This was our 7th Bearded Theory and already the 4th different site as the festival moved to Catton Hall on the banks of the Trent. Much like the first festival at the previous site at Keddleston Hall there were a few teething problems with a new toilet contractor and also the layout of the tented stages requiring a rethink to overcome a few sound clash issues.

However the main stage was as excellent as ever with a crisp and chunky PA and the arena well laid out. The headliners of Carter USM, The Stranglers and Ali Campbell’s recently reformed version of UB40 may have given an unashamedly retro feel but I’m all for a bit of reminiscing once in a while and all 3 put on majestic performances. The second Tornado Town stage and the Magical Sounds Dance Tent were much as we remembered them from the previous site. Gail’s Something Else Tea Tent is also very familiar but these were enhanced by the excellent Locked In The Woods stage, which was situated in a woodland glade, and also the Disco Shed, which was new to me but I understand has made appearances at other festivals around the country.

Camping and campervans were sited on nice flat fields adjacent to the arena so everything was within easy walking distance. The Thornbridge Brewery returned with their excellent range of beers and a good few decent ciders too at 3 different well stocked bars. There were plenty of food options too and loads for the kids to do with a fully programmed schedule of events courtesy of Angel Gardens.

One thing the organisers can never do anything about is the weather and a fair amount of rain on the Friday and Saturday meant that, although the majority of the site held up pretty well and we managed to escape without the need of a tow on the Monday, we had our first genuine muddy festival since 2012. But that aside we had a great time meeting up with dozens of old friends and a few new ones too and history shows that Rich and his team of volunteers will pull out all the stops to ensure that the few little wrinkles we did experience will be ironed out for an even better Bearded experience in 2015.