No Glasto does not mean no good...

Because regardless of rainfall, the festival season is looming, and with the mighty Glastonbury taking a well-earned break for 2012, Paul Jones rounds up some alternative options for fans keen not to miss out on their fill of festival fever...

Wychwood Festival

Cheltenham Racecourse
June 8 - 10
Tickets: Weekend - £115, Friday - £37, Saturday - £53, Sunday - £43
www.wychwoodfestival.co.uk

Building up to its eighth year, Wychwood is a staple of many festival calendars as a good opener to the season.

Nominated in the UK Festival Awards family-friendly category every year since it began, it is suitably low-key yet with a strong enough bill to ease you into the summer.

The line-up is a varied affair, featuring everything from folk, to world music and rock.

An excellent bar offers good ales and a huge range of activities for old and young alike or on offer throughout.

Couple that with the location - Cheltenham Racecourse is within walking distance of the town centre - and you're on to a winner.

This year sees headliners Bellowhead, James and The Saw Doctors, ably accompanied on the bill by the likes of Hawkwind, Dodgy and The Dhol Foundation.

Isle of Wight Festival

June 21 - 24
Tickets: Weekend (camping/non-camping) - £190/£160
www.isleofwightfestival.com

You might be struggling to organise travel for this one at such short notice, but the lineup is so strong we simply couldn't miss it off the list.

The legendary festival has lived up to the history of the event with a bill including the likes of Pearl Jam, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and 'The Boss' himself, Bruce Springsteen along with his E-Street Band.

Other acts on offer include Biffy Clyro, Elbow, Madness and Big Country.

A huge range of stages and entertainment makes this a festival not to be missed - especially for those who normally don't go due to the closeness to Glasto.

Download Festival

Donnington Park, Derbyshire
June 8 - 10
Tickets: Weekend - from £165
www.downloadfestival.co.uk

The metal icon, born from the ashes of the historical Monsters of Rock event, continues to provide the best in the heavier side of music for fans.

Building on the back of some astounding lineups in recent years, this year will see The Prodigy, Metallica and Black Sabbath top the bill.

Metallica will be playing their 'black album' in full, just to add to the encouragement for rock fans.

Set on the famous racing circuit, you can even walk the Tarmac beneath the iconic Dunlop arch as you make your way to the next act.

Highlights will include Slash, Ginger Wildheart, Ugly Kid Joe and Machine Head.

2000trees

Upcote Farm, Gloucestershire
July 12 - 14
Tickets: Sold out
www.twothousandtreesfestival.co.uk

Started by a group of friends disillusioned with mainstream festivals, 2000trees has become a landmark event in the calendar.

Set in glorious Gloucestershire countryside, 2000trees brings together established names and emerging UK talent over three nights (the main stage only runs for two - Saturday and Sunday) of good-old, back-to-your-festie-roots fun.

Unfortunately, the sixth festival has sold out, but if you are going, expect arguably the highest-profile lineup so far, with main-stage headliners 65daysofstatic and the Guillemots on the bill alongside the likes of Dry The River, Hundred Reasons and The Futureheads.

If you want a tip, head for the Leaf Lounge for music you may not have heard before, you'll no doubt come out wanting to hear more.

And if you're not going, give it a go next year.

Reading Festival

Richfield Avenue, Reading
August 24 - 26
Tickets: Weekend - £197.50, day tickets - £85
www.readingfestival.com

Though I must declare an interest at this point, Reading was my first festival in 1995, I still stand by my recommendation.

Despite debates over increased commercialism, tickets prices and an ever-more NME-led bill raging on, Reading, like no other festival bar possibly Glastonbury, has the possibility of throwing up a truly remarkable set.

In 95, it was Foo Fighters, who headline Sunday this year, in 2008 Pearl Jam simply held the event in their hands, Nirvana in 92... The list goes on.

This year headliners are the Foos, The Cure and Kasabian.

Ignore the bad press which sometimes surrounds Reading - any bad atmosphere has long been stamped out - and get yourself there while tickets are still available.

Hop Farm Festival

Hop Farm, Paddock Wood, Kent
June 29 - July 1
Tickets: Weekend - £162, Day tickets - £65 (£32 for teens)
www.hopfarmfestival.com

A relative newcomer to the festival calendar (it only started in 2008), Hop Farm has emerged as a bit of a fans' favourite in recent years.

Granted, scooping Prince and The Eagles last year provided a lineup that would have won anyone over, but the atmosphere is also roundly praised.

This year, Peter Gabriel, Bob Dylan and Suede top the main stage bill, but the likes of Ray Davies, Gomez, Maximo Park and Kool and The Gang make this an all-rounder not to be missed.