'The only thing we saved was a blow-up mattress'

Sunshine after the rain at Boardmasters in Newquay

It is the sunshine after the rain and Boardmasters is back with a roar.

The music and surfing festival in Newquay and Watergate is the biggest yet with 58,000 people - up from 53,000 last year - and it has arguably the most impressive line-up yet. Chase and Status headlined on Friday, Sam Fender on Saturday and Stormzy bringing it all to a close on Sunday.

It only seems fair when talking about Boardies to put it in some kind of geographical context.

Videos have been swirling on TikTok about horrendous weather on Thursday.

Tents and sleeping bags have been thoroughly drenched.

Cheers to Boardies: Jake Haynes in white T-shirt with friends

Among the victims of the rain were Jake Haynes and his friends from Oxford.

"We got into the park and ride at 05:30 after leaving at 01:00," he said.

"By the time we found where we are now, we were soaked."

Among the wreckage were soaked sleeping bags and pretty much everything else.

"The rain just swamped you completely," he said.

"The only thing we saved was a blow-up mattress."

All agreed that if the rain had repeated on Friday they would have gone home.

But as the sun beat down on Friday morning it was all about the bands.

"We sacrificed the sleep but it was worth it, this is going to be the best Boardies yet," he said.

Ollie Ireland, second left, with a blow-up boat he and his frends have not had to use yet

Welcome to the exposed peninsula of the south-west of England that is called Cornwall.

Perched high on a cliff, overlooking the sea, is Boardies.

Ollie Ireland and his friends from Reading won a blow-up boat in a competition but they have not had to use it yet.

"It was torrential last night, we were all soaked," said Ollie.

But friend Thomas Shields said it was "100% worth it".

Georgia Evans, from Devon, said: "It's been torrential rain and the tent filled up with water. There were four of us in a one-man tent."

Boardmasters has brought global superstars to a corner of Cornwall

It feels like Boardies, with its stellar line-up and expanding numbers, is one of the festival big boys.

From its early days as a surfing competition, it has spread its wings and is soaring high on its cliff-top site overlooking the long stretch of sand at Watergate Bay.

This year it came under the umbrella of the investment giant KKR which bought Boardmasters' parent company Superstruct Entertainment for a reported £1.1bn.

KKR said it would "support Superstruct in its next phase of development" in a sector that "continues to grow, expand and professionalise, whilst preserving the creative and cultural DNA of the company".

For among the giants on the main stage are the musical minnows who are given the space to bring their talent.

Among them were Treviglas Academy's own band No One Knows who were blasting out Nirvana and Fontaines DC tunes to an appreciative audience.

At a nearby bandstand a brass oompah band are in full flow as a crew of cross-dressing cheerleaders cheered them on.

College band No One Knows blast out the hits

Cheerleaders bring the festival spirit with an oompah band

Along the way at The View stage BBC Introducing had set up shop with local stars hoping to make it big in the future.

Host Dan Pascoe explained: "We have some amazing South West artists playing across the weekend at Boardmasters, one of the biggest festivals in the UK, and I know it's going to be a wonderful weekend.

"We had Tors last year and now they are on the second biggest stage of the festival and it all starts with Introducing."

The sun came out just in time for festival goer Ollie Brooks

Boardmasters has an enviable view over Watergate Bay

The music festival began in 2005 after the surfing competition started at Fistral in 1981.

Boardmasters Festival first introduced camping in 2010 with a total area capacity of 15,000.

As it has grown, so have the prices, with the merchandise stand selling hoodies for £50 each.

Showers are £5 and hot water for making noodles - gas cookers are not allowed on site - is £2 a pot.

Mia Bell and friends have a top tip for festival-goers: bring wellies

But the festival is thought to bring in about £40m to the local economy, and the Boardmasters Foundation says it has raised more than £436,000 for local charities and community groups since it was established in 2017.

Back at the campsite, Mia Bell and her friends from Reading had advice for every festival goer in the UK: "Bring wellies and a raincoat.

"Bikinis are not going to work."