AT the weekend I went to an amazing grassroots festival in Ravenstonedale.

The sun was shining, the boom boxes were booming and the hippies were hanging.

Ravenstonedale Festival at High Greenside is now in its second year and organiser Susie Metcalfe, 32, has surely managed to snap up one of the most picturesque festival settings going.

Local band Ritcheous Bees really lit up Saturday afternoon with their laidback summer tunes and wondrous harmonies.

In the main it was a strictly Cumbrian affair, but always one to offer an olive branch, Miss Metcalfe had hand picked some of her favourite acts from Lancashire and Manchester to create a sort of north-western cultural exchange.

“There is so much amazing talent in Cumbria that I wanted to put on an event to show it all off. I was really pleased to get Birds vs Planes this year, singer Jenny Jones is really something special. Ravenstonedale band Side Tracked are also brilliant,” said Susie, decked in pink, over-sized shades and a cowboy hat.

“But I also wanted to bring people from outside the county for people to enjoy so we got Gemma Furbank, a Manchester techno DJ who’s been playing outdoor raves for years.”

They say small is beautiful and Ravenstonedale Festival is certainly testament to that. The vibe was friendly, chillled out and safe.

Cumbria needs more people like Susie, those rare 'do-ers' who really strive to raise the profile of local musicians.