THE SUN shone, for most of the time, and thousands flocked to Eastnor for Lakefest last weekend.

It was, all told, a celebration of music, fun and the great outdoors.

Fields became tent cities, fairground rides whirled people high, and the beat went on, from highlight to highlight, including a stunning late night set by rockers Primal Scream, on Friday, and a stomping afternoon triumph on the Saturday, by the Eighties legends known as Big Country.

Despite such memorable and gifted performances, it wasn't all about music: as a giant mermaid beamed from the lake, as giant bubbles drifted across the landscape and stalls flogged everything from t-shirts to willow sculptures.

People could relax in a giant deckchair or take in the scenes from strategically placed bales of hay, beneath the colourful fluttering of huge festival pennants.

On Friday evening, BMX riders dared all with a dramatic aerial ballet without nets: an spinning triumph of will and machine over gravity, ten or fifteen feet off solid ground or alarming concrete ramps.

Lakefest was an engaging mix of carnival, concert and Alice in Wonderland which, at times, was more than a little surreal.

Highlights for me included Primal Scream and its lead singer Bobby Gillespie who, in his willowy appearance and style, reminded me of Mick Jagger. This was not to detract from the unnerving edge to his vocals, in the semi-darkness of the tented Castle Stage, the main arena.

Middle-aged men stomped around before me, partying like it was still 1986, on a night of drifting, heavy scents.

Big digital screens, located behind the band, invented a rapid, dizzying new language of lines and flashing circles.

Primal Scream clearly still have more than one foot in the present day scene, whereas Big Country was more of a nostalgic rock back in time.

Their execution was flawless and inspiring, and I had forgotten how many hits they have to their credit, such as In a Big Country, Look Away and Fields of Fire.

Remember those?

There was a big screen outside the Castle Stage pavilion, and I watched them there: glancing from the actual stage to the screen and back again, as projection and performance synchronized perfectly, in a debate about reality and scale.

There were other highlights too, of course, from both the famous and the emerging: from the lively American indie band, We Are Scientists, a highlight for many, through to numerous performers, in the beer tent and in other smaller pavilions, who seized their moment to shine and entertain.

Of course, the bins overflowed and some toilets were blocked, and the price of a cider was £4, after you paid £1.50 for the compulsory Lakefest pint mug; but these minor irritations are surely all part of the festival scene, which is, by now, as British as tea and crumpets.