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A feast of festivals-Britain's summer of music
25 May 2015, 03:36 pm
The country of Britain is all set to provide a host of musical events this summer season. Here is a preview of some of them.
Isle of Wight Festival, south-east England: 11 - 14 June
The Isle of Wight has great musical heritage stretching back to Bob Dylan (1969) and Jimi Hendrix (1970). This year will see Britpop giants Blur hit the stage, as well as Fleetwood Mac, Pharrell Williams and The Prodigy. www.isleofwightfestival.com
Getting there: a train from London Waterloo to Portsmouth or Southampton takes around 90 minutes. From either port there are regular ferries to the Isle of Wight.
T in the Park, Perthshire, Scotland: 10 - 12 July
Scotland's biggest music festival is held this year in the grounds of Strathallan Castle in the picturesque region of Perthshire. There's over three days of fun, music and dancing and this year will see Kasabian, Sam Smith, The Libertines and Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds headlining. www.tinthepark.com
Getting there: The closest train station to T in the Park is Gleneagles, however, the easiest way to get there is by Citylink Coach (www.citylink.co.uk) from Glasgow or Edinburgh.
The Hebridean Celtic Festival, Isle of Lewis, Scotland: 15 - 18 July
Live Celtic music, held in the grounds of Lews Castle overlooking Stornoway harbour on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, ensures that visitors are enthralled by both the wild scenery and vibrant music the Outer Hebrides have to offer. www.hebceltfest.com
Getting there: You can fly to Stornoway from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness; there are also ferries from Ullapool.
Latitude, Suffolk, east England: 16 - 19 July
A family friendly festival in the east of England that has established itself as one of the classic festivals of the summer, with music, comedy and an excellent children's arena. It's also a very green festival, and is based in idyllic Suffolk surroundings, famously containing sheep specially dyed all the colours of the rainbow. www.latitudefestival.co.uk
Getting there: Halesworth is the nearest train station. Trains take around two hours from London Liverpool Street and there are festival buses to take you to the site.
Lovebox, London, England: 17 - 18 July
Lovebox in Victoria Park, London, is always great fun and full of the wackiest characters in their wackiest costumes. Snoop Dogg, Mark Ronson, Rudimental and Hot Chip are all highlights of this year's festival. If you're allergic to camping (it happens) this is one to head to - there are no tents here. http://loveboxfestival.com/
Getting there: Victoria Park is in east London, reached by overground from Hackney Wick or tube from Bethnal Green.
Rebellion, Blackpool, north-west England: 6 - 9 August
Punk lives on at this festival, held in the Lancashire seaside resort of Blackpool. The Boomtown Rats, Buzzcocks, Sham 69 and the Damned are just a few of the 200 bands that will perform over four days. Safety pins and ready-ripped trousers are on sale in the market for those who want to look the part. www.rebellionfestivals.com
Getting there: trains from London take just under three hours, changing at Preston, while it takes one hour by direct train from Manchester.
Wilderness, Oxfordshire, England: 6 - 9 August
A fantastic festival with a difference set in ancient parkland in the Oxfordshire countryside, it's for those who want more than music: you can catch theatre, debates, horse riding, a spa and gourmet food with internationally renowned chefs; Angela Hartnett, Raymond Blanc and Niklas Ekstedt are this year's highlights. www.wildernessfestival.com
Getting there: Seventy miles from London, there's a direct train to the village of Charlbury from Oxford; it takes around 16 minutes.
V Festival, Essex and Staffordshire, England: 22 - 23 August
One of the year's most popular events and always attracting big commercial names to two different sites over one weekend, Hylands Park in Chelmsford, Essex, south-east England and Weston Park in south Staffordshire, in England's Midlands region. This year, Kasabian are the headline act, along with Sam Smith, Calvin Harris, Hozier and Stereophonics. www.vfestival.com
Getting there: Chelmsford is a half-hour train ride from London Liverpool Street, Weston Park is just under two hours by train from London Euston.
Belsonic, Belfast, Northern Ireland: between 15 - 26 August
An outdoor music festival that has taken place in August at the Custom House Square in Belfast, Northern Ireland since 2008. Rudimental, Paloma Faith and Bastille head the line-up this year. www.belsonic.com
Getting there: There are regular flights to Belfast from London and other cities.
Reading & Leeds Festival, England: 28 - 30 August
Britain's premier rock music festival featuring global acts uniquely performing at both locations over three days allowing for 100,000 revellers at Reading and over 80,000 at Leeds to experience global superstars such as Metallica, The Libertines and Mumford & Sons.www.leedsfestival.com, www.readingfestival.com
Getting there: Reading is 25 minutes from London by train and it takes just over two hours to reach Leeds by train.
Victorious Festival, Portsmouth, south England: 29 - 31 August
The Flaming Lips, Basement Jaxx and Tiny Tempah headline the Victorious Festival in the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard on the south coast of England this year. This urban festival will be relaxed, with deckchairs, Astroturf and street entertainers. www.victoriousfestival.co.uk
Getting there: it takes just over 90 minutes to reach Portsmouth by train from London.
End of the Road Festival, Dorset, south England: 4 - 6 September
Beautiful surroundings for a mainly folk, Americana and psych/alternative rock line-up; this year welcomes acts such as Laura Marling, St Etienne and Django Django. The festival takes place at Larmer Tree Gardens, north Dorset. www.endoftheroadfestival.com
Getting there: The nearest train station is the cathedral city of Salisbury; trains from London Waterloo take around 90 minutes.
Bestival, Isle of Wight, south-east England: 10 - 13 September
From the most original boutique campsite experience to the Bollywood Field and Ambient Forest, fancy dress en masse and even a Come Dancing Speigeltent, it's this uniqueness that makes Bestival a world of discovery on the Isle of Wight. Four days of live music and premier league DJs, with the Chemical Brothers, Underworld, Duran Duran and Mark Ronson all lined up for the 2015 festival. One of the most colourful festivals, with dressing-up encouraged and a ‘Summer of Love' theme this year set to make it one of the craziest yet.www.bestival.net
Getting there: a train from London Waterloo to Portsmouth or Southampton takes around 90 minutes. From either port there are regular ferries to the Isle of Wight.
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