The Outsider Festival
Rothiemurchus
22-24 June

If you want to make your festival experience a much healthier one, this is the one for you. Out with the booze and dodgy substances, in with the mountain bike racing, kayaking, climbing walls and nature walks. Even the food is doing its bit - it’s all organic, free-range and fair trade.

Held in the Cairngorm National Park, music comes from the likes of Crowded House, KT Tunstall, King Creosote, Idlewild and The Guillemots. Children are catered for with free films in the mornings, special early evening comedy shows and regular workshops.
Tickets cost £65 for the weekend (camping an extra £10); Day tickets cost £35 per day. Children under 12 are free (with a maximum of three kids per adult)
Web: www.outsiderfestival.co.uk

Cornbury Festival
Charlbury, Oxfordshire
7-8 July

Billed as an eclectic and eccentric music carnival, Cornbury believes in home comforts - there are beach huts and converted double decker buses to sleep in and VIPs get their own swimming pool, tennis courts and champagne bar.

Gourmet Mexican food and organic vegetarian cuisine are among the foods available, and along with the music, entertainment is offered with children’s workshops, street entertainers, a fairground, drumming workshops, and you can even book a flight in a hot-air balloon (weather permitting). It promises clean loos, but that remains to be seen! Headliners include David Gray, Blondie, Susanne Vega and The Proclaimers.
Tickets cost £80 for the weekend (camping an extra £10), under 16s £50, under 10s £10 and under fives are free. Day tickets are also available costing £45 for adults, £28 for under 16s and £5 for under 10s.
Web: www.cornburyfestival.com
Larmer Tree Festival
The Larmer Tree Gardens, between Salisbury and Blandford, Dorset
11-15 July

One of the original boutique festivals, Larmer Tree still manages to maintain its family-friendly reputation. With 11 acres of gardens to explore and a huge adventure playground, kids are unlikely to get bored. But if they feel they’re missing out on the fun, there are carnival workshops, craft making, circus skills and storytelling for the under 10s, as well as a specially designated area, The Zone, for 11-17 year-olds, where they can indulge their song-writing passions, or learn new skills, such as woodland survival or tee-shirt design.

Adults can also embrace their creative side with workshops and a Carnival procession, open to all on the Saturday night. Jools Holland and special guests Lulu and Ruby Turner headline on the Thursday night, with Ozomatli, Los des Abajo and Billy Bragg, performing among others.
Tickets cost £167 for five days (including camping), 11-17 year-olds £140, under-11s £110. Day tickets are also available.
Web: www.larmertreefestival.com

Secret Garden Party
Near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
26-29 July

The Secret Garden Party boasts ten stages of music, theatre, comedy and public eccentricity. With a theme of A Brave New World, partygoers are invited to express their vision of this new world, by dressing up, body painting or creating sculptures. Acts include Alabama 3, Echo and the Bunnymen, Indigo Moss, Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegar among others.
Tickets cost £110 plus booking fee (including camping), 12-16 year olds £50 and under-12s free (when accompanied by an adult).
Web: www.secretgardenparty.com

Green Man Festival
Glanusk Park, Brecon Beacons
17-19 August

Another small, non-corporate event where pretty much anything goes. There’s a children’s area in the Walled Garden, where there’ll be puppet shows, drum and voice workshops, arts and crafts and comic making sessions. Music is provided by Robert Plant, Devendra Banhart, The Aliens and others. Massage and alternative therapies can be found in the retreat field, and there are areas specially designated for breastfeeding mothers. Tickets cost £98 (including camping), under 12s are free.
Web: www.thegreenmanfestival.co.uk

Bestival
Isle of Wight
7-9 September

Complete with its own village green, Bestival promises a mix of music and mayhem. A grand procession on the Saturday night encourages everyone to dress up and strut their stuff. For children, the festival is set in Robin Hill Countryside Adventure Park which has a children’s Tree Top Trail, maze, Rabbit Run Tunnels and miniature village. On the site itself there’s a Kid’s tent and Breastival section for breastfeeding mums and their little ones. There’s also a family camping area. Headlining the music acts are The Chemical Brothers, Gossip, Beastie Boys, Billy Bragg and Gregory Isaacs. Tickets cost £115 (including camping), 13-15 years old £57.50, 12 and unders are free.
Web: www.bestival.net

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