Festival getaways

Liverpool Sound City’s 28-30 April return signalled the start of 2023’s festival season. If you’re looking to combine a brimming bill of music, comedy, food and activities with a weekend getaway, you don’t have to venture far from Liverpool to find a field of fun no matter what you’re into. We’ve hand-picked four of the summer’s best festivals within easy reach of the city

JODRELL BANK OBSERVATORY, CHESHIRE

WHEN IS IT? 20-23 July

WHAT’S HAPPENING? A small, family-friendly festival which more holds its own musically. Róisín Murphy, Pavement, Grace Jones, Young Fathers and Leftfield top the bill at this year’s edition.

There’s much more to bluedot than the bands though, as the event promises a weekend of discovery against the backdrop of Jodrell Bank’s famous Lovell Telescope.

Science workshops, out of this world activities and prominent speakers including the Sky at Night’s Chris Lintott are also added to the mix, alongside other cultural features to be explored.

Plus Nish Kumar, Adam Buxton and Matt Winning are just a few of the stellar acts announced for the comedy line-up. HOW TO GET THERE You won’t have to travel for lightyears as Jodrell Bank is a mere 50-minute drive from Liverpool city centre. Return National Express services from Liverpool can also be booked in advance, and train users are advised to head to Macclesfield station to catch a coach to the site.

ACCOMMODATION Take your tent or book in a live-in vehicle, but if star treatment is more your thing there are boutique camping and pre-pitched tent options too. Upgrade to the VIP Village for a more relaxed experience with access to exclusive food and drink concessions and a lounge area.

PRICE Adult weekend camping tickets from £209 + booking fee, with day tickets starting at £39 + booking fee for the Thursday.

WHEN IS IT? 13-16 July

WHAT’S HAPPENING?

Beat-Herder 2023 is shaping up into another wonderful weekend of internationally acclaimed bands, world-renowned DJs,

Deva Fest

CHOLMONDELEY CASTLE, CHESHIRE

WHEN IS IT? 11-13 August

WHAT’S HAPPENING? A family-friendly music, food and lifestyle festival located in the grounds of Cholmondeley Castle, headlined by Will Young, Feeder, Starsailor, Fleur East and Five.

Deva Fest has always been about a lot more than just the music and 2023 is no different with the Deva Laughs comedy club returning alongside a free-to-use fairground, circus shows, watersports and the new Kids Kingdom.

Plus there’s a Superhero Day parade on Saturday where you will need to don your best capes, tights and masks to help save fellow festival-goers from an invasion of flying ninja kittens!

HOW TO GET THERE? Cholmondeley is an hour’s drive from Liverpool but if you’d prefer to leave the car at home, Tuned in Travel is running a coach service to the festival site from William Brown Street.

ACCOMMODATION Bring your own tent or live-in vehicle and stay at the Deer Park campsite or book one of the exclusive glamping bell tents at Camp Deva.

Lytham Festival

LYTHAM ST. ANNE’S, LANCASHIRE

WHEN IS IT? 28 June – 2 July

WHAT’S HAPPENING? A quite remarkable collection of concerts staged on the banks of Lancashire’s stunning Ribble Estuary featuring breakthrough artists and absolute party starters.

A host of talent will be on display across 12 stages including Pendulum (Live), Alison Goldfrapp, Confidence Man and Peter Hook & the Light – with more acts to be announced soon.

Beat-Herder, which began life as essentially a rave in a farmer’s field, is independently funded and has no connection to corporate organisations –allowing the organisers to retain total control over who they book and the site’s otherworldly design.

Acts will perform across a range of weird, wonderful and immersive stages, such as the corrugated metal castle that is The Fortress, the fragranced

Perfumed Garden dome, and the wooded Toil Trees to name a few. HOW TO GET THERE The site is just over an hour and 20 minutes from Liverpool by car. Those travelling by public transport can catch a train to Preston and then hop onto the regular 280 bus, which runs along the A59 and passes the festival gates.

ACCOMMODATION Book in your campervan or caravan, or take your tent to the festival. Alternatively, a limited number of bell tents are still available for hire from £763.20 (based on four people sharing).

PRICE Adult weekend tickets from £230.55 (including booking fee).

Organisers have also introduced packages where you can head to the festival by day and rest your head in the comfort of the Hotel Indigo in Chester by night.

PRICE Adult weekend tickets are £99.50 + booking fee (without camping) or £148.50 (with camping) + booking fee.

Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Blondie, Sting, Lionel Richie and Jamiroquai to name a few.

Whilst the Lytham Festival isn’t technically a ‘proper festival’, as camping isn’t permitted, we thought it deserved a pass given the star-powered line-up.

Started in 2010 by friends Daniel Cuffe and Peter Taylor, the event has grown significantly both in size and scope over the last decade with crowds of up to 20,000 people a night expected to descend on Lytham Green this summer.

HOW TO GET THERE? It will take you less than an hour and a half to reach Lytham St. Anne’s from Liverpool by car. If you prefer to use public transport, the festival site is a short walk from Lytham Rail Station.

ACCOMMODATION For the first time, organisers are offering 2023 festival-goers the option to include a hotel or apartment with their ticket as a part of a package through its partners at Sound Travel.

Each package includes tickets to the festival and a hotel or apartment stay on the night of your chosen event.

PRICE Five-day general admission tickets from £272.60 + booking fee, with day tickets starting at £61.85 + booking fee for the Thursday.