Advertised (on their website) as Europe's biggest tribute and new acts festival, this is the best…read morefestival I have ever been too. Don't be put off by the tribute side of it, I know you can get some pretty bad tributes but at Glastonbudget they make an effort to get the best. I have to admit that I enjoyed watching the Dead hot chillis more than I enjoyed the real act (at Earls court) - they have so much energy, and you actually have a chance to get to the front of the audience. The new acts are also great, they get some great new acts and it is fab to have a chance to see so many! Value for money is fantastic - ticket prices at the moment are just less than £50 for the whole weekend including camping. Another thing the festival prides itself on is keeping food and drink prices reasonable, so prices are similar to those in a pub. They serve a selection of real ales and ciders which were very popular with the lads in our group. The only complaint I have is about the weather - it rained badly on the Sunday 2 years ago!! They did improve things a lot last year by adding two music tents, one in the camp field and one in the main arena, the rain wasn't too bad but at least they were prepared if it had been. This event is getting bigger year after year, I would highly recommend it (and have been to all my friends!!)

WOW!!!! Just got back from our first visit to the Secret Garden Party. Better than Glasto probably…read morebecause the emphasis is on art AND music so there is lots to do. This time loads of good music plus circus skills, sock wrestling, hula hooping, explorers camp, dance, camera obscura, samba lessons, yoga, ferris wheel etc etc etc. Lots of eccentric costumes, very kid friendly. Fantastic atmosphere - very friendly and good natured. No flights, no trouble. Even the toilets were reasonable - much better than other festivals :-) In 2005, The Secret Garden Party won the Best Small Festival prize at the UK Festival Awards. It won the Best Small Festival prize for the second time in 2008. In 2007, it was named 'best British music festival' by Radio 1. We're booking for next year without a doubt :-)

Usually the first weekend in Dec. Thurs eve to Sun eve…read more Running for over 20 years I first had a stall here in year 2 up until a couple of years ago when costs became so high it became unprofitable. As a stall holder it became a victim of it's own success. From about 14 stalls to maybe to 3/400? It now issues a survival guide to visitors?? visitors - 160,000 - 180,000 opver the 3 1/2 days but I remember once over 450,000 when a ferry came from Holland plus all the British and German coaches. The Lincoln Christmas Market takes its inspiration from its German twin-town of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. The biggest in Europe apparently. Lots of TV coverage. The stalls run from The Cathedral through Castle Sq. inside the castle, and around the streets with a one way system because of the crowd intensity. The lawn and The Assembly Rooms have craft areas and there is a food court. Gluewein is in everyone hand. It has a huge fair and has had ice rinks and circuses some years. International choirs and bell ringers etc and on Sunday night the Cathedral choir come out and sing carols round the Christmas tree. Friday and Sat can be uncomfortable..shuffling along and unable to get to stalls. Thurs evenings are locals and easier and Sunday day (not open late Sun) is easier. Evening is the best time for magic though. Floodlit Castle and Cathedral, people carrying lanterns, a lit up fair..lots of yummy food and GLUWEIN (do I keep mentioning the gluwein?) Stall have everything from German food and gifts to crafts and things to buy for Christmas presents..rare to see ordinary stuff of markets. Try it!

A short and sweet review. Amazing…read more It has not gone down the tacky road of a market selling tat and is a quality day out just looking around and getting involved. Try and get public transport though.

This is a two day festival in the beautiful location of tittlesworth water. with live music and…read morecrafts this festival is perfect for young children. When the sun sets in a haze over the water it really is somthing else! Its a shame the was no bar but i expect it was becuase it was so close to the water and they couldnt or decided not to get a licence, this maybe added with the family/relaxed atmosphere. This for some made it unique. Alcohol was still alouded on site and music hit on till late. music included hippy scar and a lively big haired punk set. a very little acoustic tent hit out niche tunes behind the hill in the day. A plesant day

went to the 2013 download, it was on my bucket list it was the best camping concert venue i've ever…read morebeen to. the international mixture of people was incedible. met some irish folk that i ended up hanging with for the duration of the awesome show. its 5 days of camping and 3 days of concert. the brits are a wacky lot and it was like a drunken holloween party that just kept going and going , the energizer bunny would have been killed and cooked at this party ! there is a tent city that has everything you could need. beer tent, food tent, comedy club a couple of night clubs (with live music !) camping supply tent, thrift stores and wacky cosume stores. i met alot of really great people that i would like to see again . i couldn't make it to 2014 but i wouldn't miss 2015 for the world. security was a litle stand offish and dickish but they usually are at american venues and the english security didn't disappoint us. They have carnival rides also, just right for a drunken late night fun.

Had a great time. Most rides were fairly priced. Music was overly loud, probably too loud in some…read moreareas. Also wouldn't bother riding the Starflyer (big swing ride) in the middle. Overpriced for ride time. Last year 5 mins this year only 1.5 mins. Not worth it for £7.50...

