Lets start right from the beginning. What are the first things you need when attending a festival? A good line up, tickets, and tent are a good place to start.

If you have the line up, the tickets will come in a blind panic, then the tent as you realise you need somewhere to kip. These really are the basics; however, you really should remember the odd bits and pieces that you may not have thought about.

• Sleeping bag – Or duvet if you must, but they are bulky. Get a nice and warm sleeping bag, you will need it!
• Roll mat v airbed – airbeds or lilos are great, really comfy, and you dont get back ache! But they can be heavy and could take a while to blow up and even less time to go down if you manage to puncture it.
• Torch – To work your way across the guys ropes and to spot dropped beers.
• Toilet roll – Think you will only use one? Take a few, just in case You never know how your stomach will cope with all that fast cardboard food.
• Toothbrushes – Yup, that’s right, brusheS, chances are you will drop it in the field or find it rolling around your tent. Pick up a multipack at a cheapy cheapy shop, use one chuck one away. Oh and some paste too.
• Baby wipes and deodorant – Do these need explaining??
• Hand sanitiser – If you want to avoid getting a dodgy gut.
• Sun cream and after sun – Festivals are traditionally a wash out, however, it’s better to have the sun cream, then be the only one in the crowd looking lobster-esqe.
• Gaffa Tape – Great to fix your air bed punctures and tent rips. Guaranteed you will find a use for it throughout your festival stay.

Right that’s your toiletries sorted out. If you do forget anything there are various camping and general supplies stalls (although you will pay an over inflated price)

Food

Traditional beans are always a winner, but if you fancy something more exotic, go for dried rices, noodles or soups. These are lighter to carry in the long run (and take up less space too). Just make sure you take enough to feed you through the weekend. If your taking food you need to cook don’t forget your camping stove and the gas too – remember to find out if you can take your empty gas canisters to the disposal point!

Don’t forget your snacks too, you never know when you will fancy a packet of crisps or some biscuits. You can buy these before hand, or you could walk into the nearest town and pick some up there.

Beverages – Make sure you check the venues policy on what you can and cannot take, plastic bottles only? Better swap the whisky into a water bottle before you get back on site.

Tin opener, knife, fork, spoon, plate/bowl and a mug are essential on many peoples list of stuff to take!

Water – buy a 5ltr bottle of water, and use it before the festival, an empty bottle is much lighter for that long walk to your camp. You can fill it up again when your on site. You will need more water then you think you will.

Clothes

For the ladies, this is a must. Do pack at least 2 skirts, short ones too. Mainly because at some festivals we can skip the tail backs at the toilets with the wonderful invention of a she pee, a piece of cardboard that enables us to pee standing up! Very easy to use, but for some reason people still dont want to use them so the queues are alot shorter. Some festivals give these out at the loo’s, but if you wanna be sure you have one, buy some online.

At least one warm hoodie/jumper/blanket – It does get cold at night.

Take enough clothes for however long you’re going for, and make sure that they suit the weather. Don’t forget a jacket for when it rains, oh and it will.

Wellies are optional depending on the weather, however a good alternative is the humble plastic bag. Get one some warm socks, place foot in plastic bag, then put on trusted trainer. Your feet are water proofed. Sounds daft, but loads of people do it, I would prefer that to gangrene or trenchfoot.

Bottling

Bottling of bands is not big and it’s not clever, no really, it’s not. Most of the time you will be unsuccessful, and end up lumping some innocent fan in the back of the head with a bottle and covering them in some indescribable fluids.

The other point to note is some bands REALLY don’t appreciate this, anyone remember the Fiddy Cent drama at Reading one year? People in the crowd tried throwing anything they could get their hands on, including a camping chair, which didn’t go down too well. They retaliated with unopened bottled and clobbered a member of the crowd doing some serious damage.

So, don’t do it!

Keeping Safe

Its all about common sense.

Firstly, no matter how excited you are, check out the venue. Where are the emergency exits? Where would be the best place for you to meet your mates if you get split up? Although the bar may be a good place, after the set is done, it may get crowded, and finding you mate would be a bit of a chore, so choose somewhere else, left of the stage maybe?

• Know the layout of the site – You should get a guide which tells you where everything is including the emergency exits, please please please do familiarise yourself with these, you may well need to use them.
• Welfare and emergency services – as much as we would all like to believe we are safe and nothing will happen to us, it could do, so where and who do you go to for help?
• Check what you can and can not take – Each venue is different, so do your homework
• Dont take anything you would miss if you lost it
• Dont padlock your tent – This acts as a “This tent has valuables in it” neon sign, if people want to get into your tent, they can very easily, padlock or no padlock.
• Crowd surfing and bottling of bands is a big no no, check out the other sections of the site of you want to find out more.
• Up front?? – Be aware of the risks of being at the front of the crowd. Click here for more on crowd safety
• Use “landmarks” to guide you where you’re going, it’s the easiest way to find your tent at night