Scotland's biggest festival is still one of the parties of the year

T in the Park 2015

Friday 10th to Sunday 12th July 2015
Strathallan Castle, Kinross, Perth & Kinross, PH3 1JX, Scotland MAP
£205 full weekend with camping

Daily capacity: 92,500

The story of T in The Park, the grandaddy of Scotland's festivals has taken numerous twists and turns this last twelve months since it left its home at Balado airfield due to increasing safety concerns regarding 85,000 people jumping up and down on a gas pipeline running directly under the site.

So it was bye bye Balado and hello Strathallan. Or was it? Soon after the festie goers had packed up their tents (or in many cases just left them on site) in 2014 - and after tickets for 2015 had already gone on sale - it emerged that the organisers didn't have planning permission to hold the event at Strathallan estate.

Rival campaigns started up in the small Perthshire town of Auchterarder, which although small is actually no stranger to hosting big name events, most notably (if you're into that kind of thing) the Ryder Cup last year and the G8 summit in 2005 attended by none other than George W Bush and Bono themselves.

Campaigners against T in the Park cited environmental concerns, with the country estate's osprey becoming the subject of much local press coverage, and potential traffic issues at the site, which is only accessible by single track roads. But those who were for it pointed out that it puts Perth and Kinross on the international music stage, and that it brings significant economic benefit for the area, while organisers said they were "experienced" in traffic management on this scale.

In reality, there was probably very little chance it wouldn't get planning permission, and it was finally granted in May - just eight weeks before the festival took place. DF Concerts set about making Strathallan Castle their new home and the first very happy campers started queuing under sunny-ish skies on the Thursday, keen to get the best possible pitches in the much smaller site.

By Friday morning it was tipping it down though, although the typical Scottish weather failed to dampen the spirits of the hardy Scottish festival goers who were still very much up for the party. For those arriving on site, long queues led to some, how do I put this, frustration amongst those keen to get that party started.

Even though the fairly torrential rain of the morning eased off to a more steady drizzle, predictably the site was pretty muddy just hours into the festival getting under way. The festival uniform of shorts and wellies does seem to be the most practical option on days like this - and as I'm sure I read Emily Eavis has said recently, it is a look that has served her dad Michael, the founder of Glastonbury, very well for the last forty years.

Plenty of folk eschewed practical dressing however, opting instead for dressing up as everything from characters from the Wizard of Oz, Brave, Shrek and the Gingerbread Man among others for fancy dress Friday.

Kasabian: T in the Park 2015

Friday's bands were designed to get the Strathallan house-warming under way in style and they certainly achieved that. From Rudimental, graduating to the main stage this year and providing another storming set, to Annie Mac, and Fatboy Slim packing out the King Tut's tent, David Guetta blowing the metaphorical roof off the BBC Three/Radio 1 stage and third-time T headliners Kasabian doing what they do best, DF Concerts showed that they could bring in the big hitters to this little estate in Perthshire.

But as thousands of day ticket holders set out on their journey home, many experienced yet more long delays leaving the car park.

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review by: Clare Damodaran

photos by: Trevor Eales