As the tents went up and the music started at the Village Pump Folk Festival this week, director John Alderslade was confident the weekend would go well.

“All the acts are very excited, there’s been lots of chatter on Facebook and it’s looking good for a great weekend,” he said last night.

“The forecast is good too, and if there are storms, well I’m told the big chimney got struck three times last weekend, so we should be OK.”

The festival has thrived since its move to the White Horse Country Park near Westbury.

With more than 200 acts performing over the three days, John says one he will be watching out for is longtime Pumper Mike Chapman, as well as guitar queen Sarah McQuaid.

Both play on Saturday, with The Peatbog Faeries and Steve Knightley headlining on Friday and Seth Lakeman closing things down on Sunday.