The Herald Magazine guide to this year’s boutique festivals

This community music festival was the brainchild of husband and wife Neil and Sheila McKenna, who are still involved to the point of collecting artists from the airport, making dinner for them and having them stay overnight in their home. Sheila is also the chairwoman of Darvel Music Company, the not-for-profit firm set up in 2009 to organise the festival and promote music in and around the East Ayrshire town. Over the years many well-known Scottish acts have performed, including fiddle and accordion duo Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain, singer-songwriter Eddi Reader and folk band Capercaillie. This year, the 10th anniversary, is set to be one to remember with guests including the man who invented funk, American saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis, Del Amitri singer/songwriter Justin Currie, and Glasgow’s hirsute four-piece Kassidy. Don’t forget to book accommodation because there’s no camping.

Where and when: Darvel, East Ayrshire every weekend in May. Visit www.darvelmusicfestival.org or call Tickets Scotland on 0141 204 5151.

Aviemore Walking Festival

This is for anyone whose boots were made for walking. Guided events range from gentle strolls in the glens and the forests to strenuous hikes up some of Scotland’s highest peaks. Tomorrow, up to 12 super-fit people will have the chance to do a 20km round trip up Ben Macdui, the second highest mountain in Britain. This is a major hillwalk so everyone must be hill fit, injury free and have their own walking equipment. At the other end of the spectrum there’s a peaceful walk on Thursday for 16 people through the Trium Woods past the Falls of Truim, with views of the Cairngorms.

Where and when: Aviemore from tomorrow until Friday. Walk prices cost from £10 to £25. Download a copy of the booking form at www.nbremner.f2s.com or email walking@f2s.com.

Knockengorroch World Ceilidh

This is an alternative music festival with a distinctly green hue. It has a strict recycling policy, holds green and heritage workshops, and uses biodegradable products and alternative sources of power. It’s organised by Knockengorroch, a not-for-profit company established to promote music and support rural regeneration in the Southern Uplands. The event began in 1997 as a hippie-styled rainbow gathering of a few hundred people, and although it now attracts more than 3000 people, the focus remains on Celtic, roots and world music. Tree hugging is optional. The line-up includes one of Jamaica’s most distinguished reggae icons, Horace Andy, world music chart-toppers Salsa Celtica and folk fusion band Future Trad Collective. There will also be a ceilidh, a children’s marquee, open mic sessions and stalls selling gifts, food and real ale.

Where and when: Carsphairn, Dumfries and Galloway, May 27-30. Four-day tickets cost £85. Call 01644 460662 or visit www.knockengorroch.org.uk.

TweedLove

Saddle up for a week of mountain biking and cycling in an event started last year by local riders Emma Guy and Neil Dalgleish to enhance the Tweed Valley’s reputation as a top cycling destination. More than 1000 cyclists took part in the inaugural festival, and this year is expected to draw even more people. The flagship event is a seven-hour mountain bike endurance race in Glentress that will see solo riders and teams battle it out. There’s also the Peebles Sprint, a Belgian style “kermesse” town-centre road race that will see top cyclists whizz around a tricky circuit, plus there’s a selection of ride-outs around favourite trails. It’s not all about spokes and saddle sores though. There’s also a gig by Scottish band Frightened Rabbit, recent signings to Atlantic records, and a screening of the film Life Cycles, one of the most beautiful and original pieces of bike cinema.

Where and when: The Tweed Valley in the Scottish Borders, June 11-19. Prices vary. Visit tweedlove.com.

Doune The Rabbit Hole

This is a Lewis Carroll-inspired weekend fest for alternative music and art lovers, set in the countryside around Doune Castle. Artists playing include Polar Bear, The Vaselines and Mike Heron of The Incredible String Band. There will also be poetry, philosophy, comedy, dressing up, face painting, singalongs and food and drink stalls. Money raised will go towards funding workshops and classes to teach disadvantaged young people to play an instrument, write or paint. The organisers are also encouraging festival goers to do their bit for the environment by promoting a lift-share system and by sponsoring parking tickets of cars arriving full of passengers.

Where and when: Doune, Stirlingshire, June 10-12. Day tickets cost £32; under 10s free, under 16s £18. Weekend camping tickets cost £58. Buy tickets at www.dounetherabbithole.co.uk or call 07898 658220 for more information.

St Magnus International Festival

Since Orkney’s arts festival was founded in 1977 by the Queen’s composer, Orkney resident Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, it has evolved into one of Britain’s most prestigious arts events. Music is at its heart and over the years it has attracted renowned classical musicians including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Andre Previn and Imogen Cooper. Visiting orchestras and ensembles have included the Royal Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. There is also an extensive drama, dance, literature and visual arts programme as well as courses for composers, conductors and writers. Many events are in the magnificent St Magnus Cathedral. Highlights this year include a performance from the London Sinfonietta, The Island Tapes evening of historic island footage and live music, and a talk from Maxwell Davies before a performance from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Where and when: Kirkwall, Orkney, June 17-22. Visit www.stmagnusfestival.com or call 01856 871445 or pick tickets up in person at St Magnus Festival Office, 60 Victoria Street. Some events are already sold out. 

The Insider

Organisers are calling on revellers to stoke their boilers, oil their moustaches and brush down their breeches for this year’s Victorian-themed festival. The line-up is an eclectic mix of up-and-coming bands with a sprinkling of bigger names including Lau, voted best group at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards for the last two years, plus Admiral Fallow, Hidden Orchestra and Woodenbox With A Fistful Of Fivers. There will also be the finest locally sourced food and drink. Capacity is restricted to 750 people camping on the banks of the Spey, so it doesn’t get much more boutique than this.

