Post-uni parties and families. DETAILS: Weekend tickets from £119 ( kendalcalling.co.uk).
WALES
FESTIVAL NO 6, PORTMEIRION, SEPTEMBER 5-7 NOW in its third year, this award-winning festival uses its fairytale location at the fantasy Italian village as a backdrop for cutting-edge music, art and theatre.
Surreal street theatre and impromptu interactive happenings fuel the impression of a magical lost world. WHO GOES: Earnest urbanites. DETAILS: Weekend tickets from £160 ( festivalnumber6.com).
SCOTLAND
LOOPALLU, HIGHLANDS, SEPTEMBER 26-27 A TREAT in the pretty fishing village of Ullapool on the shores of loch Broom. Fun and friendly with heavyweight artists and cult bands. You can camp nearby ( broomfieldhp.com), but spaces are limited. WHO GOES: Modern Highland warriors. DETAILS: Weekend tickets from £80 ( loopallu.co.uk).