Three's a magic number for Belladrum

Kaiser Chiefs at Belladrum

For the first time, the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival near Beauly staged three days entertainment instead of two. So how did it all pan out?

The world's best music fans come from three places, according to Kaiser Chief's frontman Ricky Wilson.

Brazil, Portugal and northern Scotland, he told the thousands gathered at Bella's Garden Stage on Saturday night.

It was more than flattery, the Leeds band had been this far away from home before.

Their fledgling years had seen them play at the Raigmore Hotel in Inverness, before later returning to the Highlands to perform sold-out gigs at the Strathpeffer Pavilion.

Bella stages dozens of acts covering several genres

Signed and unsigned acts performed over the three days

For other acts, such as Canterbury band CoCo & The Butterfields, it was a rarer foray to the north.

"This is only our second time in Scotland," said their lead singer. "We'll be coming back."

CoCo packed out the Grassroots Stage and had their crowd singing along with them to covers of Will Smith's Fresh Price of Bel-Air and jumping up and down to House of Pain's Jump Around.

By Saturday night Bella was hoachin with thousands of people milling around the various stages - including several available to unsigned acts - animal sculptures, bars and hot food outlets.

A family festival, there were parents wheeling their small children about in wheel barrows and small carts.

Next to where The Dangleberries were performing there was a mass straw-throwing fight as older kids demolished large bales, which had earlier in the day been used as comfy seats.

A band of Vikings did some good-natured marauding of the Bella site

A fire breathing sculpture at the festival

Elsewhere, a marauding band of Viking re-enactors weaved between long queues of revellers waiting to order a haggis supper or burritos, pancakes or pizza.

Among these scenes, groups of friends talked about what to go and see later: punk veterans The Stranglers, Martha Reeves, Fatherson, Skye band Niteworks.

Memories of Thursday's tailbacks to get into Belladrum seemed to have long faded.

The Proclaimers had headlined the festival's first staging of a Thursday's programme of entertainment.

However, it also coincided with one of the busiest weeks for events the Highlands has probably seen for a long time.

On or around the same time, people were travelling from the Black Isle Show at nearby Muir of Ord, the World Orienteering Championships and Celebration of the Centuries event at Fort George near Ardersier.

Manics on the Garden Stage on Friday night

Punk stars The Stranglers

Friday - the first full day of Bella - saw the Manic Street Preachers take to the Garden Stage.

Twenty-four hours later, and it was Kaiser Chiefs' turn as headliners.

They ended their set with their hit Oh My God, with one of the world's best groups of music fans singing along with them.

Ricky Wilson in action on Saturday night