Reading Festival - the teen is going how bad is it

[SouthWestmom]

Ok ds is going with three mates and taking tents (two in each).

They've bought weekend tickets.

I'm trying to persuade him to get some gold toilet and shower package but he won't unless they all do 'and they won't sell out'

Do they pay for a camp space? Pitch?

How violent is it? If at all?

I'd say it was better for a teen than Glastonbury. It has been many years since I graced either of those fields though...

All three of mine have been and the festival goers are generally younger ie 16/17 . They all survived and came home stinky and knackreed!! Drugs dealers are there blatantly selling but luckily my three were not interested!!

Consider getting a cheap basic phone. If it goes missing its not end of the world. Expect to lose anything. He probably wont (i never have) but it is possible so to lose a 10quid phone not too bad. To lose whatever iphone etc with all details of everything in is a massive pain. Are they driving?remind him he can leave bank cards etc in car for emergencies. He will be fine!

Biggest issue for most festivals (not just Reading) is tent thefts on night one - everyone has lots of cash on them (cash machines cost a fair bit and have long queues) and everyone goes hard on the first day / night, meaning you're not as careful about keeping valuables hidden. Best bet is to split up money into separate stashes, and / or keep it on your person, esp on your sleeping bag.

@Noeuf yep sounds reasonable. Well mannered teens will get a free hot drink and hug if they are missing mum .

I live close by as well. My 23 and 18yr olds will be going they have both been going for a few years now. I will be there on the first day I don’t camp though go home by taxi to my nice clean bed.

Ds’s always camp in yellow zone and it is lively but they like it. Usually in fairly large groups and camp around each other.
One year ds’s Costco camping light was stolen and one year his tent wasn’t waterproof so he got wet on a particularly wet night.

They have both said that they’ve seen enough people on drugs to put them off of them. Alcohol is a big thing and adults are asked on the way in by the 16yr olds to buy them alcohol. One offered me £50 to buy him and his friends £70 worth of beer!! I did say no as I’m a Party pooper.

There are a few support tents in yellow zone. I’m
Not sure about other zones. But wardens and church groups who offer free hot water and are there to help.

I’d advise an early bird ticket and a phone locker ticket rather than a toilet pass. The toilets are fine and they probably won’t shower anyway.

Stock up on things like pot noodles and easy to eat snacks as food is expensive and even though it appears to be close to town it’s actually quite a trek on foot if they were to go to a fast food place each day.

There is a Toby carvery where the price doubles over festival weekend for breakfast and dinner and the food inside can be quite pricey.

It can get cold on a night so warm bedding is essential.

If anyone does want an emergency contact I’m happy to give you my number. Im crb/dbs checked as work in a secondary school and a guiding leader.

They will either love it and want to go every year or be well I’ve done it but hate camping being dirty and paying ££ for a dodgy burger and won’t want to go again.

Take a contactless card and keep on your person. Most of the vendors take cards so no need for piles of cash.

I remember there was a leisure centre near the festival site many years ago & every morning we'd gather our cossies & have giggle in the pool then a long shower & head back to the site. Made long days in atrocious weather bearable!!!

It’s a VERY popular entry level festival where i live.

I have a friend who lives v close and she always offers to her DC/friends and friends of friends a “”concierge service” (LOL) that she drives over, picks them up, takes them back home, lets them shower, gives them a cooked breakfast, makes them drink about 2 litres of water and sorts out any bits and pieces. She says she always has to give ibuprofen/tampons/phone charge/blister plaster/sun lotion etc. Anyone who is unhappy can peel off from there (discreetly if needs be) or phone their mum and she drops those going back, back at the festival a few hours later. She’s had her own teenagers going for the last 5-7 years and has just responded to the need. My DC is going this year and she has offered the same service to them and a carful of mates. I may go down and stay, but because she is a good mate, it won’t be weird, just a happy coincidence.

Make sure you’ve got the numbers of his three mates and swap numbers with their mums too if you can. Means you can all check in with someone else in the group if your own son loses his phone/runs out of charge, and it may put your mind at rest to know you’ll probably be able to get through to at least one of them if you really need to.

Reading is generally pretty well stewarded and I haven’t heard of any violence as such - there was a bit of an accidental crush in the dance tent last year, but no real injuries. Try not to worry. It’s a bit of a zoo but they all have a great time and come back in one piece, albeit stinking and ready for a 24 hour kip. Just have a hazmat suit ready for when you tip out the rucksack ...

