WHETHER we like a glass of Pimms on a stately home lawn, herbal tea in a tipi, or a pint of rough scrumpy in a muddy field, there’s a festival out there for all of us.

But with more choice than ever, how do you make sure you’re not throwing your hard-earned cash away on the wrong one? It’s a minefield, people, but fortunately Music Editor TIM HUGHES is here to help you pick just the right al fresco party.

So sit back and make your choice from our handpicked selection of the cream of (mostly) local music festivals. And if you don’t fancy any of the following… well, you could always organise your own. Whatever you do, enjoy yourself… and don’t forget your wellies...

* GLASTONBURY: Tomorrow sees the official start of the country’s biggest and best music festival. The line-up this year is as impressive as ever, but ‘Glasto’ is not about the bands; the real fun takes place away from the main stages – in the outer fields and at night, where naked creativity, and not a little craziness, reigns. Yet the fun comes with a conscience; it also raises cash for Water Aid and Oxfam.

Where: Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset When: Now until Sunday.

Top acts: Beyonce, U2, Morrissey, Paul Simon, Coldplay, Primal Scream, BB King, Queens of the Stone Age and Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band Typical punter: Hardened festie-veterans and younger hedonists.

Drink of choice: Pear cider Tickets: Sold out. glastonburyfestivals.co.uk * CORNBURY: Probably the smartest and most comfortable festival in the land, it’s no surprise that it has been dubbed ‘Poshstock’ by aficionados. The stomping ground of country-types, celebrities and families, it pulls in punters with an eclectic line-up and general air of loveliness. It’s all change for Cornbury this year, with the event leaving Cornbury Park and moving a few miles down the road to Great Tew. But, if anything, the new site is even nicer.

Where: Great Tew When: July 1-3 Top acts: The Faces, Ray Davies, Status Quo, Bellowhead, James Blunt, Cyndi Lauper, Sophie Ellis Bextor and Little Fish Typical punter: Yummy mummies, cool dads and well-scrubbed teenagers.

Drink of choice: Pimms Tickets: £140 weekend camping (£60 day). cornburyfestival.com * TRUCK: IT’S been 14 years since brothers Robin and Joe Bennett first decided to stage an outdoor gathering for friends near the family home in Steventon. Since then, Truck – so called because of the flatbed truck which still serves as the main stage – has grown, and changed, but remains one of the highlights of the Oxfordshire summer. While there may be more country-tinged, acoustic-flavoured folk and rock and singer-songwriters than ever before, it still has a diverse bill covering almost every genre.

Where: Hill Farm, Steventon When: July 22-24 Top acts: Gruff Rhys, Bellowhead, Graham Coxon, St Etienne, The Young Knives, Philip Selway, Edwyn Collins, and The Go! Team Typical punter: The Cowley Road crowd Drink of choice: Real ale served by a fez-wearing transvestite Tickets: £99 (adult weekend) £79 (13-17 yrs) 12 and under free. thisistruck.com * BIG CHILL: If your idea of a summer festival is less about exertion, big bands and rocking out, than just… relaxing, then the Big Chill is made for you. It’s a smart and beautifully designed event, held around a real castle. A classic ‘boutique’ event, this well-appointed gathering is guaranteed to renew your faith in festivals.

Where: Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire When: August 4-7 Top acts: Chemical Brothers, Kanye West, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Jessie J, Robert Plant, Empire of the Sun, Chipmunk, Example Typical punter: Trendy types who love festivals, but without the hassle Drink of choice: Mango smoothie Tickets: £165 (adult weekend) £85 (13-15 yrs) bigchill.net * WILDERNESS; With Cornbury shipping out to Great Tew, Cornbury Park hosts a new upstart on the festival scene – Wilderness. Billed as a celebration of the ‘arts and outdoors in the wilds of Oxfordshire’, it has, musically speaking, hit the ground running – with crowd-pleasers and esoteric delights.

As well as music it has a late night party, theatre, debates, literary happenings, and a wilderness spa.

Where: Cornbury Park, Charlbury When: August 12-14 Top acts: Gogol Bordello, Antony & The Johnsons, Mercury Rev, The Low Anthem, Toots & the Maytals, Laura Marling, Hayseed Dixie.

Typical punter: Tweedy Cotswold types, and clued-up festie-goers Drink of choice: Champagne cocktails Tickets: £99.50. wilderness festival.com * CROPREDY: To its tribes of regular festival-goers, Cropredy is not so much a festival, as a pilgrimage. From all corners of the country they come, united by a love of real ale, facial hair, and the music of Fairport Convention – the latest incarnation of which still insist on headlining the festival. Forget about Glastonbury-style freaking-out though; the denizens of Cropredy are happiest when ensconced in their deckchairs, huddled beneath an umbrella/parasol within arm’s reach of their cool box.

