Overview

This third Latitude festival, held in the beautiful grounds at Henham Park near the Suffolk coast, has grown in size since its first outing in 2006. It is still an intimate venue suited to families and all age types, and it never once feels closed in and packed out, like many a large festival does these days. The weather is a mixture of glorious sunshine and the odd thunder shower, with threatening clouds, but luckily the ground never becomes muddy.



As this is my first Latitude trip, I am impressed by the scale and various areas on site. The line up is not up my street, apart from the odd additions, but the promise of a good mix of comedy and music along with cabaret and poetry gives me plenty to see over the few days this is my home.

There are the odd ideas ripped from other sites, Glastonbury in particular, with the chance to make clay models, but I like the little areas out of the way. The Pimms village green with the Flip Flopathon and it's self-titled ludicrous umpire are a highlight, with the chance to win a years supply of the drink by winning 'dry swimming' and tug-of-war competitions. There is a dedicated kids area, which hosts a huge parade on the Sunday, along with the hidden Millsy's bar next to the Radio 4 hall and theatre tent, complete with church pews.



Over near the camping area is the 'In The Woods' area, a lovely relaxing place during the day (until DJ Matt Hunt plays music until 3am), and behind that is the secluded Sunrise tent. This area also has hidden woodland tracks to follow, with artwork in the trees. The only bother here is the fact that the light bulbs are left on during the daytime; for an obviously eco-friendly festival these should be off when the earth's huge natural light bulb is on, surely?

There are dedicated recycling teams, with staff present at each set of bins to make sure you can not mix up your rubbish (though I imagine we can manage with the signs that are present). The good idea here is the introduction of eco-cups; the first drink may cost upwards of £5.40, but when you return the cup you get £2 back. This leads to a very clean site, though I imagine this sort of crowd are quite tidy anyway...

With all the families present, this festival has a country fare type of feel. The crowd appear to be, though lovely to talk to, quite well off and can afford the rip off food prices. I hear some complain of the toilets; believe me, these are the cleanest at any festival I have been to in this country, I would not encourage them to try the facilities at any other festival over here (though the Belgium fests have the right idea...)



Back to the woodland area, and separating this tranquil part with the main arena is a beautiful lake, with a small floating stage and gondola rides. The sheep that surround the Latitude sign have been dyed pink (that'll take some washing out!), and at night the trees glow green and pink and a huge blue lighting effect of circles and a figure light up the lake. Every part of the natural land has been utilised and made just that bit more beautiful.

To the main area now, and apart from the inadequately sized tents (the comedy tent is a joke to get into) there is plenty to do (though everybody appears to want to do it at the same time!). The Uncut arena, a large tent, is a fine size for many bands (though Blondie's set in there is not a good idea). The Poetry and Cabaret tents are always rammed, as is the Film and Music tent. Pandora's area is a type of tiny and lesser Lost Vagueness area, with a freak show and the 'disco shed'.



The Lake Stage, not actually on the lake but next to it, is hosting a collection of new bands, introduced by the BBC. This leaves the main stage, or Obelix Arena, surrounding by flags and situated now up above the rest of the site, complete with viewing seats like at a sporting venue. This type of layout makes it easy to see who you want (unless they clash), and navigating the site is easy and the campsite is only 10-20 minutes walk away).

To summarise, this is a pretty festival with bits in the right places, and if the line up doesn't suit you there is still plenty to do. I can't help thinking that it is trying to be a small Glastonbury, designed for those people who would never dare to go the King of Fests. Saying this it is a well organised (apart from tent size) festival with good facilities and a chilled out vibe. And it sold out whereas many others haven't this year; what does that say to you...?

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