Culture Whisper's Definitive Guide: The Best Festivals in the UK
Planning your perfect summer? Stand aside Glastonbury: we've selected the chicest, boutiquest & best music festivals the UK has to offer
Our rolling hills, seaside idylls and city parks play host to some of the best festivals in the world. Music, art, literature, gastronomy: the days when attending music festival meant drinking through a hangover and picking mud from your hair-do are long gone.
Read on and discover the most beautiful arts festivals in Britain with the Culture Whisper Summer Festival Guide 2016. Whether you're looking for London's finest headliners or a weekend in the great outdoors, we've got something for you.
If you want more than just music…
Latitude Festival 2016
14-17 July
A lakeside Suffolk wonderland, perfect for families. In this lantern-strewn pine forest, theatre, art comedy, poetry, literature, politics, dance and really, really good food come together.
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If you're looking for the perfect line-up...
End of the Road Festival 2016
2 - 4 September
For our money, Joanna Newsom, Animal Collective, and Bat For Lashes are this year's superlative headline trio. Mark the closing moments of summer in style, and head to Dorset for an expertly curated line-up.
If you're a fan of world music...
WOMAD Festival 2016
28-31 July
WOMAD brings together the best music from around the world, and has one of our favourite festival atmospheres. A genuine slice of mid-summer utopianism.
If you're looking for a country weekend with a difference...
Wilderness Festival 2016
4-7 August
Despite a deliciously scandalous creation myth, Wilderness is among the loveliest of festivals. Along with its neighbour Cornbury Festival, it brings music and merrymaking to Oxfordshire's summer evenings.
If you fancy a trip to the coast...
No. 6 Festival, Portmeirion 2016
1-4 Sep
No. 6 takes place in the impossibly picturesque environs of mountain North Wales. It's a magical place with a line-up to match.
If you're looking for something a little closer to home...
Citadel Festival
17 July
If you're pressed for time this summer, Citadel is the festival for you. A one day affair, conveniently located in Victoria Park, it boasts one of the year's most impressive headline acts; Icelandic superstars Sigur Rós are coming to town.
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For your inner child...
Secret Garden Party
21-24 July
Secret Garden Party is about so much more than the music: from huge art installations to lake-swimming and costumes that sing of childhood nostalgia, the boutique festival on a gorgeous Georgian townhouse in Cambridgeshire is all about throwback fun.
If you're a music aficionado...
11-12 June
Field Day also graces London's Victoria Park, with a tendency to draw in Hackney's young and hip. It's easy to see why. The line-ups are always superb, James Blake and PJ Harvey were this year's headliners, and plenty of rising stars and cult favourites bulk out the bill.
If you want to play dress-up...
8-11 September
Could it be The Best of All? Colourful escapism takes over at the annual Isle-of-Wight festival that brings summer to a cheerful close. And this year’s Bestival has one hell of a line-up...
