ALL the photos on these pages are from previous Solfests, so if you were there make sure you check them out.

We are using Solfest because it is probably the closest festival for many of our readers, although in whichever direction you look, there is bound to be one fairly near you.

Local festivals may not yet have aspired to the dizzying heights of Glastonbury but they have usually been set up by local people for local people and have proved very successful.

Solfest is certainly one of those. It started off with 1,800 attending and now has around 10,000 patrons - and even has its own Wikipedia page which must be a sign that it has arrived.

It has had its ups and downs but has survived. And was given a huge boost in 2020 when it was announced that Arts Council England awarded Solfest £100,000 as part of the Culture Recovery Fund set up in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Solfest is just one of the many festivals in this area. It is taking pride of place only because it is the only music festival I have ever been to and that was only for one day.

I really enjoyed it. The atmosphere was lovely and it definitely felt like a family occasion - something you would not be afraid to take the children to.

I would have stayed, but my bladder sent me home in the end because, love it or not, there was no way I was going to use a festival Portaloo!

And while we are in the loo, I was told by an experienced festival goer to take some wine in a plastic bottle.

White wine in a clear plastic bottle looks alarmingly like a urine sample and, as the sun warmed it through the day, it started to taste like one, too.

Cumbrians have a festival for everything, it seems.

There is the mountain festival which celebrates music and our gorgeous fells. And we even celebrate our sheep with the Herdwick and Wool festivals.

Those are probably not a bad idea, considering that tourism and agriculture are two of the county’s greatest industries.

Whatever festival you go to - whether big or small, a celebration of music, nature or agriculture, have a good one. And, because we might have one thing in common with Glastonbury, don’t forget your wellies!