When: July 1 to 3
Where: Paddock Wood, Kent
Cost: £170 (€193) weekend camping

Although slightly below England’s festival radar, Hop Farm offers a stellar line-up this year including some of the biggest names in world music from the last 40 years.

Headline acts included Eagles, Morrissey, Prince (in his only UK show this year), Bryan Ferry, Iggy and the Stooges, Lou Reed and Manu Chao.

Performances are spread across three stages while further attractions include funfair rides and celebrity five-a-side football.

Hop Farm Festival was founded in response to complaints that the UK festival scene was becoming increasingly corporate at the expense of ordinary fans. As a result, Hop Farm has gone back to basics, with no sponsorship, no branding and no VIP tickets.

So expect an old school festival vibe, with plenty of genuine music fans trying to recapture the magic of the early Glastonbury days.

Hop Farm Family Park, the setting for the festival, is a top tourist attraction in its own right, boasting a life-size recreation of a period village, a museum about the farm’s original use, a waxworks museum, fun house and play area, among other things.

The festival campsite is open from Friday lunchtime.

To get there, fly to London with a variety of airlines including Air Malta, Easyjet, BMI and Ryanair (Luton).

Special coach services at will be running from London Kings Cross and Waterloo, as well as Brighton; see the website www.hopfarmfestival.com for details.