Where: Cropredy, near Banbury When: August 11-13 Top acts: Fairport Convention, UB40, Hayseed Dixie, Seasick Steve, Badly Drawn Boy Typical punter: Tankard-wielding folkie Drink of choice: Wadworth 6X Tickets: £95 (weekend) plus £35 camping. fairportconvention.com * BULLDOG BASH: Taking place over the same weekend as Cropredy and Wilderness, this couldn’t be more different. A celebration of hard rock and adrenaline, the Bash is not so much a festival as a petrol-head reunion. Music takes a back seat during the day to drag racing, custom shows, topless bike-washes and rides around the Warwickshire and Oxfordshire countryside... but by night rock reigns.

Where: Shakespeare County Raceway, Stratford-upon-Avon When: August 11-14 Top acts: Status Quo, Bad Manners, The Damned Typical punter: Bearded, leather-clad, old-skool biker Drink of choice: Jack Daniels; neat.

Tickets: £60 in advance. bulldogbash.eu * WOMAD: THE spiritual home of 30,000 World music lovers, Peter Gabriel’s WOMAD (World Of Music and Dance) brings the rhythms of Africa, Asia and Latin America, to Wiltshire for probably the most wholesome festival of them all. Expect everything from salsa to soukous, and mamba to Mongolian throat-singing.

Where: Charlton Park, Malmesbury When: July 29-31 Top acts: Rodrigo y Gabriela, Gogol Bordello, Booker T Jones, I am Kloot, Bellowhead, Alabama 3, Dub Colossus, Chapelier Fou Typical punter: Holiday-hippies, modern parents… and their well-behaved kids.

Drink of choice: Spiced chai Tickets: £135 weekend (with camping). womad.org * LATITUDE: Floating fire lanterns drift across a lake on the edge of a wood, while healthy-looking people dance all night in a clearing, sipping cocktails. Suddenly a flock of acid red, yellow and green coloured sheep stroll by… it’s a dream surely. But it’s all real. And it doesn’t just have a pretty face… it also pulls together some great new music, writers and actors and comedians (Alan Carr, Omid Djalili, Jason Byrne and Marcus Brigstocke). After three days here, no other festival will seem good enough again.

Where: Southwold, Suffolk When: July 14-17 Top acts: The National, Paulo Nutini, Paloma Faith, Suede, The Cribbs, Eels and Oxford’s beloved Foals.

Typical punter: Veterans of grungier festivals looking for a more civilized alternative.

Drink of choice: A crisp Chablis Tickets: Sold out latitudefestival.co.uk * BESTIVAL: THE best in boutique festival-going, The ‘Bestie’ re-wrote the rules on how to lay on a cool, stylish, freewheeling yet intimate bash. Held in a wooded valley on the Isle of Wight, getting here is half the fun. And while the line-up is strong enough to bring a tear to the eye of many a rival promoter, the crowd are as much a part of the action as the bands, donning fancy dress and big grins. This year’s theme is ‘rock star, pop star or diva’ – judged by the Village People!

Where: Newport, Isle of Wight When: September 8-11 Top bands: The Cure, Pendulum, Primal Scream, PJ Harvey, Brian Wilson, The Maccabees, Fatboy Slim, Public Enemy, Big Audio Dynamite, Kelis, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Shadow, Chromeo, Metronomy, Mogwai.

Typical punter: Fancy-dressed divas Drink of choice: Absinthe Tickets: £180.50 from redfunnel.co.uk. Info from bestival.net * READING: It may not be clever, but it is big… and very impressive. While other festivals have their scenic charms, artistic delights and pretty frills, Reading is all about one thing – bands. If you’ve ever harboured a desire to stand in a field and be aurally bombarded by more than 100 of the best acts on the planet – then this is for you. That’s not to say Reading doesn’t have its traditions. Among the quainter rituals is the trashing of the chemical toilets.

Where: Guess?! When: August 25-28 Top acts: Pulp, The Strokes, Muse, Elbow, My Chemical Romance, Beady Eye, Jane’s Addiction, Crystal castles, The Horrors and Peter Doherty Typical punter: Dazed post A-Level teenagers, emo-kids, goths and moshers Drink of choice: Lager, lager, lager Tickets: £192 for the weekend. readingfestival.com