The Larmer Tree Festival went off without a hitch this year - apart from the weather of course! Our intrepid reporter Rachel was there for the duration. Here's her diary....

Everything about Larmer Tree Festival is easy. Entry to the site couldn’t be simpler; cheerful well co-ordinated staff check your tickets, answer questions, and smile as they wave you on our way. It’s a confidence inducing experience.

The prevailing calm is testament to an extremely well organised event, and Larmer Tree Festival, now in it’s seventeenth year, has got the whole thing down pat. Experience counts for a lot, and it’s clear that the organisers, J & J Events Ltd, know the ropes so well that they can co-ordinate their operation with military precision.

But this isn’t the whole story. Loyalty is another secret of their success. Ask around, and it becomes apparent that the teams of workers that man everything from the gate through to litter-picking have been working at the festival for years.

Knowing this, it’s comes as less of a surprise to discover that practically everyone on site has a long standing relationship with the event. It seems that families and individuals alike, have been attending this festival for as long as they care to remember – and so it is small wonder that everyone is so friendly and relaxed.

The festival kicked off in style on the Wednesday night with familiar face of Jools Holland, accompanied by Lulu on the main stage. Thursday saw the long weekender event begin in earnest, the crowds swelling to near capacity of 4,000 by the early evening.

The sense of closeness was not lost with the burgeoning crowds. Courtney Pine, as generous of spirit as ever, divided the audience into sections and had everyone harmonising during his set, and found Larmer Tree to be in fine voice. Ozomatli also engaged intimately with the exuberantly appreciative horde, seriously sharing the love, clearly enjoying every second of the limelight. After their set they were joined by Billy Bragg and made their way into the crowd, where they continued to party, offering the Sesame Street theme tune a whole new lease of life, and raising serotonin levels to a euphoric high.

The programme over the weekend also boasted an impressive array of bands including festival favourites Dreadzone, and Transglobal Underground. But getting the big names right is the easy bit; finding high calibre lesser known acts is usually what presents festival organisers with more of a headache. Nuala & The Alchemy Quartet, Mabon, Kid Carpet, Smerins Anti-social Club and Glowglobes are just a few of the acts that did not let them down. Dan Arborise had to cancel due to illness, a real personal disappointment, but with the presence of such luminaries as Rory McLeod and Nick Harper to soften the blow, it was impossible to remain disheartened for long.

Larmer Tree doesn’t go a bundle on the performing arts, although there were some interesting and entertaining impromptu performances dotted around the site. Music is definitely the focus, with art and design being featured pretty significantly as well. The Artist Quarter showcased some impressive exhibits and some that weren’t so great, but by and large, the standard was quite high. Stall holders had clearly been accepted on merit, and it was possible to find some beautiful handcrafted jewellery and well designed clothing amid the usual festival clobber in the market section.

Perhaps the biggest feature of the festival after the music was the kids programme which offered a real wealth of things to do. I was particularly impressed with the graffiti workshops and the guided activity walks, and of course, there was a place where you could go and write your wishes on strips of fabric, and then hang them on one of several wishing trees.

The strips of white cotton were unusually large, making for an impressive display amid the green of the trees. My favourite comment amongst the wishes expressed was “I wish they hadn’t torn up my bed linen”, which prompted me to guffaw out loud.

This area led into some of the most enchanting parts of the garden as well as the healing section, where the therapists were being kept exceedingly busy with a constant flow of clients. A walk through the labyrinthine flowerbeds and shrubs eventually brought you to the very delightful secret garden.

Trees have spread their branches thickly, creating an interwoven canopy, which had been adorned with lanterns and large decorative tissue paper sculptures, making the secret garden a very magical and delightful haven.

Larmer Tree Gardens is without question the most beautiful festival site I’ve ever visited. Peacocks wander, displaying their feathers and flying into the trees, shrieking at the crowds, making you wonder whether they might prefer a quieter existence. After nightfall the specialist lighting illuminates the foliage of the tress that line the lawn of the main stage, and is truly spectacular; visually superior to any firework display and without the attendant booming explosions, and much longer lasting.

