IT WASN’T so long ago that summer music festivals were once renowned as the exclusive stomping ground of hardcore rock music fans, rather than the family events they have become over the past decade or so.

Yet for many years, summer festivals have been a firm family fixture in the folk music calendar, and Whitby Folk Week - which took place last week - is one of the longest running and most loyally attended.

When you go there, you can see why. Booked artists and festival goers alike love its welcoming, friendly, cosy atmosphere, coupled with the best of traditional music, dance, song and storytelling.

Famous North Eastern folk group The Unthanks head to the festival for their family holiday, and where else did we encounter sisters Rachel and Becky with their extended family but in a singaround at The Endeavour pub, a popular daily fixture at Whitby, where other famous folkie faces such as The Young’uns and young Canadian shanty group Pressgang Mutiny, in Whitby as part of their European tour, dropped in for an informal sing.

And that’s what so lovely about Whitby Folk Week. You can have a gem of an afternoon in a musicians' session or singaround, where you can join in or just have a listen, or you can head along to one of the many concerts, ceilidhs, workshops, talks and enjoy your favourite artists – or discover new ones.

This year, as well as the music and dance, there was a special event celebrating Appalachian music with Sheila Kay Adams, whose family supplied Cecil Sharp with songs in the Appalachian Mountains when he visited from 1916 to 1918.

There was also a fascinating talk on George Butterworth, who lived in York as a boy and went on to become one of the most important composers and collectors of folk music, who died in the Battle of the Somme in August 1916.

So get the dates booked in your diary for next year – Saturday, August 19 to Friday, August 25 2017 – and you too can experience this wonderful event. For more information, visitwhitbyfolk.co.uk

* If you can’t wait until next summer to hear folk music at Whitby, you can head along to Musicport from October 21 to 23; musicportfestival.com