This year is the 15th anniversary of The Big Chill, one of the country's more enjoyable summer festivals, and to mark the occasion, organisers have published Summer Living - a book bursting with ideas on how to make the most of the festival season.
Beautifully illustrated, it is packed full of suggestions on how to rediscover your inner child and guides to some of the best summer sports - skiving, brewing your own beer, toe wrestling, etc.
Even if you’re not the festival type, the book has lots to offer to make the summer more memorable – from the best al fresco food to outdoor survival tips, plus how to read the night sky.
There's a full guide to all the top summer events in the UK, including how to incorporate a weekend of music and arts into a longer holiday.
Helpful hints for the outdoors, from buying the right tent, making your own hammock and how to start a fire, to the more whimsical
activities such as cloud watching, stargazing and foraging for seasonal treats.
Not to mention some top tips for nude sunbathing!
The Big Chill is not one of those festivals for whom on-site food means a burger van, a pizza van and a kebab van. The variety of food outlets on offer was quite innovative when the festival began in 1994. And the book contains recipes for festival foodie favourites, with guides from Big Chill stalwarts such as the Pure Pie company and Seacow.
You can also toast the summer with a perfectly mixed cocktail, from a selection of Big Chill favourites and organise those wacky games like human snail racing or maybe a worm charming championship.
They always seem like a good idea after the cocktails...
Music producer Mr Scruff describes the book as "a modern day Blue Peter annual for grown-ups".
The book contains 224 pages - you can preview 19 of them below...
Summer Living is available from guardianbooks and Amazon.
The Big Chill takes place August 6-9 at Eastnor Castle Deer Park, Eastnor, Ledbury, Herefordshire.
www.bigchill.net/festival
