Despite the fact that we can’t move for festivals over her in the UK (there are quite literally hundreds, you guys) we’re always racing to get tickets to a select few mainstream ones. Glastonbury, of course, is the big’un, and trying to get a ticket to Worthy Farm is an event in itself. And then you’ve got your other super popular, must-book-months-in-advance ones like Reading and Lovebox.
But what happens when it gets to June, you don’t have any tickets to anything yet but really do want to experience something a little less Top 10 in the charts and a little more, well, festival-y?
Lucky for you, we’ve had a gander and found some of the best alternative festivals you can still go to this summer. Here’s where to set your sights if you want more than £10 burgers and crowds bobbing along to the same musical lineup from your experience.
1. Camp Wildfire
If you’re one of those people who can’t quite conceive standing around and getting pissed an ‘activity’, you’ll love Wildfire Festival. It won Best Small Festival in the UK Festival Awards last year and is pretty much half adventure camp, half music. We’re talking everything from nipple tassel making to power tools workshops with three nights of partying to go along with it. And the best part? It’s adults only. Dream scenario.
16, 17, 18 June
2. Wilderness Festival
Be prepared to be overwhelmed with options because Wilderness has so, SO, much on offer for what’s essentially a long weekend of camping in Oxfordshire. If you’re not there for the line-up (Grace Jones and Bonobo will be amazing), or the Jose Cuervo Tequila Town (because tequila is everyone’s friend), then you can go along to a talk in the forum, visit the books tent for some down time, try one of four types of yoga on offer or go for a swim. No big deal.
3-6 August
3. Ocean Fest
Beach bums and water babies rejoice. If you thought England didn’t have a coast side festival, you’d be wrong my friend. Ocean Fest does of course offer three days of music fun (the Kaiser Chiefs are headlining if you fancy a throwback to the early 00s) but it’s big thing is sport. There’s surfing, beach volleyball, football, and swimming out in the open water. It all gets very competitive.
16-18 June
4. Aespia
Bar probably not being about to pronounce the name, Aespia festival is all about the mystery. It’s a 24-hour festival at a top secret location. And when I say top secret I mean you’ll be taken onto a shuttle bus with blacked out windows and driven into the woods. Also, no phones are allowed, so no chance of checking your locations on maps or sending pictures of your very, very unique experience to the outside world. It’s all about immersing yourself in something new and creating a piece of live, accumulative art. It sounds pretty overwhelming, but overwhelming can be good, right?
19-20 August
5. Port Eliot
The Port Eliot Estate is where the magic happens. It’s one of the most surreally British and beautiful settings where you can go to learn about food, lol at some comedy, take in some artwork, play fancy dress, yes, listen to music and a million more fun and wholesome things. It’s very family orientated though, so don’t be surprised to find as many little ones running around as grown-ups.
27-30 July
6. Blissfields
The theme is ‘The Bizarre’ and there’s little more to take from that than the quote ‘The distance between your dreams and reality is called action’ written on the Blissfield’s website. And in case you need further assurance that it’s nothing like your standard mainstream festival, The Cinematic Orchestra is heading which will be bloody amazing. You also wouldn’t want to miss the late-night discos on the beach. Every festival should have a beach disco.
*6, 7 and 8 July *
7. Shambala Festival
Shambala boasts a casual 35 venues across the site and I’m just going to put it out there – there is no scenario I can see that you’d ever manage to get around all of the activities over the three-day period. Not a chance in hell. You’ll probably want to though. There’s spoken word, Puppets and Pizza, poetry readings, a wood-fired sauna, dance workshops and a cinema tent. A CINEMA TENT!
24-27 August
Like this? You might also be interested in…
Unpicking The Highs And Lows Of The Glastonbury 2017 Line Up
Let’s Be Honest: If You’re In Your Twenties, Festivals Aren’t About Music Anymore
At Music Festivals This Summer They Will Be Testing Drugs To See What’s Really In Them
Follow Jazmin on Instagram @JazKopotsha
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.