I hate to appear negative about Solfest because it is still a totally wicked little festival & I had a great time but I’m afraid that for me it has lost just a little of its lustre since the halcyon event of 2007, which I still rate among my all time top 3 favourite festivals. The weather certainly didn’t help. Similar to last year, heavy rainfall during the site build left a quagmire in front of the main stage which resulted in the barrier being moved much further back than usual and the atmosphere at the stage suffered as a result. Plus high winds damaged a number of tents on the Thursday night and more rain throughout the festival meant that punters were actually banned from leaving on the Sunday evening and we were among the many who had to rely on tractors and other 4-wheel drive vehicles to tow us from the muddy and appallingly litter strewn campsites on the Monday.

The set up was much the same as last year, the only noticeable change being that the Disco du Fromage is sadly no more, having been replaced by a larger and less intimate Cabaret tent. The wonderfully decorated Dance and Chill tents both had excellent atmospheres, as did the Bar tent although we could have done without the rows of camping chairs and the suspiciously cloudy Solfest Ale ran out on the Saturday. The festival cider was a much better option.

Musically there were stand out performances on the main stage from The Beat, Kula Shaker and the Dhol Foundation. Ade Edmondson & The Bad Shepherds pulled in a big crowd for their folk renditions of punk classics on the Drystone Stage. But a special mention should go out for a group of energetic and charismatic youngsters who go by the slightly un-PC name of “Pikey Beats”. I’m afraid a birthday cocktail session in the campsite meant that we missed their Drystone Stage set on Sunday afternoon but we managed to catch most of their performance in the nearby tent on Saturday evening and were mightily impressed.

Despite the inclement conditions the Solfest crowd lived up to its usual reputation for outlandish fancy dress and the creative imagination that went into many of the home made outfits that appeared around the site on Saturday was as fantastic as ever. The memories of all that litter and the 8 hours of Bank Holiday traffic jams may persuade us to perhaps investigate alternative entertainment a little closer to home next year but nevertheless Solfest is still an excellent event and I would thoroughly recommend it to anybody.