The horrendous gales which wreaked havoc across the UK on Friday and severely disrupted Leeds Festival, luckily swerved the Carfest South site, so there were no weather-related issues on the first day of the event.
We caught great sets on Friday from Johnny Marr, Beverley Knight, Scouting For Girls, Reef, Showhawk Duo – and the great fun Sydney-based Australian band Furnace and the Fundamentals.
Carfest supremo Chris Evans was spotted enjoying the live music and of course, the variety of cars on site, and later sat on bales of straw interviewing Damian Lewis, James May and Rob Brydon for the TV cameras.
Also appearing across the three day festival [23rd/24th/25th August], were Olly Murs, Richard Ashcroft, Deacon Blue, Sam Ryder, Jake Shears, Kula Shaker, The Feeling, Damian Lewis and his band, Judge Jules and many more.
Among the celebs present were Rob Brydon, Tim Peake, Ben Miller, Jay Blades, Kirsty Gallagher, Angela Hartnett and more.
Carfest’s Charity Partners are BBC Children In Need, Young Epilepsy, Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, My Black Dog, Rainbow Trust, Starlight Children’s Foundation and Teenage Cancer Trust.
Created by TV and radio star Chris Evans, across the last 10 years Carfest has raised millions of pounds for children’s charities.
There are seven sites across the UK where Carfest is staged; seeing huge crowds flock to see the fastest cars, enjoy performances from some of the UK’s best artists, bands and DJ’s, get involved in food demonstrations by top chefs and meet a host of the UK’s TV, theatre, music and sports legends.
Carfest South’s site is the 2,500 acre farm in Hampshire owned by former racing driver and 1979 F1 world champion Jody Scheckter.
Laverstoke is a family-run farm that combines 21st century science with environmentally friendly farming methods, to create a place that is both organic and biodynamic.
At the very heart of the farm, is its herd of Asian Water Buffalo. This rare-breed of buffalo produces milk for the farm, which has won more than a hundred awards for its produce over the years.
Laverstoke Park Farm has more than 450 ‘friendly and curious’ water buffalo, alongside 25 native Angus cattle and more than 1200 sheep.
The farm is best known for producing Organic Buffalo Mozzarella, but their range is diverse, including cheddar, gouda, ice-cream, black pudding and biodynamic sparkling wine.
- Next year’s Carfest South is scheduled for 22nd – 24th August 2025, with early bird tickets on sale from 4th September.
Photos: Liam Battersby
