The forest within the huge, sprawling grounds of Noseley Hall, in Leicestershire, is a truly perfect setting for a very special festival. Having come from Glastonbury only a couple of weeks ago I have a heightened appreciation for logistically breezy festivals. And my taxi dropped me off at the entrance, 5 minutes later I found a spot to drop my tent (pop-ups are the absolute best. Until time comes to pop it back down), and 5 minutes later I was in the thick of the festival. As soon as I had set foot in the camping field I could hear and indeed feel the soon to be very familiar rhythm of psy trance emanating from the Noisily stage.

Upon wandering into the action I was immediately enamoured by the rolling woodland terrain which had been transformed into a psychedelic playground. There were 3 main stage areas as well a smaller one in the form of a giant silver boom box, which played some great tunes in the evenings. Even a cheeky bit of hip hop. Psy trance was the musical focus of the weekend but there was a beautiful takeover by the House of Disco on Friday night, which was the ideal way to loosen up the dancing legs and ease in to a weekend of smiley muddy stomping

Max Cooper’s set on Saturday evening was particularly memorable as well as Hamish Blair’s,  which seriously bumped up the joy levels and had everyone jumping around with glee. The energy throughout the festival was sky high, maybe because of the unifying love for the entrancing psychedelic beats, and because there were only a couple of thousand people there. It helped that the DJs were all jumping around, raving away grinning as they played. A total treat a welcome break from their often self-consciously sulky techno counterparts.

The forest was, of course, scattered with some lovely surprises. The Vagabond Emporium was filled with an array of gorgeous festival offerings to purchase, from incredibly ornate headdresses to face painting, healing stone jewellery and sparkly hula hoops. There was a space ship fitted out with a mini kitchen complete with kitsch cook wear, twinkling lights and a handy broom, as well as a raised hut housing a glorious lounge area with big sofas to melt into. The foodie offering was commendable, including stone baked pizza and a heavenly vegetarian Indian stall which provided exactly the post party nutrition I needed.

On Sunday night it was incredibly difficult to leave the site, with its melodic trippy beats and all the new friends made (about 6 of whom were enlisted for the grand tent pop down). Again, wounds from the logistics of leaving Glastonbury still raw, it was a delight to hop into a waiting cab for 10 minutes then just an hour on the train back to Kings Cross. It was a fantastically well organised and brilliantly fun little festival with great vibes. I’d go back in a flash.

Philli B