Larmer Tree Festival (14-18 July)

Hugh Wilson

If you fancy a festival with 14 stages, four mung bean burger stands and a Big Bank sponsored corporate VIP alcopops enclosure, Larmer Tree is probably not for you.

This is a friendly little festival which makes much of its cosy 4000 capacity and pretty-as-a-picture location on the Wiltshire/Dorset Border. It wins awards for “having stuff to do for kids” (or somesuch), and mixes music with theatre, comedy, workshops, crafts and “fringe entertainment”.

The music, too, is a glorious hotchpotch of styles, with folk (confirmed acts include Chris Wood, The Bad Shepherds and folkingcool’s beloved Jonny Kearney and Lucy Farrel), Americana and world music high in the mix. You might have to suffer a bit of jazz in-between, but you can’t have everything. If it’s really getting too much, you could just go for a stroll in the verdant Victorian gardens.

Larmer Tree is described as a “boutique” festival, but don’t let that put you off. The festival is free of corporate sponsorship and, despite 20 years on the go, retains a pleasantly unprofessional vibe. If you want lots to do but not lots and lots of people trying to do it at the same time, think Larmer.

www.larmertreefestival.co.uk