If you are one of those people who wish they had been born in the 80s, then you know perfectly well that festivals in Ireland and England were the main flame stoking the fire. And they are still great to this day. You just have to know which ones are the absolute best and which ones you should visit. So, let’s check it out together. Here are the top 5 festivals in Ireland and England you must see!
1. Glastonbury
Probably the most famous music festival in England, Glastonbury has lived since the 1970s, and its quality has risen immensely.
Nowadays, you can simply purchase a ticket and drive down to Lake District to see some of the most legendary artists in the world! However, it is not due to the Pyramid, one of the world’s most famous stages; Glastonbury remains one of the top-visited festivals in Europe.
Their line-up has always claimed the best of the best. Musicians like Arctic Monkeys, Miley Cyrus, The Killers, and other worldly-known performers entertain the public with high-standard music and colorful shows. People from all over the world gather together for five days to share their connection and love for music, enjoying amity and good vibes!
Glastonbury is an annual festival, the next one happening from 21st to 26th June 2023, with Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and Arctic Monkeys rumored as headliners.
2. Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Parade
A visit to Dublin is an inseparable part of Ireland tours, and if you happen to go on St. Patrick’s Day, blend in with a booming crowd for the loudest and proudest St. Patrick’s salute!
Go around mid-March, but check the dates beforehand, as the parade is not always held on the same day. However, if you do make it, get ready for traditional Irish music, entertaining performances, art shows, dancing, and some of the most famous dishes of Irish cuisine.
Arrive early to find the best standing places, and enjoy the costumes, floats, posters, and marching bands. The festival is free of charge!
Keep in mind that Ireland is quite crowded this time of year, so book your reservations as early as possible.
3. The Jane Austen Festival
The Jane Austen Festival, located in central Bath, England, is perfect for classical literature fans. So get ready for a couple of days full of costumes, poetry reading, music recitals, and long strolls called the Grand Regency Costumed Promenade.
Lovers of Pride and Prejudice or Emma or any major work of Austen’s will have a blast conversing with minds so alike their own. In addition, you can enter trivia and games to test your knowledge of Jane Austen and her characters, worlds, and love dilemmas.
As was true in the regency area, they still entertain a tradition of afternoon tea. In addition, the Jane Austen Center and Regency Tea Rooms will be open for a daily lecture about the author and a cup of tea!
If you are only in the county for a visit or to attend the festival and want to go back to central England, take the Bath to London train, a journey of only an hour and a half!
4. Puck Fair
One of Ireland’s oldest and most bizarre festivals takes place in Killgorin, County Kerry. The deal is quite simple: every year, goat catchers head to the mountains with one goal in mind – to catch a wild goat! Then, the animal is brought to the city, where the Queen of Puck crowns the goat and declares him Kind Puck. Following the original scenario, the Queen of Puck is a young schoolgirl from a local primary school.
Actually, the Irish follow all the rules to this day, without making any changes! This is a significant sign that the festivities can begin!
After three days of celebration, the goat is brought back to the mountains.
There are several different theories on the origins of Puck Fair. The most common one is that the Irish recreated a pre-Christian celebration of the fruitful harvest and that the goat, Puck, symbolizes fertility, like a pagan god Pan. Unfortunately, the real story behind this uncanny tradition is lost in time.
However, if you are looking for an exciting story to bring back from your trip, this is guaranteed to be one of them.
5. Lost Village
Declared a ‘surreal’ experience, Lost Village is a UK dance music festival. Set in the remote and abandoned forest in Lincolnshire, it is an event that is undoubtedly one of a kind. While every fair is unique, Lost Village focuses on getting people out of their shells and comfort zones, showing them things they did not know existed, and preparing sights they would have never thought of.
Finding great comfort in eccentricity, the founders are set on creating the weirdest, out-of-place experiences and making the attendees feel all kinds of uneasy things.
The main idea is to live up to the name. After 4 days, you are destined to feel a little lost, disoriented, and unpredictable. All in good faith, though! While it all sounds a bit ominous, the festival was never intended in the wrong way, only a core-shocking one! The abandoned woods and dubious experiences are more of a Stephen King novel-type things.
However, you have to have a certain mindset and a free spirit to take on what it really means when people deem Lost Village as ‘other worldly.’ If you are ready to explore your soul and test the limit of things you find odd, purchase the tickets right now!
There you have it – five unique and crazy in a good way festivals in England and Ireland! Find what interests you the most and just go with it. You will never regret what you did, only what you ended up not doing, right? So have fun and best of luck exploring the wild sides of the countries!
Carol
Information sourced by the author for luxuryactivist.com. All content is copyrighted with no reproduction rights available. Images are for illustration purposes only.
