Wonderful world, beautiful people, sang indefatigable reggae legend Jimmy Cliff in his final night headline show - and that perfectly sums up what the Larmer Tree Festival is all about.

Silver was the theme for this 25th anniversary event and it even prompted festival stalwarts Show of Hands to burst into Urban Spaceman when a completely silver astronaut wandered past the stage during the first of their two sets.

Bournemouth Echo:

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It was that sort of occasion and, as founder James Shepherd pointed out in his interesting talk on the event's history, a far cry from 1990 when jazz saxophonist Dick Hexstall-Smith played to around 150 people. Security was scarce, tickets cost just a few pounds and no one even considered that a licence might be required.

Now a small army makes Larmer Tree - in gardens and woods on the Dorset/Wiltshire border run like clockwork as 15,000 festival-goers over six days enjoyed the likes of Tom Jones, spanish guitarists Rodrigo y Gabriella, madcap comic and musical genius Bill Bailey, African star Femi Kuti and the soon to split up folk party band Bellowhead - among hundreds of artistes across many stages.

Bournemouth Echo:

But, also in their 25th anniversary year, it was neo-hippy folk punk agitators The Levellers who topped the lot with a storming set and showed just why every festival should have them.

And that's not forgetting the comedy, DJs, poetry, talks, workshops and kids activities.

While Larmer Tree remains thankfully small, it is still impossible to see everything - so coming across hidden gems is a delight. Step forward rock hopefuls Hunter & The Moon, Bournemouth youngster Wesley Bennett, the enigmatic Drew Allen, Senegalese kora expert Diabel Cissokho, the entertaining Police Dog Hogan and tyro reggae outfit By The Rivers, who were back for a third successive year.

Honourable mentions too for Weymouth's boogie-woogie king Ben Waters' late-night mash-up, Steve Knightley for three slots in two days, the effervescent Kobo Town and the hilarious Southampton Ukulele Jam.

Bournemouth Echo:

It was the sort of festival where you would find The Magic Numbers dancing on stage to Rodrigo y Gabriella, where the Half-Naked Chef would serve up Guinness and cream and where talking letterboxes rivalled giant chess (it was that middle class) for our time.

As top TV comic Seann Walsh said in a cheese-induced (you had to be there) midnight spot, and I paraphrase here, 'where the hell am I and who the hell are all these people on the bill?'

Precisely, and let's keep it that way.