We had smooth sailing over on the ferry and arrived ready and raring to go. This year brought some great new additions to the festival. The Saloon Bar was a brilliant addition, perfect for anyone who loves a country and western vibe, and the line dancing was so much fun.

We also spent some time in Toxicated Tearooms, which isn't usually somewhere we'd visit, but it ended up being one of the highlights. Plus, it has its own secret hidden Cockney pub... if you know, you know!

As always, one of my absolute favourite places was the Electric Love tent. Amazing cover bands, brilliant '80s and '90s DJs, and pure nostalgia from start to finish. It's always a crowd favourite.

I do have to admit, though, that I really miss the old Old Mout tent with Rockaoke, and the Strongbow tent, which has now been replaced with a house and R&B area. Unfortunately, we didn't stay there long because it smelt like sick – not somewhere we wanted to hang around for too long!

Thursday

Thursday kicked off with Joel Corry. I'd seen him before, and we debated whether to watch him or head to one of the smaller tents. I'm so glad we stayed because he ended up being one of my highlights of the whole weekend. His set was absolutely incredible, and the atmosphere was electric.

Friday

Friday was mostly spent exploring the smaller tents and, as always, we ended up chatting to and making friends with complete strangers. That's one thing I absolutely love about the Isle of Wight Festival – everyone is generally so friendly, easy to talk to, and just up for having a laugh.

Well... almost everyone.

There was one particularly miserable woman who walked past while everyone was singing along to Robbie Williams' "Angels". She actually told me not to sing! God forbid anyone enjoys themselves and joins in at a music festival! 😂

Friday night was all about Lewis Capaldi. He was the main reason I wanted to be there that day and, as expected, he absolutely did not disappoint. I'd seen him before, including the last time he played the Isle of Wight Festival before taking a break, and he was just as phenomenal this time around. The whole crowd sang every word while he kept everyone updated with the Scotland football scores between songs.

There was even a proposal during "Someone You Loved" (or at least during one of his emotional songs!) Congratulations to the happy couple!

Saturday

Saturday was another brilliant day, although I was gutted that we missed KT Tunstall. One thing I will say is that the walk between stages is much longer than you think. We were averaging over 30,000 steps a day, and by Saturday evening our feet were definitely feeling it!

We managed to catch Five and, honestly, my eight-year-old self was absolutely living for it. Watching a crowd of 40 and 50-year-olds dancing like they were teenagers again was both hilarious and brilliant, and everyone loved every second. They still have it!

Rick Astley and the Isle of Wight Festival just seem to go hand in hand. Every time I've been, he's played, and once again he was fantastic. The addition of the gospel singers made the performance even better.

I wasn't a massive Rita Ora fan beforehand, but she was actually really entertaining and put on a great show.

Teddy Swims was another standout. Even though I don't know all of his songs, he looked genuinely thrilled to be there, and his vocals were incredible.

But my act of the night had to be Calvin Harris.....Wow!

I've seen him a few times before, but this was easily the best performance I've ever seen from him. The production, lighting, visuals, song choices, and the atmosphere in the crowd were absolutely phenomenal. He completely smashed it.

We didn't make it into the Big Top at all that day, which was a shame as there were a few acts we would have liked to have seen.

Sunday

By Sunday, the weekend was definitely catching up with us. Between all the walking, dancing, drinking, and the sun deciding to turn the heat right up, we were exhausted. Thankfully, it wasn't quite as hot as it was back home in London!

Sunday was the day I'd been waiting for because one of my all-time favourite bands, The Kooks, were playing.

They absolutely did not disappoint.

The last time I saw them at the Isle of Wight Festival they were in the Big Top, but this year they'd earned a place on the Main Stage and completely owned it. They played a brilliant mix of old classics and newer songs.

The best part of my entire weekend?

I met Luke Pritchard. Twice.

My 16-year-old emo self was absolutely screaming inside and nearly passed out!

We even met someone who had travelled all the way from Russia just to see them, which shows how much people love this festival.

Sunday felt much more relaxed for us. We weren't desperate to see every act, so we wandered between the smaller stages before finishing the weekend at Jo Whiley's '90s Anthems.

I absolutely loved it.

Who knew grown adults could get so excited over giant inflatable balls and bubbles? (Maybe that was just me!)

It was the perfect way to finish the weekend.

Food & Drink

There was a fantastic selection of food across the festival. Chinese, curries, BBQ, Greek, fish and chips, desserts... there really was something for everyone.

The prices, however, were eye-watering.

£14.50 for loaded chips with chilli and cheese is pretty crazy, but to be fair they were delicious and the portions were generous. We also had a Chinese noodle and curry box one evening, which really hit the spot after a long day of drinking.

Drink options were the usual selection of beers, spirits, wine, and cocktails, and thankfully Brothers Cider was back this year!

One new addition was a PayPal discount scheme which offered 20% off food and drink if you linked your account. Unfortunately, it didn't work for us, or for quite a few other people we spoke to. Many couldn't download the app or connect their PayPal account, and even the staff didn't seem to know much about it. Hopefully, it was just teething problems because it would be a great feature if it actually worked.

VIP – Worth It?

We were lucky enough to receive a VIP upgrade, but if I'm being completely honest...

I really don't think it's worth paying for.

Some people told us they'd paid over £600 extra for VIP, and I honestly don't know what they were paying for.

  • No complimentary food or drinks.
  • The toilets weren't any better than the standard ones.
  • Only one bar, which often had longer queues than the bars in the main festival.
  • Just two food stalls.
  • No glitter stalls.
  • A mirror with a couple of hair straighteners plugged in.
  • A few comfy chairs and beds that were occupied all day by the same people.

The biggest disappointment, though, was the view.

The VIP viewing area is surrounded by a huge fence, meaning you're mostly looking at the side of the stage and the screens rather than actually seeing the performers properly. If you stood near the fence, you couldn't see anything, so everyone ended up crammed further back anyway.

For that kind of money, it's honestly not worth it and feels like a bit of a rip-off.

Chairgate Returns...

If you're an Isle of Wight Festival veteran, you'll know all about the dreaded Chairgate.

Thankfully, the organisers have finally started listening.

This year they widened the walkways and banned trolleys unless they were for accessibility users or families with children. That made a huge difference to getting around the Main Stage area.

The new issue, however, was blankets. Everywhere.

Even in standing-only areas, people were spreading blankets out like they were having a picnic, then getting annoyed if someone accidentally stepped on the corner while trying to move through the crowd.

It's definitely better than previous years, but there's still some work to do.

Final Thoughts

Despite a few little niggles, the Isle of Wight Festival continues to be one of my favourite weekends of the year. The atmosphere is second to none, the people are friendly, the music is incredible, and every year creates memories that last a lifetime.

And to make it even better, we managed to bag ourselves a couple of Alien Ducks!

So we're already counting down until year number seven!