The alternatives to big festivals

Hundreds of music festivals will take place in the UK this summer

By Ian Youngs
Music reporter, BBC News

Fancy raving in an underwater disco, helping break a world record for false beard-wearing, or watching ballet and dance on a stage built on a lake?

These are all on offer at Britain's music festivals this summer. The massive festivals are already well enough known, with tickets that have long since been snapped up.

But there are hundreds of smaller festivals ranging from boutique to adventurous to downright eccentric. If you are looking for a different festival experience, then look no further.

BIG LITTLE FESTIVALS (OR VICE VERSA)

Guilfest 10-12 Jul, Guildford, Surrey. Weekend camping ticket:£115.
Headliners: Motorhead, Brian Wilson, Happy Mondays. The most fantastically bizarre combination of headliners at any festival.

Say hello to the psychedelic sheep at Latitude festival

Latitude 16-19 July, Southwold, Suffolk. £150.
Pet Shop Boys, Grace Jones, Nick Cave. The most civilised boutique festival mixes music with culture and arts. The Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, Sadler's Wells, Royal Opera House and Andrew Motion all appear.

Lovebox 18 & 19 July. Hackney, London. £75 (no camping).
Duran Duran, Groove Armada, Doves. Festival run by Groove Armada in an inner London park. Won best medium-sized festival at last year's UK Festival Awards.

Camp Bestival 24-26 July. Lulworth Castle, Dorset. £130.
PJ Harvey, Bon Iver, Mercury Rev. And Cbeebies star Mr Tumble! And Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his River Cottage Cafe. Animal fancy dress theme. Won best new festival at 2008 Festival Awards.

Bestival 11-13 Sept. Isle of Wight. £140.
Lily Allen, Kraftwerk, Elbow, Fleet Foxes. The daddy of the above event and the biggest and hippest "alternative" festival. Lots of weirdness and space fancy dress theme.

BEST KEPT SECRETS

Chagstock started with a tiny stage in a back garden in 2003

Winterwell 19-21 June. Gloucestershire. £85.
Metronomy, Slow Club, Norman Jay. So exclusive you need a password to enter the website. Superhot record label Moshi Moshi has helped put the line-up together. Plus space fancy dress.

Glade 16-19 July. Matterley Bowl, Hampshire. £125.
Underworld, Squarepusher, Nitin Sawhney. Glade started as a dance stage at Glastonbury and has grown into a separate event. Glastonbury guru Michael Eavis has written an open letter telling fans who didn't get a ticket to his event to go to Glade instead.

Chagstock 17-18 July. Chagford, Devon. £45.
Squeeze, Seth Lakeman, John Otway. This was first held for family and friends in the organiser's back garden in 2003. It's now moved and opened to the public, with a folk-leaning line-up.

Expect strange goings on at the Secret Garden Party

Secret Garden Party 23-26 July. Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. £137.
Jarvis Cocker, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Fat Freddy's Drop. Billed as a fantasy world where weird and wonderful things happen, like rolling down hills in tractor tyres and custard pie fights.

2000 Trees 17 & 18 July. Withington, Gloucestershire. £47.
Fightstar, British Sea Power, The King Blues. Started by six music fans disenchanted with big, costly, commercial festivals. There is a strong environmental theme and bands play on stages called The Tree House and The Leaf Lounge.

Standon Calling 31 July-2 August. Standon, Hertfordshire. £89.
Femi Kuti, Ladytron, Tony Christie. Won the innovation prize at last year's UK Festival Awards for its underwater disco. And is another festival to go for a space fancy dress theme this year.

SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Wear your finest facial fur for the Bearded Theory festival

Bearded Theory 15-17 May. Hulland Ward, Derbyshire. £45.
Hawkwind, The Saw Doctors, Neville Staple. First festival of the season. Take part in a world record attempt for the most people in real and false beards in one place.

Glastonbudget 22-24 May. Wymeswold, Leicestershire. £52.50.
The Fillers, Oasish, Antarctic Monkeys, Blurb. Prides itself on being "Europe's biggest and best tribute band festival".

3 Wishes Faery Fest 19-21 June. Bodmin Moor, Cornwall. £85. Lots of bands and fans dressed as faeries. Headlined by debut UK performance from myth-loving Greek group Daemonia Nymphe.

Be away with the faeries at the 3 Wishes Faery Fest

Indietracks 24-26 July. Butterley, Derbyshire. £55.
Camera Obscura, Emmy the Great, BMX Bandits. Gentle, jangly indie pop on one stage in a vintage train shed and another in a church. Fans can also ride on a stream train.

Sunrise: Off Grid 20-23 August. Somerset. £80.
A participatory festival on an organic farm, where you learn to generate your own power, eat from nature, sit in ceremony, design the future and walk on hot coals. It says here.

Rewind 21-23 August. Henley, Oxfordshire. £95.
Rick Astley, Bananarama, Belinda Carlisle, Heaven 17, Gloria Gaynor, ABC, Sister Sledge, Chas n Dave… A festival for '80s pop fans. If you couldn't guess.