The sun is shining, there’s the smell of cider in the air –  yes, clean last year’s mud from your tent and dig out those wellies, as the summer is here and its festival time once again.  Festivals in the UK have been experiencing a serious boom time over the past five to ten years and the behemoths like Reading and Leeds are no longer the only events to offer an awesome summer line up and fun in a field.

City festivals, boutique festivals, one-day festivals and island festivals mean that there are now hundreds of events to choose to spend your festival money on.  But which are the best?  Here is a list of the top 10 UK festivals.

1 Secret Garden Party

A relatively new entry to the festival scene, this one is for hipsters and secret hippies who want to be part of a “temporary community that is as free, irreverent, friendly and engaging as it is possible to be.”  The festival takes place near Huntingdon in East Anglia and is a camping festival.  There are 16 arenas – some large some small – and a mix of big names, obscure artists and up and comers.  For 2011 you can expect Leftfield, Blondie and Mylo, to name but a few.

2 Download

The three day event at Donnington Park has been up and running since 2003 and is specifically for rockers.  The 2011 line up includes headliners Linkin Park, Def Leppard and System of  a Down.

3 T in The Park

T in the Park is Scotland’s most successful music festival and has now built a reputation to rival any of the events down south.  As a result, its eight stages attract big name acts – the 2011 headliners are the Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters and Coldplay, alongside Beyonce and Pendulum.

4 Latitude

Although Latitude attracts some great names to play on the stages dotted around its magical woodland site at Henham Park in Suffolk, it is also well known for being a festival of art, comedy and performance.  There are alternative stages here including a cabaret stage, theatre arena and comedy arena, as well as a lake to sit around in the evenings.  Music headliners for 2011 include The National, Suede and Paolo Nutini.

5 Big Chill

Eastnor Castle Deer Park is the venue for the annual Big Chill, which has an excellent dance line up that in 2011 includes Kanye West, Chemical Brothers, Jessie J and Rodrigo Y Gabriela.

6 Field Day

Panned by the critics for the first couple of years after some horrendous mix ups with not enough toilets, beer or bar staff, Field Day finally seems to have got its house in order and the annual festival in Victoria Park in London is now well respected.  2011 headliners include alternative indie like Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, and dance names like Carl Craig, Erol Alkan, James Blake and Jamie Woon.

7 Isle of Wight Festival

One of the original festivals, and the first on the Isle of Wight (at Seaclose Park, Newport), this fest is well established and an event that any bona fide festival lover should go to at least once in a lifetime.  The line up is usually quite indie and pop, and for 2011 the headliners include Kasabian, Kings of Leon and Foo Fighters.

8 Bestival

Another Isle of Wight festival, Bestival is the younger, sexier, dancier cousin of the original IOW event.  The festival is the perfect home for crossover vintage indie and dance fans and 2011 headliners include Pendulum, The Cure, PJ Harvey and Primal Scream.  If you are heading to this one don’t forget to investigate the annual fancy dress theme and get an outfit as EVERYONE dresses up.

9 Reading and Leeds

No festival run down would be complete without the double whammy that is Reading and Leeds.  Reading Festival has been rocking since the 1970s and Leeds since 1999.  The music weekender is now less rock-heavy than it used to be, but attracts the biggest names in rock, pop, alternative and indie.  The 2011 headliners include Muse, The Strokes, Pulp and My Chemical Romance.

10 Glastonbury

You can’t compile a festival Top 10 without the mother of all festivals – Glastonbury.  Not only does it have the biggest acts, the best site and a ton of stuff to explore, but it also retains some of the hippy vibe of the original festival, with its Healing Fields and Tipi Fields, and that little bit of magic is what sets it apart from all the other festivals that have copied its formula.  The 2011 Glasto lineup includes US, Coldplay, Beyonce, Wu Tang Clan

This was a guest post by John from Sold out tickets site ticketshub.co.uk which has information on a range of Uk festival tickets.