Thanks unicorn

I think you have a nice seasonal income now Porpentina

Really grateful for the reassurance, he's done NCS and DoE bronze so I'm less worried about roughing it then being spiked/robbed/beaten up.

Sounds like I don't need to worry and he won't need to pack any shower gel either

My dd has been twice with a smallush group of mates, aged 18&19 she drank too much on the first night last time so missed some good bands. It was also brutally hot one year at least and water, hats and suncream were essential. But no reports of crime or violence that I recall.

May have been some difficulty bringing enough water around with her because of the drinks ban combined with laziness and/or not wanting to separate from mates. They all use snapchat to find each other i think though!

Ah- happy memories! I'm just jealous

Yh, my mate says actually dehydration is actually what hit them all which is why a shower, lots of water and lots of tea really perks them up to return to the fray.

Tell him to sleep with his bag of valuables in the bottom of his sleeping bag too.

I’ve been as a punter a few times and as a steward a few times (incidentally the best way to go to a festival - you pay for the ticket up front but they refund you and you get some free food and a separate camping area in return for working a few shifts).

It’s very teen heavy and generally viewed as a good “first festival”. Not sure why to be honest but it will be a bit of a different crowd this year as they appear to have decided Reading is no longer a rock festival and gone for more variety. A few guidelines/suggestions for your teen:

Don’t let take anything you don’t want to lose, unless you are prepared to carry it.

Don’t worry about toilets and showers. For 4 days you can work it out. And Reading town centre is a not very long walk away if desperate for cash/loos.

There are pretty strict restrictions on what you can bring in to the site, and what you can bring in to the arena. Read them and comply. The security guards do not mess about. And don’t go and pee on the cabling even if outside the stage or tent.

There are lots of stewards and police around as well as lots of welfare tents and staff. Ask for help if you need it. Be honest with those who are trying to help you.

Take suncream and waterproofs. Both will be very expensive on site.

Have fun. You are never far from help if you need it, the site is actually pretty small and frankly camp where you can, it doesn’t matter, just put up a big flag/inflatable so you can find your tent!

Seats of luxury will sell out by my DCs say you can just walk in without a wrist band anyway.

Biggest problem there bar none is the abundance of drugs. All my DCs have said it's full of 16 year olds on Ket and pills.

Just tell your DS, any issues with friends/neighbours/him and drugs to get help ASAP. No questions asked, just get help.

Oh and the tents occasionally get robbed so nothing valuable. It helps if they camp in a big group so there are more people around on guard.

They have to go though. It's a rite of passage on GCSE results day. Try not to worry and I bet he has a great time

I might lose that income if Unicorn offers to be an emergency contact for free

I would also offer to actually be an emergency contact, but as I don't drive and have quite severe anxiety I wouldn't actually be any help in an emergency.
I hope all the teens going have a great time though and I'll be listening from my garden and avoiding the town centre.

I went when I was 20 - I had a mostly good time (inappropriate footwear is a bummer!). I don't recall violence just a bit of drunken silliness. Smoked a bit of weed to be sociable but I don't remember anyone doing hard drugs (and having looked at this years line up I don't think it would be worth anyone bothering to) and I ruined my camera from water damage in the tent.

I also didn't shower all weekend and was absolutely festering by the end of it.

My friend's teen goes every year. The biggest issue is drugs. They've never had any problems with violence or fights.

This is taking me back. But showers? At Reading? Nope.

I was there for the riot. Which was good natured. For a riot.

My experience of Reading was
a) I got completely shitfaced on the first night
b) Someone nicked my nice sleeping bag and replaced it with a horrible old, dirty one and I didn't realise until I woke up the next morning
c) There was a random man sleeping between me and my best friend, who had't been there when we went to sleep.

Good times, OP! Good times!

I'm relatively local too. The kuds and I like to go down richfoeld avenue and watch them all arriving, clean, carrying their 800 boxes of beer! Then see them crawling into Caversham after 24 hours looking slightly dishevelled and a bit grubby. Then on Monday... It's fun to watch. Personally I didn't enjoy it when I went. But I'm old and prefer Glastonbury 😊 oh, and if I'm not away, I don't mind being an emergency contact. DB's checked etc.

Kuds! KIDS
RRicfoeld? RICHFIELD