THOUSANDS of music-lovers are making their way to a stately home today for the start of the county’s first major music event of the summer.

Cornbury Festival, which gets under way at noon, sees scores of bands playing a series of stages on the manicured lawns of Great Tew Park, near Chipping Norton.

Up to 14,000 people are expected on site between now and the end of the festival on Sunday night.

Festival director Hugh Phillimore was last night putting the finishing touches to the site – which involved removing a swarm of bees that had taken up residence in a tree above the Pimms Bar.

He said: “They are obviously a classy breed of bee, but we had to get the bee man in to safely move them along, as I didn’t want them descending on anyone at the bar!”

He added: “The whole site looks absolutely gorgeous. The sun is shining, flags are flapping, and we can’t wait for a glorious weekend.”

The festival features an eclectic line-up of musicians, ranging from songwriting legend Van Morrison to ’80s rock act Echo & the Bunnymen and pop band Keane, Squeeze, Amy Macdonald and The Proclaimers, West Oxford’s dream-pop band Candy Says and Bellowhead.

Tickets are available on the gate, by calling 0844 338 0000 or from cornburyfestival.com