There’s not too much to criticise where this festival is concerned, although I did hear murmurings about the length of the sets that the bands were being allowed to play. On average they lasted about half an hour, which was fine for certain acts, but for others it did not work so well, cramping their style somewhat.

But in the interest of variety it’s easy to understand why the programming had been organised in the way that it had, and with production ensuring that the stages were readied quickly between sets, this meant that a lot more bands could be booked. Larmer Tree Festival cannot be accused on scrimping on the expense.

Inevitably the weather dampened the proceedings a touch. Light drizzle gave way to some pretty heavy rainfall at times. Two of the three main stages were undercover and so the impact was lessened whilst the programme was still running, but the choice after hours was pretty limited.

The café in The Artists Quarter kept on serving until late, but lacked atmosphere and intimacy. The Social, a double tepee was a great place to hang out and dance, with a lot of the bands making a second appearance for the delectation of the crowds.

Dizraeli from Bad Science gave an incredible unaccompanied performance in this tent, at some points singing like an angel whilst recounting a modern day parable; mesmerising and powerful.

The Glitzy Baghags had everyone on their feet with steam evaporating off their rain drenched bodies, and countless other impromptu performances made this tiny outpost a pretty special place to be at any time of the day or night.

Although Larmer Tree is predominantly a family oriented affair, there’s no question that it could benefit from another indoor space along the same lines as The Social.

Something like The Bimble Inn would really go down a treat in the wee hours, but would also offer another very laid back alternative to the other stages during the day, as well as offering a welcome respite to the rain.

Another stage would also potentially alleviate the problem of rapid-fire performances, allowing bands that need more time to deliver their sets the option of a longer slot.

One thing, aside from the rain, that had a pretty unpleasant impact on this year’s festival was that it was targeted by professional thieves who operated late at night whilst families were sleeping. According to accounts, tents were either slashed or unzipped, and significant amounts of cash were stolen.

One family explained that £180 had been taken from a wallet which was then replaced, but that they were considering themselves to be luckier than most as the families either side of them had both lost £500 apiece. Signs were posted about the site warning the public to be vigilant, but some complained that more could be done, and that there was insufficient security.

My sympathies rest with the organisers on this one. Professional gangs make easy work of breaking into fortified houses, and so realistically speaking, the place would need to be swarming with security if there would even be a hope of catching the perpetrators.

According to the marshals, Larmer Tree was also targeted two years ago, but on this occasion the thieves were intercepted after someone woke up whilst the intruder was still in their tent. The thief bolted with his intended victim in hot pursuit, and was eventually seized and restrained until the police arrived and pressed charges.

At the last count on Sunday it was reputed that 42 tents had been hit, and so presumably the thieves had got away with a sum of money that would make for a pretty healthy down payment on a house. It’s difficult to know what J & J Events can do to prevent this kind of thing from happening again, but playing up the fact that there are cash machines on site, and that families need not carry around such large sums of money, whilst being entirely open about the situation, would perhaps in some way minimise the risks.

There is no question that this is a great small festival that is much loved by everyone. It’s extremely competently staged, with every detail considered thoroughly… I was utterly impressed by the excellent printed programme, that is so well laid out that you can plan a days activities at a glance. And the facilities were more than adequate for the numbers of people, and the standard of the food was first-rate.

It was great to see the kids having such a good time with so many free activities for them to enjoy. Some of them stayed up a bit too late for my liking, and I felt inclined to stop dancing on a couple of occasions, the guilt of accidentally elbowing a child in the head too much of a burden to bear. Again, the organisers could make a little bit more of the fact that Larmer Tree is a family oriented event within their publicity, but on the whole, the kids added more than they detracted from the event.

Review by Rachel Wild

Photos by Barnaby Hodges