First festival - top survival tips please

[willthatbeall]

I'm heading to my first 4 day festival. What do I need to take with me to survive this experience.
What do I even wear? Should I take camping stove etc?
It's Beautiful Days so quite alternative,

Can you afford to buy all your food from the food stalls? If so, that’s what I would do - BD has some great food options and I still wax lyrical about a thali I had there three nights running If not, then yes you’d need a stove/pan etc. The local shop brings a trailer with all the essentials like milk etc.

I recall it being a bit of a walk from car to camping and all the good spots got taken early so if you can get there as soon as site opens, it’s worth the effort. Take a trolley to transport everything. It’s a great festival, I’ve only been once but it was a lot of fun.

It can get chilly at night as it’s in a valley so warm clothes are a must. Definitely take wet weather gear, maybe even wellies if the forecast is crap. loo roll! Wet wipes etc.

Do you camp at all? Festivals are quite different from regular camping, mainly because the place where you pitch your tent is usually a significant walk away from the car park. So everything you take has to be carried from the car which can be a complete nightmare especially if it’s raining. See if you can borrow a sack barrow / trolley from someone to make this easier. Think carefully about food options - most festivals now have good food vans where you can buy decent stuff 24h a day - it is expensive though. You don’t need to cook at all if you don’t want to and then you don’t need as much stuff. I normally take a small stove with equipment for morning coffee and that’s it. Washing facilities may be minimal. Take enough clothes, waterproofs, wellies, sun cream, water bottle. Usually you can’t take alcohol into the actual festival arena but can take a small amount into the camping bit. They will search people and confiscate if you bring too much (but they won’t check what’s rolled up inside your tent/sleeping bag!!)

Also hand sanitiser and loo roll a must. I normally keep a small pack of tissues in my day bag in case the arena toilets are out of loo roll.

I have a trolley we use for the beach! Good idea! I do camp but get the impression this is a whole other world!

Festival food is expensive so taking something for breakfasts and snacks is a must. Things like tinned curry / ratatouille is great for meals. I'd take loo roll, ear plugs, hand gel, solar phone charger if you have one. Lots of layers. Hat. Boots. Main thing is just take what you need to be comfortable and don't worry about what you look like. Have fun!

Lots of good advice so far.

Baby wipes and dry shampoo. You're unlikely to want to shower too often... (grim experience) student shower is the way to go

I've camped at quite a few festivals. My top tip would be to not drink so much on the first night that you feel awful the next day. An upset tummy and portaloos are no fun!

Otherwise, prepare yourself to have to walk a long way from the car to where you pitch the tent and pack with this in mind. A trolley is a big help, some festivals have them for hire.

I always take a camping stove so I can make a cup of tea in the morning. You can also do cuppa soup, pot noodle, etc for lunch. Festival food is expensive so I would try and bring stuff for breakfast and lunch and just buy dinner. Being a water bottle that you can fill up so you won't have to pay out for soft drinks. I normally bring alcohol for the first night but after that I buy it on site as I don't like drinking warm drinks. It's pricey so take plenty of cash or you're going to be drinking!

A bum bag comes or bag that crosses your body is a good idea so you can keep your hands free when dancing, etc. Carry packets of tissues, wipes and sanitiser as the loos will be gross.

Take a lamp for the tent and a clip so you can hook it to the top of the tent. It's horrible having to forage around in the dark for things. Also you'll need a torch.

Bin bags for rubbish. Keep a set of dry clothes in the car. If it's wet and muddy, you'll really appreciate having something dry and clean to travel home in.

Mini first aid kit - paracetamol, cream for bites and stings, plasters

Power pack so you can charge your phone. Warm clothes for the night time and blanket. Wellies. Flip flops if you're planning to use the on site showers.

Anyone know where I should camp at beautiful days? There seem to be a couple of options.

As a first festival for me a couple of years ago I was thrilled with the portloos at Beautiful Days. They were regularly cleaned and it was easy to find one which wasn’t grim. It poured on the Friday so I was glad we got there on Thursday to pitch up in the dry and get a nice pitch. We stayed in the family part, Redwoods I think? Road noise was surprising loud at night so take earplugs if you struggle to sleep.

Didn’t bother with a shower, just washed in tent and dry shampoo. Got muddy very very quickly so waterproof boots were a must. I was surprised how quickly it dried out on the Saturday though.

Food was fabulous, loads of choice , we just took breakfast stuff and some snacks and got the rest onsite.

Definitely leave a change of dry clothes in the car in case the weather is foul. The site is not stupidly massive once you’re in.

I’m a bit of a whingey camper and wouldn’t contemplate Glastonbury but found Beautiful Days a lovely experience. Have fun!

@cungryhow that is good to hear!

As pps said a wheel barrow or such like will make it easier.

• Check your tent, do you have enough tent pegs.
• A mallet is really helpful as if the ground has been really dry you can't get the pegs in
• Wind up torch or torch and spare batteries
• A blow up camping mattress will make your life more comfortable
• Personally I have always taken a blow up pillow but lots of people take a real pillow these days
• Foot pump for blow up mattress is useful
• A plastic sided rug to sit on outside the tent
• Breakfast bars, porridge sachets, if you want to really save you can buy premixed tuna and make pasta or take precooked quinoa, packets of olives, unripe avocados also last well.
• large bottles of water - one can do as a shower if needed
• a she wee (I never managed to use this properly but hey ho)
• thick socks, it can get cold at night, and a hoody
• wellies, regardless of forecast, are always a good shout
• raincoat
• suncream, hat, sun glasses
• some face paints!

Lots of pairs of thick socks. Lots of carrier bags for dirty clothes / rubbish. Lots of snacks. Have fun!

Some great ideas. Especially face paints!

Is there still a theme for Sundays? If so you might want some dressing up gear 😁

Yes. Superhero's!

Ah excellent. It’s a really lovely site, quite hilly so good boots a must, but relatively compact once you’re in.