Where and when: Inshriach House, near Aviemore, June 17-20. Ticket cost £75 for the weekend, £25 for Friday and £35 for Saturday/Sunday. Buy tickets at The Old Bridge Inn in Aviemore or from www.insiderfestival.com. 

Taste of Edinburgh

Feast on the best of the capital’s fare from organic farm produce to cuisine from Michelin-starred restaurants. Taste Of Edinburgh features 15 of the city’s best restaurants including Cucina, Ondine and the Michelin-starred Plumed Horse and Restaurant Martin Wishart, run by The Herald Magazine contributor, as well as more than 100 local food and drinks producers. Culinary greats will also be taking to the stage for a Taste Theatre, showing off their skills in everything from canapes to barbecues.

Where and when: The Meadows, Edinburgh, July 1-3. Tickets cost £12 in advance and £16 on the day. Visit www.tasteofedinburgh.co.uk or call 0871 297 0742. 

Kelburn Garden Party

This festival has its roots in the Graffiti Project of 2006 when the walls of the North Ayrshire castle were painted in psychedelic colours by guerrilla street artists from Sao Paolo at the request of the owner, Patrick Boyle, the 10th Earl of Glasgow. The month-long celebrations that followed inspired the Boyles to launch an annual festival in 2008 to nurture the spirit of the project. This year the walls of the castle will reverberate to the sounds of Hidden Orchestra, Jackmaster, Mungo’s HiFi, Quantic, RBRBR, Sons And Daughters, DJ Twitch and many more underground and up-and-coming acts. Nobody’s sure when Historic Scotland will enforce the removal of the graffiti and demand that the castle be re-harled, so experience it before it’s too late.

Where and when: Kelburn Castle and Country Park, near Largs, July 2-3. Weekend tickets with camping cost £55. Visit www.kelburngardenparty.com. 

The Wickerman Festival

This has caught the affections of many alternative music fans over the last 10 years. The first saw 1800 people gather at Jamie Gilroy’s farm near Dundrennan and since then it has developed into a quirkier, less middle-class Glastonbury, won best grassroots festival at the UK Festival Awards and welcomed more than 100,000 fans. Past headliners have included Ocean Colour Scene, The Charlatans, the Human League, The Zutons and KT Tunstall, with Feeder, Echo And The Bunnymen and The Hoosiers gracing the main stage this year. There are also tents with reggae, punk/ska/northern soul, folk, dance, new music and more, besides workshops, a beer tent, crafts, a cinema and a great children’s area. Since it’s named after the 1973 cult horror film, which was filmed in the area, each year a giant 40ft willow effigy is built on site and torched at midnight on Saturday. It’s definitely an iconic image of the festival calendar.

Where and when: Dundrennan, Dumfries and Galloway, July 22-23. Weekend camping costs from £90 and Saturday-only camping from £60. For tickets visit www.thewickermanfestival.co.uk or call 0844 884 2920. 

Rewind Festival

Proving there’s no end to the 1980s revival, the Rewind Festival in Henley-on-Thames has expanded north of the Border with a sister festival. Rewind Scotland is the festival for glitter-eyed glamour pusses who prefer to glamp rather than camp. One of the poshest around, it has cherry-topped cocktails rather than warm beer and posh yurt-style accommodation instead of crumpled tents. Blasts from the past taking to the stage include The Human League, Tony Hadley, Rick Astley, Kim Wilde, Bananarama and Hue And Cry. Ra-ra skirts, spandex and leg warmers are not compulsory but recommended, as is rainbow fluorescent eyeshadow, clownishly heavy blusher and too much hairspray -- and that’s just for the men.

Where and when: Scone Palace, Perth, July 29-31. Weekend tickets cost from £105 and day tickets from £47.50. Visit www.rewindfestival.com or call 0844 888 9991. 

Loopallu Festival

The small town of Ullapool punches well above its weight for music and the arts. Throughout the year it hosts several small traditional festivals with Loopallu, which first took place in 2005, the musical highlight. Each year the population of 1300 more than doubles as revellers flock to end summer in this spectacular setting on the shores of Loch Broom. Past acts have included Franz Ferdinand, Magic Numbers and Paolo Nutini, and although the line-up for 2011 is yet to be announced, organisers are promising an eclectic event to match any of the big festivals. There will also be fringe gigs in the town’s pubs, street entertainment and plenty of activities for children to enjoy, making this one of the most family-friendly festivals around.

Where and when: Ullapool, September 16-17. Weekend tickets cost £55 and weekend tickets plus camping £70. Visit www.loopallu.co.uk.

Wigtown Book Festival

In the mid-1990s Wigtown was one of five towns to bid for the title of Scotland’s National Book Town in the hope of regeneration following the closure of the main employers in the town, the creamery and distillery. After winning, it flourished into a book lover’s haven with more than 20 book-related businesses including publishers and second-hand bookshops. The cherry on the icing is the annual book festival, Scotland’s second biggest after Edinburgh. Although the programme for 2011 won’t be announced until the end of July, it’s sure to delight if past guests are anything to go by: Iain Banks, Martin Bell, Roddy Doyle, Julia Donaldson, Candia McWilliam, Ian Rankin, William McIlvanney and Louise Welsh among others. There are also family events, music, theatre and film performances, and lovely gift and craft shops selling jewellery, paintings, antique furniture and handcrafted goods.

Where and when: Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway, September 23-October 2. Visit www.wigtownbookfestival.com or call 01988 403222.