Festival Recommendations In The United Kingdom

There is no experience quite like spending three days at a music festival in the British countryside. The circuit of celebrations that run throughout the summer are an intrinsic part of the country’s culture. I spend most of my weekends during the warm season at one festival or another. Here are my top tips for which events you should ensure you get tickets to:

1. Secret Garden Party. Although it’s not really a secret anymore due to the fact that these days 25,000 people head for Cambridgeshire to enjoy a few days of unadulterated hedonism on the grounds of a Huntingdon mansion. There is a lake in the middle of the festival site and it’s great fun to go punting at dawn after a night on the dance floor. One key tip for ensuring you have a great weekend there is to book yourself into one of the local Corby hotels because the party continues twenty-four-seven over the entirety of the event and it can consequently prove very tricky to get any sleep if you elect to camp.

2. Another relatively unknown gem is the Braintree Ale Festival in North Essex, which takes place annually on the second weekend of June. All of the proceeds from the event go to the McMillan Trust – the charity dedicated to fighting and finding a cure for cancer – and the event itself is renowned for the astounding variety of ales, beers and ciders on offer as well as the exceptional quality of the local music. The festival takes place in the Braintree Institute over three days but before buying a ticket you should make sure that you can also get a room at one of the few Braintree hotels as they all get booked up around the time of the event and there is no camping.

3. Get tickets to the Big Chill. This event has just been purchased by Festival Republic – the production company that provide the logistics for Glastonbury, Latitude, Reading and Leeds to name but a few – which is probably a good thing overall for the festival as it means that their security will be sorted out yet the previous organisers will still programme all of the music.