Getting to know the stages at this year's Farr Festival

Everyone loves a festival that’s close to home. Farr Festival, just on the outskirts of London, seems a world away from the huff and puff of the big smoke. But in reality, it’s nothing more than a half hour train ride away

What started as a small group of friends doing something different in 2009, Farr Festival has grown to become a cutting edge music festival worthy of envy. But it hasn’t grown too far and too quickly - the organisers of Farr haven’t got too big for their boots, their feet still firmly planted to the ground.

Farr Festival is run by a tight knit crew of music-obsessed people, putting on an intimate festival for all the right reasons. No more trudging across sodden fields for 30 minutes at a time. No more queuing at the bar for an hour. Farr Festival’s secret is its size and compactness, squeezing a whole new world into a boutique atmosphere.

As the years have gone on, Farr have jumped further down the rabbit hole, venturing deeper into the woods year-on-year, leaving a trail of snares and kick drums in it’s path as it slips away from the real world.

So, unlike the title of this burgeoning boutique festival, a natural oasis of music, art, colour and sound are nestled within an uninhabited Hertfordshire forest. No unreasonable sound restrictions, no grumpy neighbours and definitely no litter; this tranquil, “leave no trace” environment offers the perfect setting to experience a breadth of cutting edge electronica and dance music. And that’s exactly what underpins electronic music in general – experience.

From the dank halls of Berlin to the basement clubs of London and Amsterdam, the scenarios and settings in which we enjoy our favourite DJs is of upmost importance; a night at a bad club, or an amazing DJ set marred by a shady venue with extortionate drink prices and dubious clientele can make or break that experience. But watching the best – everyone from Henrik Schwarz to Ame, Spectrasoul and Todd Terje - in the tranquil setting of a forest really is quite hard to grumble about.

Onsite, there's a leafy woodland area comprised of four stages, plus a large open, sprawling area that resembles a sleepy country show. Plus, in the daytime, there’s lots to help you unwind enjoy the (hopeful) sunshine, from hot tubs and hot yoga, to meditation sessions and special guests Midnight Runners, who will host a 6K Rave Run with 3 bootcamp-style exercise stops, all to a banging and specially curated Farr Festival soundtrack.

Hell – if that sounds like a lot of work, you can always go sit in a corner at House of Huns Fan Workshop and get crafty by making your own hand fans.

And, being uniquely placed in a secret (ish) garden, Farr Festival have put as much into the experience of attending their gathering as they have with their world class line up. It’s not just raving within a forest that we can look forward to either – from industrial tinged spaces, wooden ramshackle structures to plate-shifting soundsystems and daytime activities, a literal township of likeminded souls will thrive in the Bygrave Woods, immersing themselves within the natural surroundings of the beautiful British countryside.

But aside from twinkly lights, colourful bunting, head-dress workshops and inviting woodland enclaves, what else is on offer at this year’s edition of Farr?

The Factory

The Factory is Farr's only connection with the industrialised world. The main stage of the festival is built on 52 shipping containers (reusable materials are paramount to Farr's nature-respecting ethos), big enough to host around 2500 wide eyed ravers. But the jewel in the crown of this post-industrial set up is it’s custom-built L-acoustics soundsystem. The deep and rich sound of the stage will play host to Daphni, Shanti Celeste, Mount Kimbie, DJ Stingray and Maribou State, all of whom will be accompanied by pyrotechnics, apex stage LED lightning rods and a video mapping system. A 2am techno-lovers paradise if ever there was one.

Discover "The Factory" line-up.

The Shack

The Shack is seen as an integral part of what Farr has become today. That aforementioned group of friends discovered the ramshackle hut within the woods back in 2009 and decided to use it as their launch pad for gradual, slow expansion. Decked in bunting, with the wooden, skewwhiff hut as its focal point. It’s kitted out with a custom spec Funktion One soundsystem. Gerd Jansen, Dixon, Willow and Call Super will be on hand to soundtrack the experience for you.

Discover "The Shack" line-up.

Adventures in Success

Adventures in Success, besides having an incredibly cool name, represents the roots and ethos of Farr Festival – a platform to showcase raw talent, mixed into a world beating line up. There’s no huge rigging, no special areas and no frills – it’s just a space in the woods, with the beautiful forestry of the Bygrave Woods above your head acting as a natural canopy. The likes of Roman Flugel, Optimo, Bodyhammer and Prosumer are set to inhabit this stripped back stage, where the music will most certainly do all of the talking.

Discover "Adventures in Success" lineup.

Ma Dahu's

Ma Dahu is a new addition to the festival for 2018. Set deep in the woodland area, it is flanked by four full-size Funktion One stacks on each corner for maximum, quadrophonic sound. What’s more, its set around terraced staging and also offers sumptuous Jerk chicken stand to stave of the hunger. What’s more, the beastie soundsystem will host the likes of Moodymann, Mr.G, Joey Anderson and Zip. Eat that, city slickers.

Discover "Ma Dahu" lineup.

Campfire Headphase

Following the success of its debut edition last year, London via Berlin based electronic music magazine Inverted Audio return to programme Thursday, Friday and Saturday with a behemoth of talent to grace the stage. On Sunday Bristol-based outer-national record label Bokeh Versions take control of the stage serving up a day of dub, reggae and dancehall.

Discover "Campfire Headphase" lineup.

House of Dinosaur

Last but not least, this new area will let you wind down with yoga, meditation, and other mysteriously-named but enticing activities such as "Papa Disco" and "Bavarian School of Rave".

Sell all the activities of "House of Dinosaur".