Knockengorroch Festival

The standard festival scene of people stomping around in mud up to their eyeballs was rainy Knockengorroch festival this year - though it wasn't a case of rain stopping play. There were no headliners here that would headline a more commercial festival, but there was always a jig to dance to morning, noon and night. For the Celtic music connoisseurs, there was an acoustic venue in a Celtic Longhouse with pros jamming on fiddle, banjo, double bass and Indian tabla drums. At about 1am each night the party moved from mainstage to the shelter of the Sheiling Tent, where revellers partied 'till dawn. The festival also had lots of stalls selling clothes and trinkets and a variety of decent food stalls to provide sustenance when it all got too much. Knockongorroch also boasts a sauna in a caravan, free to use though you have to shed your clothes and inhibitions. The natural surroundings in Knockengorroch are impressive and merit serious walks to clear the daily hangover, but the best thing was the atmosphere; it's a real family festival with all types, from little kiddies to elderly bearded locals, dancing, smiling and getting involved. Be sure not to miss the next one: The Hairth Harvest Festival weekend at Knockengorroch September 15-17 2006.