A look at the UK's major rock, indie and alternative music festivals, from Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds and the V Festival to Download and Scotland's T in the Park.

With festival season nearly upon us once more, this UK festival guide details the UK's biggest indie and rock music festivals.

Glastonbury Festival: Line-up and Details

What: The daddy of them all, the Glastonbury Festival Of Contemporary Performing Arts (or Glasto for short) has become a British institution since its free-festival hippy roots in the early 1970s. Now a modern marvel of planning, logistics and sophisticated security arrangements, it has far more to offer than just bands, with a full complement of cinemas, performance artists, new age areas, dance-tents and, often, impromptu mud-slides on display.

When: 27th-29th June

Where: Worthy Farm, near Glastonbury, Somerset

Headliners: Kings Of Leon, Jay-Z, The Verve

Best of the rest: British Sea Power, Leonard Cohen, Hot Chip, Massive Attack, The Futureheads, with many more still to be announced.

Reading and Leeds Festivals: Line-up and Details

What: Known as The Carling Weekend between 1998 and 2007, this dual-site festival has parted company with its former sponsor and has now officially reverted to its time-honoured title for the legendary Reading Festival and the Leeds Festival for its decade-old younger sibling. The full line-ups play both sites on different days.

When: 22-24 August

Where: Richfield Avenue, Reading and Bramham Park, Leeds.

Headliners: Rage Against The Machine, The Killers, Metallica

Best of the rest: Queens Of The Stone Age, Tenacious D, Slipknot, Babyshambles, Manic Street Preachers, Anti-Flag, Feeder, The Raconteurs.

O2 Wireless Festival: Line-up and Details

What: Now in its fourth year, the O2 Wireless Festival is a non-camping event in central London, essentially making it a series of four massive gigs with a festival vibe and a chance for some decent kip at the end of each night.

When: 3rd-6th July

Where: Hyde Park, London

Headliners: Jay-Z, Morrissey, Fatboy Slim, Counting Crows

Best of the rest: Mark Ronson, Hot Chip, Beck, Siouxsie, Dirty Pretty Things, The New York Dolls, Underworld, Bootsy Collins, Ben Harper, Powderfinger, Goo Goo Dolls, Eddy Grant, Bowling For Soup

V Festival / V2008: Line-up and Details

What: Often seen as the most mainstream of the UK's major festivals, the Virgin Group-sponsored V Festival is a compact two-day only event with a twin-site format similar to that of the Reading and Leeds festivals.

When: 16th - 17th August

Where: Hylands Park, Chelmsford and Weston Park, Staffordshire

Headliners: Muse, The Verve

Best of the rest: Stereophonics, The Prodigy, Kaiser Chiefs, The Chemical Brothers, Scouting For Girls, Kings Of Leon, The Zutons, Alanis MorissettE.

T In The Park: Line-up and Details

What: Scotland's largest festival, T In The Park takes its name from brewery and main sponsors Tennents and for the past few years has shared its line-up with the concurrent Oxegen Festival in Ireland, although the two events are not officially twinned.

When: 11th-13th July

Where: Balado, Kinross-shire

Headliners: The Verve, Rage Against The Machine, REM

Best of the rest: The Fratellis, Amy Winehouse, Primal Scream, The Pogues, The Fratellis, Counting Crows, Panic At The Disco, The Zutons

Missed out on tickets for Glastonbury or Reading? Fancy something more select? Click here for a guide to some of the UK's less well-known music festivals.

Or here for a guide to mainland Europe's biggest rock festivals.