Music fans get down at Gottwood Festival

Around 1,000 party-goers decamped to the Gottwood festival, organised by 24-year-old Tom Carpenter.

Such was demand for tickets that the hush-hush happening sold out weeks ago after news spread on a Facebook group.

And as the sun shone on the two-day festival, featuring an eclectic range of electronic music from almost 40 acts, the event immediately set a new standard for festival goers looking to escape more commercial mass gatherings.

Many festival goers slept under the stars in handmade yurts provided by Yurt Events, based at Kington, near the south Shropshire border.

And instead of the usual fast food and offerings from burger vans, Gottwood goers enjoyed home-cooked dishes served up by chefs.

Top DJs and music acts provided an atmospheric soundtrack to the weekend across three stages – a main stage under the woodland canopy offering magical visual and musical treats, the Igloo covered stage that has featured at Glastonbury and boasted 360-degree HD visuals, and the Boxwood Village stage where the party lasted from dusk 'til dawn.

Tom Carpenter, who has been organising the festival for eight months, said he was delighted with the success of the debut event.

"It's been a steep learning curve but it's been as good as I could ever have expected," he said.

Festival-goer and former Shrewsbury School pupil Oliver Heywood said: "It's great. We have all come here as a bit of leavers' do from university - a last goodbye.

"For a first festival, it's amazing and there's a lot of people from Shropshire here - a lot of people I am seeing for the first time in ages. That's one of the main reasons we came."

And former Salopian Ben Hamilton added: "It's so that nice there's a relatively small amount of people, it's really intimate."

Festival-goers have travelled from all over the country to attend the event which was ranked by The Times as one of the best in Britain - before it even opened.

Louise Bouvier, 23, from London, said: "I really love the music, that's what I'm here for. And the location is stunning.

"We went down to the beach last night and watched the sunset. Amazing.

"And the forest is magical - like a grotto fairyland."

Iaon Morgan, 21, who lives near Machynlleth, said he liked the festival for not being commercial.

"We went to Glastonbury last year, but this is really nice for a change," he said. "The wood is brilliant."

And Steve Hart, who operates the Boxwood Village stage, has worked at Glastonbury for 16 years but said: "This festival has got its own personal touch. People are free to use their own imaginations."

By Ben Bentley