ChoclateLover - You still haven't given us any indication of what part of the country you live in. On the whole people don't usually want to drive to far to a small, local festival and anyway the longer it takes you to get to and from a festival, the less time you can spend there. I can suggest plenty of events in the Southeast (London, Kent, Essex, Surrey etc), but these might be too far if you live in the NW.

jacqui c - The B&B accommodation for the larger, well-established festivals tends to get booked up in advance (often the year before) by regulars. Some of the very small festivals don't have much in the way of accommodation available nearby. A lot of the fun, socialising, and often inpromptu sessions at festivals takes place on the campsites so you can often miss a lot if you stay elsewhere.

You're never too old to start camping, and nowdays tents are lighter, much easier to put up and cheaper - look at the Milletts Eurohike range. There's usually places to eat - some like Moreton, even serve breakfasts on the campsite - so all you need beside a tent is a sleeping bag and some sort of mattress if yoy like your comfort. Until we bought our caravan (only £100) some years ago, both Linda and I still camped - and I expect we were older than you. If you want to try sometime, we can lend you some gear.