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The Secret Garden Party festival took place last weekend (July 23-26) in the tiny village of Abbots Ripton, near Huntington, Cambridgeshire. Performances at the fancy-dress-themed bash came from the likes of Jarvis Cocker, VV Brown, Fight Like Apes, The Holloways and Noah And The Whale. Pic: Andy Willsher
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Now in its fourth year, the Secret Garden Party is one of the smaller festivals on the circuit, attracting around 12,000 revellers each year. The highlight of this year’s event was a colossal, ‘Wicker Man’-style bonfire on the Saturday night, during which a giant pagoda in the middle of a lake was put to the torch. Pic: Andy Willsher
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The Kooks were one of the bigger names on a diverse bill that included a number of female singer-songwriters such as VV Brown and Emmy The Great. Pic: Andy Willsher
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Unlike Britain’s other fancy dress festival, Bestival, there is no set theme at Secret Garden Party: revellers are encouraged to use their imagination. However, we noticed that flowery headgear and garlands were big this year, perhaps reflecting the growing style influence of Florence And The Machine. Pic: Andy Willsher
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A couple of punters enjoying a dirty weekend at The Secret Garden Party (July 24-26). Mud wrestling was one of the many activities the guests were encouraged to take part in at the weekend. Thankfully, the mud was not naturally occurring: aside from a downpour on Thursday night, the sun shone throughout. Pic: Andy Willsher
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Phoenix onstage at Secret Garden Party on Friday evening (July 24). The French band were watched by a luridly dressed, up-for-it crowd. Pic: Andy Willsher
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The XX give fans a taster of their forthcoming album at Secret Garden Party. The London four-piece have been busy on the festival circuit – they played Latitude the previous weekend (July 16-19). The band are also preparing for the release of their debut album ‘XX’, which is set for release on August 17. Pic: Andy Willsher
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We’re not too sure what’s going on here but it could possibly be a human game of chess… Pic: Andy Willsher
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Secret Garden Party is the only festival NME has been to where outdoor swimming is encouraged. On Saturday afternoon the lake was packed full of punters splashing about in their pants in a bid to escape the hot weather. Pic: Andy Willsher
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More mud wrestlers. They’ll regret that when they sober up… Pic: Andy Willsher
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Secret Garden Party’s main stage by night. One artist who caught the mood was VV Brown – her upbeat set attracted an ever-growing crowd, with the entire field dancing wildly to her recent hit, ‘Crying Blood’. Pic: Andy Willsher
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Jarvis Cocker headlined the whacky event on Friday July 24 – and embraced the spirit of the festival by launching giant balloons into the crowd mid-set. Balloons of another kind – ones filled with nitrous oxide, or laughing gas – were a common site at the bash. Pic: Andy Willsher
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Secret Garden Party ended with a bang when fireworks were held over the very lake festival-goers had been skinny-dipping in during the weekend, on the last night of the festival (July 26). Let’s hope no-one was still in the lake at the time… Pic: Andy Willsher
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One of the rarer breeds to be found at Secret Garden Party last weekend (July 24-26). 12,000 revellers packed out the small-scale site, for its fourth sell-out year. Pic: Andy Willsher
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A triumphant punter pictured after winning a mud-wrestling contest and before heading to the festival’s lake to wash off the remains. Pic: Andy Willsher
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Legendary blues guitarist Peter Green was another artist to play the festival’s Great Stage on Sunday (July 26). The founding member of Fleetwood Mac played a set of both solo and Mac songs, backed by a group of musician friends. Pic: Andy Willsher
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Noah And The Whale joined Jarvis Cocker, Rodrigo Y Gabriella, Emiliana Torrini, VV Brown, Phoenix, EMF, Slow Club, Bombay Bicycle Club and Screaming Lights for the eccentric bash, held in East Anglia’s idyllic countryside. Pic: Andy Willsher