Festivals to check out for 2012

With festival season well underway, we thought we'd take a look at a few of the lesser known gatherings for 2012. There's so many to choose from, spanning every spectrum of every genre known to man, everything from seeing Coldplay at Glastonbury to watching an up and coming progressive folk/trance band (they might exist) in a field somewhere in Devon, pretty much everyone is catered for in some way or another!

Everyone looks forward to the biggun's, Download, Glastonbury, Reading, with a side of V Festival and the Isle of Wight thrown in. But a new one on us with a name you certainly won't forget in a hurry is CockRock 2012. Held at Wellington Farm in Cockermouth, Cumbria (see, the name makes perfect sense now), CockRock is an annual 3 day festival which attracts up to 5.000 people each year. Not only does the festival cater for all music taste's and creeds it's also set on the edge of the Lake District, providing festival goers with panoramic views of the Cumbrian Fells, idyllic.

CockRock is now in it's 7th year and is a non profit event, set up by a group of volunteers to provide support for The Pride of Cumbria Air Ambulance and Cockermouth Mountain Rescue. The idea for a rock festival came about in 2004 when a committee members friend had a cycling accident whilst riding locally. Help came in the form of The Great North Air Ambulance, something that is often taken for granted, so it's all for a fantastic cause as well!

Not only does the festival give a chance to up and coming local bands it also attracts some of the biggest music acts in the country. Headling this years CockRock are; Fun Loving Criminals, Tinchy Strider, The Subways and Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe!

Festivities start this Friday on the 20th July and things are rounded off on Sunday the 22nd. Judging by the weather we've seen so far this 'Summer' it's worth being prepared for every eventually, so Waterproofs and Wellies at the ready just in case! Day tickets and Weekend Tickets are still available, so get yourself up to Cumbria!