The festival Justin Timberlake loves so much he 'turned down Glastonbury for it'

SexyBack star Justin Timberlake proudly announced to party-goers on Sunday that he'd been trying to get to the Isle of Wight for almost his entire career and that Britain had "finally made a Tennessee boy's dreams come true". Yet exactly what is it about this secluded island, accessible from the mainland via Portsmouth and Southampton ferries, that made a US mega star dream of it from a home more than 4,000 miles away?

A source stated to Express that, although he could easily have pursued the headlining slot at Glastonbury, where the crowd is approximately four times larger, the Isle of Wight Festival was the one event on Justin's wishlist for his time in Britain. "He wanted a gap between each British show so he wasn't playing back-to-back gigs and that meant choices had to be made - for him it was Isle of Wight," the source concluded. The event has been hugely popular with bands and fans alike over the years; when Jimi Hendrix played there just days before his 1970 death, it attracted a crowd of 600,000, cementing it as the then biggest musical event in Britain by far. While I can't speak for Justin, I can reveal some of the reasons I fell for the island - and of course, the festival - on my first visit.

Firstly, it boasts a microclimate several degrees warmer than the mainland, so festival-goers are much less likely to be sinking into a sea of mud and bogged down by torrential rain in mid-summer, unlike some festivals I might mention (cough, Glastonbury).

This was one event I definitely wasn't going to need to don wellies for, so it was time to grab my sequin trainers and enjoy a weekend of dancing in blissfully dry fields.

Better still, special festival shuttle buses were running regularly until 2.30am, taking me almost directly to the door of The Wight, the guesthouse just off Sandown High Street where I was staying.

There, I could soothe my aching feet in the steam room, sauna, jacuzzi or pool - or head out to the beach, virtually on the doorstep - before heading back out for another day of music.

Trading in campsite portaloos and poor quality snacks for cooked breakfasts and relative luxury can be surprisingly cheap, especially when booked in advance and staying somewhere like Sandown, away from the crowds.

Sting, Faithless, The Corrs, The Stereophonics and of course Justin Timberlake were among the top acts, but with numerous stages, everything (from rock 'n' roll tribute acts to nostalgic 1990s hiphop DJ sets and late night electropop rave sessions) was represented.

Away from the festival, which has now achieved icon status, I found the animal sanctuary where ITV's Tiger Island was filmed, housing rescued bears and big cats (Wildheart) and a dinosaur fossil museum (Dinosaur Isle) both within easy walking distance of the hotel.

The island has a huge reputation for dinosaur fossils which can still be found on the beaches, with gift shops offering segments of giant dino teeth over 120 million years old.

The Weekender festival bus ticket might seem pricey at £50 but it was valid for any bus on the entire island for five days, including the Monday after the event ended, and allowing access to the scenic open top route to the famous Needles landmark.

From there, I took an exhilarating open-air chair lift down to Alum Bay beach before heading to the battery where a famous space rocket was tested - and all in all, I can say I share Justin's enthusiasm for the secrets this secluded island is hiding.