THIS weekend sees the return of the glorious Beat-Herder Festival to the Lancashire moors.

If you’ve been before, you'll know a fantastic weekend awaits you. If it's your first visit, then prepare your senses for a treat.

Here are six things to look out for: 

The stages

One of the best things about Beat-Herder is the stages, all lovingly crafted from scratch by the team behind the festival which started life as a DIY, free party in 2006.

Whether it's The Fortress (pictured below) - a giant steel citadel complete with fire-spewing turrets - or The Ring - a 100ft diameter bank of earth with imposing walls and a Stonehenge-style entrance - they really are a sight to behold. 

Bury Times: Fortress stage at Beat Herder.

This year, the newest addition is The Factory where organisers say 'you clock in and never clock out'. Intriguing.... 

The bits and pieces 

Bury Times: Beat-Herder Festival 2014

Okay, so 'bits and pieces' doesn’t exactly do them justice (there’s a secret SWIMMING POOL!!) but here are just a few of things you can find at Beat-Herder that you probably won’t see anywhere else

  • A hidden heated swimming pool
  • Underground tunnels to crawl through
  • Vintage cars to dance on
  • Underground vodka bar
  • Shack dedicated to Absinthe
  • A church complete with Sunday Service and (unofficial) marriages
  • Quirky shops and stalls
  • A fairground with Ferris wheel
  • Taxidermy workshops
  • Chainsaw carving
  • Vibrator engraving (obviously)

Fancy dress

Bury Times: Saturday night fancy dress at Beat-Herder 2016. 'R' is for.... PIC: Zoe East

Every year, the fancy dress is a sight to behold. The theme is taken from letters which spell out Beat-Herder’s name and 2017’s letter is D. Fancy dress day is Saturday so when you emerge from your tent, bleary-eyed after Friday’s shenanigans, expect to be met by dinosaurs and the devil to name a few.

The food and drink 

We’ve all been to those festivals where you pay over the odds for a, quite frankly, disgusting burger. Or, even worse, stump up £6 for a measly bottle of beer. Not at Beat-Herder. The food is lovely, the prices are fair and you can even take a certain amount of your own booze into the camping area AND the main arenas. They really are a lovely lot.

Bury Times:

The Beat-Herder & District Working Men's Social Club

Yes, you heard correctly, there’s a working men’s club. More than just a shelter from the rain (although it does inevitably get packed if the heavens open). Here you can party like it's 1973. Expect bingo, Beat-Herder's Got Talent and a bit of blue for t' dads.

Last but not least, the music

Bury Times: GOOD TIMES: The Beat-Herder Festival Picture: James Abbott-Donnelly

Obviously, a big factor of any festival is the acts and Beat-Herder has got us covered. Dance music, dub, reggae, house, psytrance, techno, indie, rock, psychedelic, drum & bass and dubstep are all there, across 21 stages. Here is just a flavour of the acts you can enjoy between Friday and Monday:

The Beat-Herder Stage (main stage) – Crystal Fighters, Kelis, Sleaford Mods, Toots & The Maytals, Trentemoller, Dub Pistols (LIVE), Lee Scratch Perry, The Lancashire Hotpots, The Sugarhill Gang ft Melle Mel & Scorpio, Stereo MCs

Toil Trees - Faithless (DJ SET), Jackmaster, Jon Hopkins (DJ SET), Richy Ahmed, Skream, Mr Scruff

Fortress - Optimo (Espacio), Slam, Solardo Fortress takeover, Altern 8, Darren Emerson, Graeme Park

The Ring – DJ Hype, High Contrast

Trash Manor - Chimpo, Coldcut (DJ SET), Greg Wilson, Cabbage

The Factory - Factory Floor, Max Cooper, Romare (full live band), The Reflex, Daft as Punk

Beat-Herder runs from July 14-16 at Dockber Farm, Sawley, near Clitheroe. Final tickets can be bought via the website until 8pm tonight (Thursday) for collection tomorrow on arrival - beatherder.co.uk