THOUSANDS of revellers gathered on a country estate in West Oxfordshire for a wild weekend in the country.
The ninth annual Wilderness festival at Cornbury Park, Charlbury, was a carnival of creativity where the big headline acts shared centre stage with the endlessly entertaining festival-goers dressed in outrageous finery.
As usual Wilderness attracted some big-name headline acts, with sets by dance icon Robyn, indie popsters Bombay Bicycle Club and dance duo Groove Armada who close the festival tonight.
Other top performers included Tom Odell, Tom Grennan and Caravan Palace.
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A Saturday night hip hop karaoke session at The Atrium venue, featuring amateur rappers on the mic, drew a large crowd with plenty of people singing along to the hits.
With hundreds of other music, comedy, spoken word and theatre performances there was entertainment for all.
For many at Wilderness, dressing up was one of the major highlights.
Among the crowds of about 29,950 were four friends from London, Andrea Gallyer, Angela Catto, Nerys Gash, and Jacqui Hawthorn.
They were among the many who embraced the Saturday night dressing-up theme of ‘what’s your hue’.
Ms Hawthorn said: "We have never been before, we heard about this from friends, but I can’t fault the set-up – I think the organisers manage to tick all the boxes and there’s something for everyone.
“It’s not so much about the music - it’s about the atmosphere and the dressing up.”
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Geraldine Carr, 39, from London, said she particularly enjoyed Letters Live, in which celebrities read out letters from well-known personalities.
Those reading on Saturday included film star Minnie Driver, comedian Jennifer Saunders and Oscar winner Olivia Colman.
Ms Carr said: “I met a friend from Ireland here and we managed to get in a quiet zone camping.
“It’s very family-friendly with a fantastic variety of different shows and events - I would definitely come again.”
For those who wanted to expand their minds there were plenty of talks on weighty topics at The Forum, or they could quite literally let their minds float downstream by taking a free rowing trip on the lake.
Meditation teacher Jamie Hughes, 26, from London, said: “It’s been an amazing vibe.”
Aimee Madill, 31, from East London, set up her Phlox Books pop-up bookshop.
She said: “It’s been very busy – we’ve been selling lots of books by speakers at the festival and lots of books which reflect the natural world: people like to take a book home with them as a souvenir.”
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The Sunday fancy-dress cricket match featured players dressed as The Pope, Boris Johnson, and a dinosaur. More than 40 streakers were greeted with big cheers.
After Robyn’s set on Saturday on the main stage, the audience was treated to a dramatic spectacle by Arcadia, including aerial acrobatics.
Head of event management Charlotte Drummond-Chew said: ‘This year’s Wilderness has been one for the books.
“Our minds have been overwhelmed by the incredibly high standard of our incandescent musicians, performers and artists, and our hearts have been warmed by our bold, gregarious audiences, to whom we are eternally grateful."
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