My first festival - Bloodstock 2012 (Festival Survival Guide)

As you well know from the previous post I experienced my first proper festival including weekend camping.  Thanks to my boyfriend and other friends who have a lot of experience with festivals I got some hints and tips from them and I also learnt a few myself. I welcome you to my festival survival guide.

Festival Survival Guide

1. Valuables

Keeping valuables safe is very important to everyone - money, keys, phone etc. Although there were lockers on the site to keep things in but I much prefer to keep things close to me. If you're like me and like to keep things in a bag, make sure you keep it with you at ALL times; I also found it reassuring to check my bag every time I'm somewhere new so I know I haven't dropped anything on the site. 

At night back in my tent before I went to sleep; I placed them at the bottom of my sleeping bag. Whether it's your sleeping bag or under your pillow always be sure to place valuables somewhere you know nobody can take them without your knowledge.

One more thing; NEVER put your valuables in open pockets, if you do keep checking constantly.

2. Hygiene

In some people's eyes that word seems non-existent at festivals; but there are other ways of keeping refreshed if you don't feel like standing in a long queue for the shower block. I found dry shampoo and wet wipes were the key things that kept me refreshed all weekend; I used wet wipes for my face and hands. I found it was quite fun not having to worry about a shower; I appreciated the shower much more when I came home after the weekend.

Nine times out of ten the portaloos on site aren't likely to have loo roll so make sure you have packets of tissue or loo roll when going to the toilet; I personally preferred packets of tissue because they are small enough to fit in your bag and take them everywhere you go.

3. Food and Drink

A lot of the food and drink at festivals can end up emptying your purse/wallet because it costs a lot of money; you can't take your own food into the arena but you can bring your own food onto your campsite so stock up snacks from shops near by to avoid getting caught out on high prices for food. I brought croissants and small cartons of juice for breakfast so I only really had to worry about lunch and dinner.   If you do need to buy food make you have enough money to cover it. I would say twenty pounds a day for lunch and dinner, perhaps a bit more for breakfast.

I didn't drink alcohol at the festival but a tip from the Bloodstock guide stated drink responsibly and don't drink too much; you want to be able to remember your festival experience and since too much alcohol is bad for your memory don't drink too much. 

Drink plenty of water; especially on hot days, keep your water bottle topped up. There were water taps on site where you can do so.

4. Most importantly

When you first enter the festival they usually do a bag search so anyone with bags should be ready. 

DO NOT FORGET YOUR TICKET; it grants you access to the festival so no ticket no entry.

Relax and enjoy yourself; just remember these tips and hints either from this guide, from elsewhere or what you know already and your weekend should run smoothly without glitches

Well that's my guide to surviving a festival; whether you're a first timer like me or experienced all the festivals I hope you enjoy reading this.