Wakestock beats the bad weather

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Matthew Richards, who is camping at Wakestock, describes his experience of the festival

Wet weather failed to dampen the spirits of festival goers at the Wakestock festival.

Despite rain on Saturday turning the ground into a quagmire the festival saw near-capacity 15,000 crowds each night at Penrhos, near Pwllheli, Gwynedd.

Dizzee Rascal and The Zutons were among Sunday's headliners on the last day of the event, which combines wakeboarding with music.

Other headline acts at the 10th Wakestock event included Moby and NERD.

The three-day festival began life as a wakeboard contest but over the years has morphed into a music festival.

Wakeboarding involves riding a short, broad water ski like a surfboard and performing tricks, including spins of up to 180 degrees, as the board is towed by a boat.

A purpose-built rail was put up at Pwllheli marina for wakeboard riders to used to perform tricks.

Spectators were able to follow every move and see every "stack" whilst standing only a few metres away from the action.

Snowdonia mountains

It began as a wakeboard contest with a party in a car park for 800 people but over the years has been hailed as one of Europe's largest wakeboard music festivals.

When it began in 2000, the festival was held in the centre of Abersoch but it has now moved three miles (5km) to Penrhos.

The festival site overlooks Cardigan Bay and the Snowdonia mountains.

Over the years it has attracted a range of top acts.

Last year saw chart-topper Duffy, one of 2008's biggest-selling artists, perform during the festival along with The Streets, Groove Armada and Happy Mondays.

Previous years have seen The Undertones, Wheatus, Feeder, Dirty Pretty Things and Goldie Lookin' Chain.

Jonty Green tackles the newly-arrived wakeboarding obstacle known as the Relentless Leviathan at Wakestock