Away with the fairies: magic and mystery at a unique festival

There are no rules other than ‘be nice’ at the 3 Wishes Fairy Festival in Glastonbury. Elizabeth McCafferty, who thought she didn’t believe in fairies, found herself sprinkled with a little of the magic dust

I’m totally off my face,” cries sound-healer Debbi Walker. It’s 11.45am and she’s just finished bathing me in a cacophony of twinkling sounds reminiscent of something Tinkerbell would appear to. (I had tried to focus on connecting with my “inner wisdom”, but my ears instead tune into a woman outside the tent talking about the amount of crystals hidden in her underwear drawer.) I’m part of a group experiencing the gentle tap of metal pipes and tuning forks around our heads, while we sway and rock to the vibrations. Debbi, who has curly silver hair flowing down to her waist, looks like an ethereal goddess as she dances between us in a floor-length grey corseted dress. I’m encouraged to hold hands with strangers as we hum in various pitches (mine mainly out of tune) and whisper blessings such as “love” and “gratitude” into a sound-healing bowl.

I’m here for the annual 3 Wishes Fairy Festival, a gathering “nestling on a leyline” in Glastonbury full of folk music, folklore and those who believe in magic. Earlier in the day, while picking up my morning coffee, an elf beside me ordered “pancakes and strawberries with fairy dust on top, please.” Neon pink glitter blew past as he carried it away.