Thursday afternoon and there is the usual milling around of people lugging about more than enough apparel that will last them 6 months in a nuclear bunker let alone a 4 day festival. Setting up early is the key here. Nothing is more satisfying than relaxing with a beer watching people’s backs buckle under the weight of useless home comforts. However, the very decent organisers of The Chill had procured the services of helpful pack horses, well, kind people with trolleys to assist you with the crippling car to campsite stretch that we all dread. As the campsites fill the atmosphere is slightly subdued due to the thoroughly non Big Chill weather. It is grey, drizzling and shows no sign of improving. Then, at 8pm on the nose the sun appears to the rapturous applause and appreciation of the campsite over and spirits are on the up. The sun lasted for 4 minutes.

Don’t get me wrong though. The weather was far from Glastonbury and other that the odd shower the weather was ideal, never blistering and for the most part comfortable. Thursday evening drew to a close with people flocking to the various sponsored bars to enjoy cold beer and expensive tequila and mojitos.

It’s Friday morning and after scrambling from the tent we were all forced to make that dreaded festival toilet visit. But alas, they are plentiful and clean. Granted it is only day one but there were short, if any queues and they were CLEAN. Across the various stages on the first afternoon there is an array of down tempo acts ranging from bands to DJs, poets to authors, all there to ease you to the evening’s decadence as you amble about the site getting your bearings. Highlights on the first day were Spiro on the Castle stage. They combine contemporary folk sounds and are proggy enough to please a wider crowd than the bearded folk devotees. The first sizable crowd amassed to the Club tent to see Roots Manuva and stayed there all night. Roots Manuva was a little flat but Luke Vibert followed by Daedelus were stunning. Daedelus emerged in his trademark white penguin jacket and wielding his custom built sampler. He offered up an engaging mix of his own 1940s tinged tunes and dropped enough mash-ups to keep all entertained, including a take on Nirvana’s Drain You.

Saturday’s line-up looked like it was going to keep all a little busier than the Friday and it proved to be true. In glorious sunshine a crowd far bigger that the tent allocated to him turned out to see Bill Bailey. With the tent full, the epic crowd sat outside to listen to Bill and he proved to be an excellent hangover cure. Many decent acts filled the day until everyone turned out to see a band of gents who go by the name of The Mighty Boosh. They introduced each song with a new character and although the set got a little tired the introductions to each song were hilarious and it was well worth watching just for the track ‘I did a shit on your mum’. The crowds were treated to many of the characters from the show and the large numbers of children in the audience were not spared the crudities of the Boosh’s tongue.

A welcome addition to this year’s Big Chill was the inclusion of the Sunrise Celebration and a greatly improved Art Trail. Offering great value for money there was plenty to be getting on with besides the music line up. The colour added by these extras really contributes to the unique atmosphere of this festival. It is unlike any other festival in its mood and tempo. Other than the obvious chilled nature of the weekend there is a ‘Leave no Trace’ policy ensuring the site stays clean and tidy. There is not a modicum of aggression and the 100% sustainable resources that go in to the Sunrise area and inclusion of NGOs and charities remind you that there is still a lot of big issues that need addressing and the fact the organisers can do this without ever being intrusive is a joy. This festival is far bigger than just its musical content.

Maintaining a Big Chill tradition, Norman Jay played the Open Air stage on Sunday and even managed to coax the sun out of hiding. A large display also took place on one of the hills as a number of people all dressed in white formed a large T for the struggle in Tibet. Jeffrey Lewis played in the media mix tent to a surprisingly small crowd. He was, as usual, excellent and offered The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song as a tribute to Leonard Cohen who played later that same evening. The only disappointment to the Jeffrey Lewis set was that it only lasted twenty five minutes.

Before the main event, before Leonard Cohen, a sizable crowd assembled to watch The Buzzcocks. Although the older members of the crowd were now with kids and picnic boxes as opposed to mohawks, they lapped up the set which almost felt out of place due to the contrasting content of The Buzzcocks arsenal compared to other acts across the weekend. What was surprising to see though was the variety of people in the audience which The Buzzcocks managed to exhibit better than anyone else over the weekend. People young and old and from all walks of life go to the Big Chill and almost certainly the best thing about this crowd is their unflinching friendliness. Song writing legend Leonard Cohen was the main event. Not just on Sunday but for the weekend. It would not have seemed right to miss this and I felt for the other acts that were on at the same time. I can only assume they played to a quiet tent. Cohen is a far cry from the drum and bass, dubstep, ska, and trip-hop on offer but the respect and fixation he commands so effortlessly is astonishing and even if the crowd were not exclusively diehard fans they went to see him on the strength of his reputation and were not let down.

There is so much more to enjoy at this festival than the music and if the line up does not immediately appeal then that does not mean you should be put off. The variety of options on how to spend a day at the Big Chill is huge. The location in which it lies is beautiful, the festival goers are beautiful, the condition of the site and amenities are ace, and the food is good. Next year you could do a lot worse than invest in a ticket for this festival. I urge you to do so.