Wickerman will see pilgrimage from Ayrshire

Jul 24 2009 by Michael Pringle

MANY Ayrshire festival goers will have just recovered from the excesses of T in the Park last weekend.

There may even be a few who are still recovering. Many will have packed away the tents and the wellies until next year, but for those in the know there's a top Scottish festival looming on the horizon.

The Wickerman Festival takes place for the eighth successive year near Dundrennan in Dumfries and Galloway. The festival has proven popular with Ayrshire music lovers, being close to home and promoting Ayrshire talent into the bargain over the previous years.

Headliners this year will be Liverpool band The Zutons and 80s band The Human League. Unlike the bigger commercial festivals it has a more family orientated feel with kids welcomed and catered for. It also runs throughout the night only stopping for a few hours to clear up and start again.

Ayr-based ska band The Hostiles will grace the stage in the scooter tent where Bad Manners will headline on Saturday.

There is music from an array of genres for the most discerning of music fans; reggae, rock, indie, ska, punk, electronic and several styles of dance with house legend Danny Rampling even giving classes to the wannabe DJs among the campers.

There's also spoken word, poetry, comedy and even a retro outdoor cinema - where yes, you can watch the original Wickerman movie starring Edward Woodward.

At midnight on Saturday there's a feast of pyrotechnics and a giant wickerman effigy is set ablaze to the sound of the bagpipes.

So if you still have the energy left or you didn't manage to get a ticket for T last week, dig out the tent and the wellies and head south.

The Wickerman Festival takes place this weekend on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 July, check out www.thewickermanfestival.co.uk for more info. Weekend tickets cost £80 including camping and parking and kids under 14 go free if accompanied by an adult.

BURN BABY BURN: The giant Wickerman will be set alight.