Larmer Tree give the opportunity to try new things and and sample new experiences

It's raining when we wake up which is a real pain as we have to take the tent down, and head home today. We opt to do this as early as we can so that we have the rest of the day to entertain ourselves. Packing up from the inside out, to keep as dry as we can for as long as possible, we get everything packed up. As we stuff the last bit of tent into bag and kit into car, the rain stops.

We walk to the arena and have a light breakfast whilst watching performers in the flag circle on unicycles and one of the most bizarre bits of street theatre we've yet to see at a festival; two guys dressed as refuse collectors dutifully sweeping mud out of the way of welly-clad festival-goers. A thankless task obviously as it's pretty squelchy underfoot in some places now and their antics leave us very amused. The walkabout entertainment is always amazing and unexpected here and we're further amused when we meet Granny Turismo – basically two grannies atop Segways and creating mayhem wherever they go!

Inspired, we head back to the circus skills workshop and as well as trying to stilt walk, spin plates, and hula hoop, trying out devil sticks and more diabolo, we have a go at yo-yo-ing.

These Dapper Chaps really know how to get us all co-ordinated!

We missed a couple of the activities we'd wanted to see in the morning – a talk called Last Shop Standing – by the author of the book by the same name. The book is about the demise of the record shop. The other thing that we'd wanted to see was a piece of Theatre called How to Survive a Zombie Apocolypse. Having missed them both while we packed and breakfasted, we meet a few people who had been there and both were apparently hugely entertaining.

At the main stage, we spend most of the rest of the day with friends who we know we probably won't see for some time now. Show of Hands are a firm favourite with all of the family and we all sway, sing and shuffle to 'Santiago' with Phil Beer playing a very small stringed quarto that he was taught to play by Chilean exiles. Other stand out tracks are 'Country Life', 'Stop Copying Me' and the brilliantly written 'Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed'.

More music from the 1950's theme with Boppin' B, and the amazing CW Stoneking. His dirty blues would probably have been better suited to an earlier slot in the day for me, but his talents are amazing. His accent is a mixture of outback Australian and American and his gruff voice and ability to tell a story on stage make him a pleasure to listen to.

The ladies in our group love Seth Lakeman. We like him too but possibly for different reasons. A set packed with emotion and gusto aplenty, he and his backing band whack out an immense set. My favourite is the haunting and eerie 'Lady of the Sea'. The ladies in our party go to meet him when he comes off stage – just to get his autograph obviously. The lads go to the bar.

We manage to catch the start of Seasick Steve's set before saying a farewell to some fantastic friends and making our journey home again. It's always sad to leave a festival, but we find it especially difficult leaving Larmer Tree. The friendly and intimate atmosphere makes it a great place to meet people. We keep in touch with friends that we've met here from previous years. The kids have a great time and get an awful lot from coming here. It is one of those events that you could sit in front of the main stage for the weekend if you wanted to and have a great time, but we get so much more from it by having a wander around, trying new things and opening our eyes, minds and hearts to an awful lot of new experiences.

There is no doubt at all that we'll be back next year. We look forward to it all year round!

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