Written by Joanne Philpott – Student Pages Journalist
Ah, festival camping – love it or loathe it, the experience is an essential part to your multi-day experience. Prepare for it properly, and you’ll be sailing through it with ease, come glorious sun or the heaviest of showers. Get it wrong, however, and you’ll be tutting in despair begging to go home. Luckily, we’re here to help. We’ve compiled our top tips for surviving so you can party away to your heart’s content.
1. Now as hot as it may get in the day, of course it is easy to forget about how cold and bitter the night can be. For you sake don’t. Whether it be just a warm hoodie and a pair of fleecy socks that you wear, you’ll be thanking yourself for the cosy clothing when you’re snug as a bug in your tent.
2. Acquire a decent tent. Now, I hear you say – don’t patronise me – but we’ve seen it too many times, with the same consequence if the weather turns bad. You should always double the size of the tent for how many people are going to be in it. Also try to avoid dark coloured tents, as they soak up the heat in the morning, making you feel like you are bathing in a sauna.
3. Unless you are going to be camping in a tepee, try to bring clothing for your partying that’s pretty easy to change in to, unless you love the struggle of getting in and out of such clothing.
4. Food and drink are essential to ensuring that you will survive the next 3 days or so of partying. Bringing cups are great if you are in a big group and sharing your beverages. Equally, if you don’t want to be spending all your money on festival food (as it is rather expensive) why not bring along food like instant noodles and rice pots that just need a touch of hot water (if you ask nicely at food vendors they’ll happy give you some)? Agreed, they’re not the most substantial meal choice but they are great for a filling snack.
5. If you are able to bring a chair with you – do! Again, the unpredictable weather we have means there is an almighty chance that it will rain, which leaves you unable to sit on grass. Having a chair with you is great for when you are socialising before and after you have finished the festival for the day.
6. Lastly, other bits and bobs that are great to bring with you are bin bags to put all your waste in; duct tape as your tent could decide to get a hole in it; earplugs to help you sleep at night (and protect your ears from constant loud music); lots of toilet roll, and finally a self-inflating mat – they are much more comfortable than yoga mats and they pack extremely flat.
