The gap between your first festival and your fifth is mostly logistics. The music does not change. What changes is whether you spend the weekend cold, wet, broke, sunburnt, or queueing for chips. This guide is the version a friend who has been to a dozen would write for you the week before you go.
The 24-hour rule for kit
Take half of what you think you need, and twice the cash. The reason is simple: you are going to be carrying everything you bring from the car park or coach to your tent, and again on the way back, and the walk is about 45 minutes longer than the map suggests. Every extra kilogram in the bag is a kilogram you wish you had left at home.
The kit that earns its place in the bag, in priority order:
- Tent (light, with all the pegs and poles checked at home before you leave)
- Sleeping bag rated lower than you think; UK summer nights drop to 10 degrees
- Roll mat or self-inflating mat; the ground is colder than you remember
- Wellies if rain is forecast, trainers if not, ideally both
- Waterproof jacket, even when the forecast is sunny
- Sun cream and a hat; English sun underestimated
- Toilet roll in a sealed bag; festival toilets run out by Saturday
- Wet wipes; they are showers, food cleanup, and toilet paper
- Two refillable water bottles
- Phone charger and a power bank rated 10,000 mAh or higher
- Cash; some bars and food trucks are still card-shy
- Small first aid kit (plasters, paracetamol, blister patches, antihistamines)
What you do not need: a third pair of jeans, half your makeup bag, a cool box, anything fragile, anything you would mind losing.
Camping vs day-tripping
The decision tree is short. If the festival is more than 90 minutes from home and you do not have a car, you camp. If it is closer and you have transport, you day-trip and sleep in your own bed. The cost difference is roughly 60 pounds in extra fuel and parking against the cost of a tent and an aching back. Day-trippers also miss the late-night sets, which on most line-ups are the best part. There is no right answer; there is only what you actually want from the weekend.
If you are camping, set the tent up at home first to check it works, and pitch it on a slight slope at the festival so rainwater runs around rather than under you. Pitch with the door away from the prevailing wind, and put a recognisable flag, balloon, or small bunting on the guy rope. Every tent looks identical at 2am.
Money, cards, and cash
The big festivals are now mostly cashless and run on either contactless or RFID wristbands. The smaller ones are mixed, and there is always one food truck that takes cash only and has the only good chips. Bring 50 pounds in cash and forget about it until you need it. Withdraw cash before you arrive; the on-site ATMs charge fees that would make a payday lender wince.
Phones, power, and meeting people
Phone battery is the festival's most precious resource. The realistic life of a phone at a festival is six hours of "normal use," which is half a day. To stretch it: low-power mode all weekend, screen brightness at the minimum that works in daylight, all background app refresh off, mobile data off when you are in the campsite, Bluetooth off, location off unless you are using it.
Agree a "if we lose each other" plan with the people you came with. The two reliable options: meet at the same recognisable thing on every hour (the Big Wheel, the merch tent, the entrance to the main stage), or use the buddy-up app the festival publishes. Texts get through when calls do not; data is patchy; do not rely on WhatsApp working.
Food, water, and the toilet question
Food is overpriced everywhere. You can save a noticeable amount by bringing breakfast bars, dry pasta, and a stove if camping, and eating on-site once a day rather than three times. Water is free at the refill points, which are marked on the site map. Drink more than you think you need; festivals are warmer than the weather forecast suggests because you are surrounded by other people.
Toilet strategy: go before the headline set, not during. Queue is 5 minutes at 8pm and 30 minutes at 10pm. The toilets at the back of the campsite are usually less crowded than the ones near the main stages.
Wet, hot, and cold weather
British festivals get all three in a single weekend. The trick is layers and waterproofs, not heavy clothing. A thin base layer, a long-sleeve, a fleece, and a waterproof shell will cover you from 8 degrees to 25 degrees. Wellies if mud is even a question. Sun cream every morning regardless of the forecast.
Lost mates and lost phones
Both will happen at least once. Write your meeting point on your forearm in biro before you go in. Old-school but it works when the phone dies. If you lose your phone, the festival's lost property is genuinely staffed and is the first place to check. If your phone has Find My iPhone or Find My Device set up, do that before going to lost property; you would be surprised how often a phone has just slipped out of a pocket two metres away.
The walk-out plan
The same principle as the anxiety guide. Decide in advance what would make you go home a day early, how you would do it, and what it would cost. Knowing the answer makes it less likely you will need to. Most first-timers who hate their festival hated it because they got cold and wet on Friday night and never recovered. A spare dry hoodie at the bottom of the bag prevents most of those.
