Sorry Jeremy Clarkson, but your famous neighbour has outdone your pub | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV

Jeremy Clarkson has an equally famous neighbour – Alex James of 1990s Britpop band Blur – and his cheese farm hosts the legendary Big Feastival every August.

As the bank holiday weekend arrived, it looked set to be the ultimate battle of the famous Cotswolds farmers, with the two vying to see who could provide the best entertainment. However, it was Alex who got the lion's share of the attention, as his festival, just a stone's throw from Kingham train station, attracted nearly 25,000 revellers.

After grabbing some of Jeremy's soon-to-be-legendary pub grub of sausages and mash brewed in his Hawkstone beer gravy, I headed over to check out the action. Despite the competition, the Blur bassist himself appeared on stage in high spirits, declaring the 2024 edition the “best yet” in the event's 13-year history.

When Alex launched the festival in 2012 with Essex chef Jamie Oliver, he wanted to offer an upmarket alternative to festivals such as Glastonbury and Reading, which he had criticised for their “terrible” food and “nightmarish” toilets. This year was a prime example of the bar being “raised”, with a range of options on offer, including food from Michelin-starred chefs.

Unfortunately, legendary French chef Raymond Blanc, best known for his work at Oxfordshire hotel Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, had to cancel his live cooking demonstration. However, I had also secured a ticket for the Fool's Delight circus dinner event, which was held just off the farm – and which turned out to be the best-kept secret of the event.

A delicious four-course meal awaited you, served personally by the stage entertainers.

I enjoyed mixed grain bread and whipped butter, tomato salad with pickled shallots, croutons and basil, and roast chicken with polenta, salsa verde, radishes and spring vegetables.

Then there was the finale – a chocolate cheesecake and a summer berry compote – but that was not the biggest highlight of the event.

I watched with excitement as a very theatrical ballet dancer wearing a swan-head fascinator and a white tutu with ruffles on the top stormed onto the stage to kick off an evening of acrobatics.

These included a double trapeze act with an amputee in a wheelchair, demonstrating Paralympic-level movements, as well as a fascinating spiral aerial performance.

An excellent live band accompanied the performance, which is especially recommended for families.

Elsewhere, Natasha Bedingfield and The Voice star Becky Hill, among others, performed on the main stage – and that was just on Friday.

Then there was the DJ stage, dubbed 'Alex James' Cheese Hub' in reference to the produce from the entrepreneur's farm, and branded as a 'party within the party' as it attracted large crowds of partygoers.

Zoe Ball's son Woody Cook was among the DJs, and nearby shops had a wide selection of glittery sequined clothing for those who wanted to add a bit of glamour to the stage before hitting the dance floor.

This year, the festival surprised everyone by also featuring a Marks & Spencer supermarket and café on site, as well as cooking classes run by the brand.

Also new for 2024 is the opportunity to relax in wood-fired hot tubs or the sauna and “invigorate body and mind with the waterfall bath bucket.”

In the meantime, have you spent all your money on luxury food? A top tip for those who don't like camping to attend the festival on a budget is to find a cheap hotel outside of the immediate area.

Hotels in the heart of the picturesque Cotswolds are expensive and often fully booked on festival weekends – especially those near Kingham train station.

If you've travelled without a car, your best bet is to head to a city like Oxford, which is close to the action and easy to reach by train after the main acts have finished, but is outside the main area for festival-goers.

EasyHotel is a comfortable and super-clean chain with distinctive neon orange doors reminiscent of an EasyJet flight – and the Oxford branch should satisfy fans after a night at the festival.

It should definitely be on your bucket list for 2025 – coupled with the prospect of a pre-festival lunch at Jeremy Clarkson's The Farmer's Dog, of course.

I arrived before the big festival to find Jeremy himself serving pints of Hawkstone behind the pub, but I wasn't prepared for the huge queues to get in.

Queuing for a table in the summer sun with idyllic views of the rolling Cotswolds in the background might not sound like the worst view in the world.

However, after waiting in line for three hours, I was starting to get a little impatient – especially when an employee announced that she could no longer guarantee a table for anyone further up the line.

I finally made it inside, just a few minutes before the last lunch order, and noticed the giant tractor hanging from the ceiling and then Jeremy pulling beer at his newly opened bar.

I also discovered Kaleb Cooper before trying the all-British menu, which featured exclusively local produce.

The opening was a bit chaotic, the toilets didn't work and the steak pies were all sold out – but the sausages and mash (£18) were tasty.

The portions may have been a little small, but that was all forgotten when the waitress served a generously sized slice of cheesecake with berries (£8.95).

Jeremy had to live up to his high standards with the long bank holiday weekend offering so many opportunities, but the crowd of several hundred hungry Hawkstone fans streaming around the corner proved that he was, in his own way, excellent competition to Alex James' festival.