Forget the mud and dodgy loos – summer festivals have grown up

Air-stream caravans, spa treatments - and excellent cocktails. Natalie Paris picks out the top 15 festivals to book now

Music festivals are no longer a mildly terrifying zone of disturbing hygiene and flat beer. The industry has grown up and, if you haven’t considered one in a while, it is time to ditch your preconceptions. Many of this summer’s events offer thrillingly broad, stimulating programmes and have moved on from being Duke of Edinburgh-style survival challenges.

Festival loos have been upgraded, too, with VIP options in “pampering salons” and even private, lockable cubicles on offer. As the variety of wine bars and stands selling high-end spirits and cocktails has increased, queues for drinks have gone down. You can even swap your tent for the comfort of an Airstream vintage caravan, a yurt with a log burner, or cool canvas bell tent in the walled garden of a country house.

These more sophisticated festivals attract a discerning crowd, who still love music but also enjoy thought-provoking activities and new kinds of cultural and social interaction. The most exciting of these are loosely being called “ideas festivals”. The premise is that the mind is a muscle and you don’t always need a yoga mat for a good old stretch.

Ciro Romano has devised a new festival, Kite, that combines specialist talks, from the satirist Armando Iannucci for example, with culturally relevant music from acts such as Grace Jones and Self Esteem. He believes literature, political and philosophical festivals are what people want these days. “Because of the internet and social media, as a society, we are more versed in current affairs and the world around us,” he said.

Today’s more enriching festivals recognise that what we do with our hands is important too. Many have embraced adult crafting, such as spoon carving, along with practical workshops like indigo dyeing, and are treating them like a form of wellness. The variety of experiences on offer is mind-blowing. “You could find yourself dancing next to a theoretical physicist at a rum shack, learning to build a raft with a Royal Marine or understanding why bad girls are good through Ancient Greek and Roman mythology,” said Helen Bagnall, an organiser at Also Festival, which explores big ideas. The more mature festival-goer’s appetite for quality food and drink is undiminished. Expect banquets by Michelin-star chefs, such as Atul Kochhar and Tom Kerridge, and al-fresco feasts from Thomasina Miers and many more this summer.

So if you’re bothered by images of mud rivers, consider the little luxuries and large range of cultural experiences at 15 grown-up music festivals guaranteed to enhance your life this summer. (Prices include stated accommodation and two entrance tickets, see websites for further details about bedding and VIP add-ons.)

BEST NEW FESTIVAL

Blending a passion for today’s big ideas with a love of music, Kite is a workout for both mind and body in the grounds of a Palladian mansion. There are two music stages – the second curated by Heavenly Recordings – a town hall for debates and live podcast discussions. Speakers include Sathnam Sanghera, the author of Empireland, and Tina Brown talking about the Royal family.

Comfort factor: VIP tickets grant access to Kirtlington house and gardens, where there will be space to relax beside lavender beds or fire pits, and the chance to join exclusive dinners with one of the speakers.

June 10-12, premium camping and VIP garden for two from £538; kitefestival.co.uk

BEST OPERA ‘DISRUPTER’ IF OPERA, Wiltshire

In the rarefied settings of Grade I-listed Belcombe Court, a country house south of Bath, the company that was previously Iford Arts is attempting to make opera more accessible. Along with broadening its audience, the festival is committed to giving its ensemble stability with a variety of roles across the season. Highlights include a picnic prom and Puccini’s La rondine. The festival ends with a performance of Purcell’s

Dido and Aeneas at a church in Bradford on Avon.

Comfort factor: Expect a pop-up wine bar. Boutique hotels are available in Bradford on Avon or five-star luxury is a taxi-ride away in Bath.

Aug 19-Sept 17, tickets not yet on sale; ifopera.com this festival that puts speakers centre stage but also offers a varied bill of music, comedy, wellness, outdoor pursuits and workshops. Talks include one on consciousness, from neuroscientist Anil Seth, and writer and classicist Natalie Haynes on Medusa. Food options include festival picnic hampers to enjoy beside the lake, wine tasting sessions, Tibetan cookery workshops and a CBD coffee truck.

Comfort factor: Bell tents are pitched in long grass and – best of all – you can request keys to your own private loo. July 8-10, 4m bell tent for two from £680; also-festival.com

BEST FOR THE ARTS LATITUDE Henham Park, Suffolk

Expect banquets from Michelinstar chefs such as Tom Kerridge

Kirtlington Park, Oxfordshire

A large and varied programme of spoken word, dance and theatre, is what gives this festival its thoughtful, intellectual edge. The comedy arena is often packed out and this year welcomes Russell Howard and Tim Key, who performs his sellout show Mulberry. The Ballroom hosts dance classes, while the Listening Post is where to find readings and debates. The Waterfront stage, meanwhile, often sets classical music above the lake. Cookery demos and literature talks are popular, with Dame Sheila Hancock, the actress, discussing her candid new book this summer and Anchal Seda talking about taboos in South Asian culture.

Comfort factor: For a proper sit-down meal, The Hothouse is a highly-sociable, foliage-filled restaurant shaped like a giant polytunnel.

July 21-24, Pink Moon classic bell tent for two from £1,250; latitudefestival.com