AFTER taking a year out, the quirky and magical Larmer Tree Festival returned fighting fit at the weekend with a four-day programme of family entertainment.

With its beautiful location in unique Victorian Gardens on the Wiltshire/Dorset border, the event is a famously friendly, family-orientated and ethical festival that combines diverse music and spectacular street theatre with comedy and talks with something for all ages.

Jake Bugg headlined the main stage on Friday night singing a number of hits and album tracks in his indie-skiffle-blues style, but it was the 50s covers at the end of his set that the Larmer crowd particularly appreciated. Meanwhile, Salisbury band The Passenger Club entertained a packed-out Village Inn.

Celebrating the centenary of women’s suffrage and the right to vote, the main stage on Saturday was dominated by female artists including Let’s Eat Grandma, Naaz, Ibibio Sound Machine, Tune Yards and headliners First Aid Kit. Opening with the reverberating base of Rebel Heart, Swedish sisters Johanna and Klara Soderberg (aka First Aid Kit) delivered their own blend of country-folk-pop with flawless harmonies. Crowd-pleasers were their biggest hit Fireworks and a cover of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill.

The dress-up Saturday theme was ‘cult TV programmes’ and characters from The Simpsons to The Flintstones and Doctor Who to The Lord of the Rings could be seen enjoying the evening.

New for this year was The Wilds – an area hosting the Larmer Spa, with hot tubs, therapies and a retreat.

Adults and children alike loved the magical Lost Wood, which was decorated with musical instruments from pianos to ukuleles for budding musicians to practice their tuneful skills, before listening to poetry, storytelling and spoken word or taking a late-night wander through a selection of laser-lit, ornately decorated animal skulls – a surreal experience.

The festival also boasted a packed programme of activities and workshops, including yoga on the main lawn with Noelle each morning – which was a great way to wake up and re-energise after a night of festival partying.

The Larmer Tree has managed to hang on to its independent, non-corporate ethos and this laid-back, bohemian festival remains so much more than just a music event.