TIM HUGHES finds out what’s afoot at the family-orientated Wychwood Festival.

IF YOU could invent your own fantasy music festival, it would probably look something like Wychwood.

One of the earliest gatherings of the summer – only Wood Festival is earlier – this lovely weekender has it all.

The music is top notch and extremely diverse, there’s premier league comedy, workshops to get stuck into, the crowd is friendly, the food is superb, there’s proper beer, it has loads for kids, it’s easy to get to, there’s a proper car park, the site is beautiful and small, and there’s no mud.

Oh, and the campsite is as manicured as a racecourse. In fact, it is a racecourse – Cheltenham, no less.

A favoured fixture in the festie circuit, it might come as a surprise to know that this gorgeous boutique gathering, staged in the shadow of the Prestbury Hills, is run from a small office in Witney. Launched seven years ago by festival director Graeme Merifield, from Tower Hill, Witney, the event took its inspiration from the 19th century Wychwood Forest Fairs – lively, if not outright raucous – knees-ups, which took place deep in the west Oxfordshire woodlands.

And despite being held over the Gloucestershire border, it is essentially an Oxford festival, with a rich array of local talent.

“It’s amazing to think that here we are right before the start of our seventh Wychwood Festival,” says Graeme. “And while the festival has gradually grown, it has kept its special atmosphere.”

Musically, this year’s Wychwood, which runs from June 3-5, is more than eclectic – with headline sets by The Charlatans, The Waterboys and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, the bill also boasts Neville Staple from The Specials, The Bluetones, 3 Daft Monkeys, The Christians, Eddi Reader, Cornershop, Robyn Hitchcock, Transglobal Underground and Eliza Carthy. Oh, and The Wurzels, of course.

Oxfordshire is ably represented by Binsey’s luscious country-rockers The Epstein, infectious popsters Alphabet Backwards, folk-blues singer-songwriter Jessie Grace, and Senegalese kora player Jali Fily Cissokho, who lives in Witney.

Music aside, there are stand-up shows by comics Robin Ince, Iszi Lawrence, Ray Peacock, Oxford Imps and Nick Page; poetry; cinema; a kids’ literary festival; a headphone disco; have-a-go sculpture garden, and the festival’s diverse workshops.

“The bands get bigger every year,” says festival executive Stefan Edwards.

“Indie, folk and world music are still the main things, though. So there is the sing-along stuff that everyone knows, along with some more specialised stuff.

“People that usually go for mainstream indie bands also get to hear something new which might also appeal to them.”

“We started off with a family focus, and have maintained that,” says Graeme. “We believe in keeping everyone entertained. The age range goes from under one to 90, and people come back year after year.

“The atmosphere is friendly, the production values are high, and we pay great attention to every detail,” he adds.

Stefan agrees. “The festival is about more than just music. It’s family. People also love the fact that the racecourse is easy to get around – particularly for people with kids or disabilities; it is flat, has paths, and is never a mud bath like other festivals. And we have indoor toilets.

“Comedian Ade Edmondson, who came last year, summed it up perfectly when he said it’s big enough to feel big, and small enough to feel small.”