Top 5: UK music festivals

Festival scene © Creative Commons / Wonker

Hop Farm Festival, 2-3 July

Gone are the VIP areas, sponsorship and branding that come with most festivals. Hop Farm is a back-to-basics musical experience sure to satisfy the festival purists and anyone who enjoys a pint of real ale. Only in its third year, the Hop Farm Festival has stellar acts lined up this year, including music legends Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. Plus don't miss the infamous Soccer 6 Event where celebrities, bands, DJs and ex-footballers compete in a five-a-side football tournament.

Where: Paddock Wood, Kent
Price: £45-£110

Wireless Festival, 2-4 July

Now in its sixth year, the three-day festival is set in the stunning surrounds of London's Hyde Park. Separated into dance, pop and rock days, acts will include the likes of Pink, Jay-Z, Lily Allen, Missy Elliott, 2manydjs, Gossip and The Ting Tings. With not a mile-long shower queue or muddy tent in sight, Wireless is a more refined festival affair with music workshops, chill-out areas, artist signing booths, performance art and beer gardens.

Where: Hyde Park, London
Price: £47.50-£110

The Big Chill Festival, 5-8 August

One of the summer's most diverse and creative festivals, The Big Chill is the best UK festival for alternative, dance and chill-out music and comedy. Folk, rock, baroque, pop, reggae - name it and we guarantee it'll be there. Acts this year include Massive Attack, M.I.A., Roots Manuva, Gregory Isaacs and Lilly Allen.

Where: Eastnor Castle Deer Park in Ledbury, Herefordshire
Price: £70-£155

Glyndebourne, until 29 August

In a pocket of sleepy East Sussex countryside, Glyndebourne's yearly opera festival is a prominent event on the classical music world's calendar. Spread over the summer, the stately English country house puts on a selection of performances, and this year's 75th Glyndebourne festival season includes Mozart's Don Giovanni, as well as operatic adaptations of Macbeth, and fairy-tale classic Hansel and Gretel.

Where: Glyndebourne, East Sussex
Cost: £135-£195 per performance

End of the Road, 10-12 September

Find a small and oh-so-perfectly formed indie festival amid the tranquil greenery of Dorset's Larmer Tree Gardens. This year's End of the Road is showcasing an eclectic bevy of musical offerings, featuring edgy US alt-rockers Modest Mouse and folk-punk fusion Forest Fire. Hone entertainment and creative skills in daytime circus and art workshops, scoff an enticing array of locally sourced cuisine, and explore leafy pathways dotted with illuminated statues.

Where: Larmer Tree Gardens, Dorset
Cost: £130