I went to this one time and I've gotta say I wasn't that impressed. It was ok, the rides were…read morepretty average though, some of them looked like death traps really. Also there was a very large chav population, I wouldn't really recommend going at night unless there's a big group of you, and keep an eye on your wallet at all times. Saying this it does seem to be crowded, parking there is a bit of a nightmare so unless you know a little side street with some parking expect to have to park a long way away. Traditional travelling fair really, carnies trying to grab your money, overpriced rides, lots of candyfloss, a different day out for once but I guess I'm not really a fan of fairs in general, if you are give it a go!

I only found out about this because of Facebook,and i'm glad that I did!…read more Apart from the fact that Holmfirth is a really lovely little place,the event itself was really bloody good! Set over 5 zones dotted around the centre the Festival really was a food and drink lovers dream.All of the stall holders were friendly and passionate about their wares and they were all quick off the mark where samples were concerned. We bought a gorgeous chicken dumpling from the Jamaican stall,a beautiful buffalo burger,a stunnungly good veg indian platter and a couple of wicked seek kebabs (All of those eaten at the Festival) To take home we bought,4 pies,some soup,some bread,some cheese,a mars bar crunch and 3 litres of small batch cider. A good Festival and day? You bet it was!!

Just got back from here. This was the first Sonic World…read moreFestival held from Friday 18th until Sunday 20th July at Lumb Farm near Ripley in Derbyshire. The line-up for this year included some of the Rock and Psychedelic acts Alan Davey's Gunslinger, Harvey Bainbridge, Dumpys Space Nutz, Tubilah Dog, Omnia Opera, Drhasbeen, Earthling Society, Bruise, Xoo, Wind Of Change, The Higher Craft, Hashtronaut, Dreamspirit, Kog, Partmanpartbeard, and The Kozmic Ken Experience. All the musical performances were indoor so weather proof. Tickets were priced at £30 or there were family tickets (2 adults 2 kids under 15) £50. The ticket price included free camping, with on site toilet facilites, Bar, & restaurant. They intend this to be an annual event but not sure if the venue will be the same. A star lost for pricey drinks and no real veggie food option other than chips but there was no outside catering just the venues. It was limited to 400 tickets and so a very friendly festival. The highlight was the incredible Omnia Opera performance..excellent and so much energy. I did get amazingly drunk on the Friday..got hiccups and was rugby tackled off my chair by Plum (one of Omnia Operas vocalists) to shock me..it worked for 2 mins. Spent the rest of the weekend recovering but had a great time. One to go to next year.

As soon as the sun starts popping out again after the winter, it's time to think about what music…read morefestivals you'll be going to this year. If you'd like to keep things fairly local, then I can recommend Whatfest as a newly emerging music festival in Cheshire. For such a new festival they bagged a surprisingly high profile line-up last year with the likes of The Bluetones and Dodgy performing. Unfortunately, it was hit pretty hard by the weather, with torrential rain turning the site into a quagmire and affecting walk up attendances on the second day of the festival especially. Those that did make it through the mud were treated to two great stages of music, DJs, food and fairground rides on a glorious site. However, this shouldn't detract from how well this festival was run, the strength of the line up and quality of the sound on the main stage. A new festival that is only going to get better and better in future years. Go check it out in 2010.

Standing in a field for three and a half days is pretty boring,however throw in around 100 Metal…read morebands and field standing turns into the best thing you can do in the middle of August in Derbyshire. This was my 4th Bloodstock in a row,and it keeps getting better and better. One of the main draws for me is it's size,it's not stupidly big like the Downloads and Glastos of this world,this years attendance was 11000,and whilst this means they will never be able to afford the Iron Maidens and Metallica's they still sign up some decent headliners,Alice Cooper and Machine Head being 2 of the 3 headliners this year. Expect to pay the usual festival prices for things,or take your own food and booze and pop back to your tent in between bands,the size of the fest means that you are never more than 5 mins away from where you pitched. There are plenty of diverse food stalls and a decent amount of merch to buy,there are four stages,all within staggering distance of each other,and most importantly Me! If you are already a MetalHead then you may have already been to Bloodstock (Gold star for you) but if you are yet to attend a Metal fest then may I suggest you give Bloodstock a try next year? £125 for 100+ bands is money well spent,and the mighty Anthrax have already been announced for 2013! Bang your f*****g head \M/

Had a really good time at this rock/metal festival. My friend had raved about it for years so I…read morethought I'd give it a go-for one day anyway! I only knew a few of the bands but the good weather and company made up for it. I would call it a micro-Download. In comparison the site is tiny, but this makes it feel more safe and friendly and obviously much easier to get around. £70 was a lot to pay for a day ticket, plus there's £20 in parking which I think is cheeky! Also they don't take cards like at download which was annoying. I would go back if lots of bands I knew were playing/had plenty of money/guarantee of good weather! I know my friend will go back regardless!;)