VILLAGE Pump Folk Festival organiser John Alderslade praised the “phenomenal” atmosphere at this year’s event, as thousands of revellers defied the unpredictable British weather for a musical feast.

Heavy rain on the Friday and Sunday could not dampen the spirit of festival-goers at the annual three-day event, which has been held at White Horse Country Park in Westbury since 2012.

The headline acts across the weekend included Coco & The Butterfields, Barbara Dickson, Treacherous Orchestra and Oysterband, with performances taking place across the festival’s three main stages and club stage.

There were also plenty of games, craft workshops and performances to keep children entertained in the family tent and festival arena, including the first interactive family folk show by musical husband and wife duo Megson.

“Everyone just ignored the weather to be honest and the site is brilliant as it drains well, so thanks to the hard work of the crew it went off without an issue,” said Mr Alderslade, festival director.

“The big plus was that we were able to set everything up in the dry and as the festival is mainly undercover, the rain wasn’t a huge problem for us. It just meant people couldn’t sit out on the grass, but the Saturday was lovely.

“The atmosphere was phenomenal and there were smiling faces all weekend. The music was fantastic and there was a really good mixture of established acts like Oysterband and up-and-coming artists like Keston Cobblers Club.

“Treacherous Orchestra said our stage crew were one of the best they have ever worked with and that is one of the keys to our success, as it encourages more bands to play here. We also had a great spread of food and artisan stalls, which worked really well this year.”

Festival patrons Show of Hands put on an extra special performance on the Saturday this year, with the concert recorded especially for an exclusive live album that will be made available to those in the audience on the night.

Mr Alderslade added: “The Show of Hands performance was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend and it was a great idea, as the atmosphere in the Main Stage tent on Saturday was brilliant.

“So far all the feedback from people has been excellent and I had countless people coming up to me to shake my hand and saying what a great festival it was. The ticket sales were strong all weekend and I think it has re-established itself from the downturn at the Stowford site.

“Our main focus was to deliver a good festival that everyone could enjoy and we did that. We are now already looking ahead to next year and making sure we keep trying to outdo ourselves.”