At the end of June about 200,000 festivalgoers will traipse down to Worthy Farm in Somerset to see Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA perform at Glastonbury — a far cry from the first version of the event in 1970, attended by about 1,500 people. For those who want a more intimate experience there’s still a smattering of small festivals hiding out in the hills.
1. Black Isle Calling, near Inverness, Highland
Black Isle Brewery — more rustic shed-chic than huge industrial units — is part of a 130-acre organic farm in the Highlands where David Gladwin, the owner, grows barley for the beer and farms Hebridean sheep and cattle. The resulting brews and produce supply his hip pizza and craft beer bars in Inverness and Fort William, and in late summer he’s launching a mini music festival, Black Isle Calling. The family-friendly event, on the Black Isle — a peninsula rather than an island, just over the bridge from Inverness — will feature an eclectic mix of live music and DJ sets, including award-winning local indie-folk band the Elephant Sessions. One thing the 1,000 or so campers can count on is that the beer’s not going to run dry.
Details Weekend tickets from £101, camping £34; September 13-14 (blackislebrewery.com)
2. Fire in the Mountain Festival, near Aberystwyth, Ceredigion
Not to be confused with the scam-ridden Fyre Festival, this not-for-profit event on an ancient farm between the Cambrian mountains and Cardigan Bay is rooted in a love of folk and bluegrass — the festival’s name is taken from an old Appalachian fiddle tune. The idea for the festival came in 2009, the brainwave of a group of friends who had pitched up to help Marianne, the farm’s owner, who was struggling to maintain the land. It has evolved over the years into a kaleidoscope of creativity, with fast-fiddle Appalachian folk at its core, alongside homegrown Welsh musicians such as Julie Murphy and Ceri Rhys Matthews, founders of the folk group Fernhill. For children there are hills, woods and streams to yomp through, as well as organised activities in the marquees opposite the Travelling Barn stage. A tiered system of ticket prices for the 2,500 attending is aimed at allowing those on lower incomes to join; if you earn more, the organisers ask you to pay more. Add in holistic healing, torchlight processions and crafting workshops and you have yourself a happy, hippy party.
Details Weekend tickets from £195, including camping; May 30 to June 3 (fireinthemountain.co.uk)
3. Nozstock: The Hidden Valley, near Bromyard, Herefordshire
Each summer at Rowden Paddocks Farm in Herefordshire’s rolling hills farmer Pete “Noz” Nosworthy and his cattle make way for festivalgoers — although this year is sadly its swansong. What began as a family party in 1998 has grown into an eccentric, annual four-day music and arts festival on the Nosworthys’ farm, where 5,000 people come to party. It has 11 stages featuring theatre, art, music and comedy. The Bards Boardwalk in the Dingley Dell hosts pop-up poetry, there are creative clay workshops, willow-weaving, interactive storytelling and blacksmith demos, while entertainers wander through the crowds. Headline acts this year include Groove Armada and the hip-hop supergroup Arrested Development, while at the Bandstand there’s indie-pop and folk-rock; the Bullpen has bass-heavy beats and you’ll find reggae at the Elephant’s Grave down by the lake.
Details Weekend tickets from £192, including camping; July 18-21 (nozstock.com)
4. Barefoot Festival, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire
The Barefoot Festival has a new location this year, having moved after 18 years from its home in the grounds of Prestwold Hall to the Ludlam family’s Cattows Farm near the village of Heather in the heart of the National Forest. The Ludlams, who have been farming in this area since 1899, share a love of the land and sustainable ethos with the founders of this intimate grassroots festival. Barefoot pegs itself as an escape from the pressures of modern life — somewhere you can feel the grass between your toes. The chilled-out family fiesta attracts about 1,500 visitors and mixes bands including Blackbeard’s Tea Party and Shanty Folk in the big top with cabaret, burlesque and circus acts, arts and crafts workshops, forest school and bushcraft sessions; wild wellness with gong therapy, sunrise yoga and belly dancing. You can try capoeira, listen to shamanic drumming and, after dark, explore a fire labyrinth — a meditative spiritual journey to the centre of a flame-lit circle beneath the stars.
Details Weekend tickets from £130, including camping; July 26-28 (barefootfestival.com)
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5. Purbeck Valley Folk Festival, near Swanage, Dorset
This compact festival on the spectacular Jurassic Coast is a mix of folk, roots and world music gigs on a working cattle farm with views across the fields to Corfe Castle. The five stages are scattered in barns around Purbeck Valley Farm, and this year’s line-up includes the Irish folk band Kila, sea-shanty sensations the Longest Johns and the “Hendrix of the Kora” Seckou Keita, who will play to a crowd of up to 5,000. Along with established acts, Purbeck Rising showcases new talent: there’s a busking stage if you fancy a jam, or spoken word at the Purbeck Poetry Slam. Hula-hooping, welly-wanging, juggling, low-level trapeze, unicycling and stilt-walking, puppet shows, space hoppers and a storytelling tent keep kids entertained, while keen crafters can try their hand at hammering hot metal, pottery and willow-weaving.
Details Weekend ticket from £155, including camping; August 15-18 (purbeckvalleyfolkfestival.co.uk)
6. Beacon Festival, Watlington, Oxfordshire
A herd of horses run free at Watlington Hill Farm Sanctuary in the Chilterns, home to the animal charity Neigh (the “herd” also includes donkeys, mules, cattle, sheep and goats). Each summer the farm hosts a low-key, family-friendly and not-for-profit micro music festival to celebrate the solstice, and close to 1,500 guests gather for the eclectic line-up of live music, vegan food, local beer and cider and a Feel Good Area with sessions ranging from reflexology to reiki. You can also have a facial in the Pamper Camper Van. Headliners this year include the Welsh folk-rock band Rusty Shackle and the Green Day tribute band Green Haze, supported by Ska Souls UK, the Smokin’ Pilchards and the Brazilian percussion and dance group Sol Samba.
Details Weekend tickets from £60, camping £15; June 21-22 (beaconfestival.net)
7. Chickenstock Festival, near Sittingbourne, Kent
Dubbed Kent’s “big little festival”, Chickenstock began in Moya and Beth Taylor’s back garden in 2018 — it was a bit of a squeeze. It was such a hit that the next year a neighbouring farmer offered them one of his fields, and they expanded to fill it with 1,500 people. The couple have worked in the entertainment industry, on and off stage, so had a reasonably good idea of how to put on a show. The family-friendly four-day event has kids’ activities in the Hen House with African drumming and storytelling, circus skills and magic shows. The musical line-up this year includes high-energy, Brighton-grown Town of Cats, who describe themselves as “an ever mutating municipality of musical misfits”, and the brilliantly bonkers world-folk festival favourites 3 Daft Monkeys.
Details Weekend tickets from £120, camping £25; August 1-4 (chickenstockfestival.co.uk)
What’s your favourite small festival? Let us know in the comments below
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