I am, of course, referring to the festivals that are hosted on the Isle of Wight, notably Bestival and the official Isle of Wight festival. The Isle of Wight Festival is the ‘daddy’ of the two, having been around since the heady days of ‘flower power’ in the late sixties. Previous performers to the festival are legendary, and include some of the most famous names ever to have graced the pop music scene. In this day and age, the festival gives more opportunities to unknown artists to experience the ‘big time’ in front of audiences larger than 50,000 festival goers.

The newest of the festivals is Bestival, which has only had a regular spot for less than ten years. Possibly its reputation is more concerned with the carnival atmosphere that is generated, with its importance attached to the sounds of the radio djs. Each year at Bestival, a new theme is created by the organisers, which allows people to dress in their fancy dress costume creations. If you are the lucky winner of the fancy dress costume, you could win a life-time free access to Bestival. It’s a pretty good outcome for a little time spent making a costume from sticky back plastic and some old glue!

If you are intending travelling to one of the festivals next year, then you will have to make the trip via one of the available Isle of Wight ferry in operation. At Portsmouth there are two terminals: one to accommodate passengers travelling on foot, and the other for owners of vehicles.

With headline sets from Massive Attack, Kraftwerk and Elbow lined up, plus appearances from  Fleet Foxes, Seasick Steve, Klaxons, Lily Allen, Soulwax, La Roux, Bat For Lashes, the Cuban Brothers and  Drums of Death it’s going to be a rip-roaring rave up.  Getting to Bestival couldn’t be easier.  The Isle of Wight is much nearer than most people think! For example, door to door from central London can take as little as 2 hours (including the ferry crossing).   There are frequent and reliable Isle of Wight ferries taking both passengers and cars and if you fancy a bone jangling, ear dinning,  10 minute ride, then there’s always the hovercraft that flies from Southsea.

Getting an IOW ferry seems to be a better bet than some other options for travelling to Bestival, including a bunch of loonies who intend to Swim to Bestival.They’ve done it two years running, swimming across the Solent in the company of safety kayaks arriving in some style, if a little damp and knackered!It’s all in a good cause though, with money being raised for several charities, so don’t throw stuff at them as you cruise past in the IOW ferry.

Most people who come to Bestival camp and that’s probably the best way to experience Bestival. You can take your own tent or hire a larger Tipi, Yurt or Podpad.  You can also bring you own campervan to Bestival as the Isle of Wight ferries will easily accommodate even the most gargantuan mobile homes.  If you fancy roughing it in a B&B or hotel, then look for places in or near Newport, Ryde or Cowes.