15 Essential Festival Camping Tips

Camping magazine’s list of festival essentials

1 Tent
Pretty obvious, but choosing the right sort of tent for a festival is important. A simple pop-up is fine if you’re on your own but if you’re taking the family obviously you’ll need something more substantial – but still easy to pitch.

2 Sleeping bags/pillows/mats
I know it sounds a bit old fogey-ish but to get the most out of the festival experience you’ll need a good night’s sleep – so make sure you’re as comfy as possible when you turn in for the night.

3 Earplugs
The combination of booze and takeaway food means there will be a lot of noise of all sorts from neighbouring tents, so earplugs are an essential.

4 Camping chairs
Sitting outside your tent on a sunny afternoon listening to the music wafting down to the campsite can be just as enjoyable as fighting your way to the main stage. And at many festivals, you can set up your camping chair in front of the stage and settle down for the day.   

5 Rucksack
For stuffing your camera, snacks, water, sunscreen etc in. Make sure it’s well secured, especially if you’ve got valuables inside.

6 Waterproof jackets/wellies/shorts
It’s the Great British Summertime so so it’s best to be prepared for anything weather-wise.

7 Sunscreen/sun hats/sunglasses
Absolutely essential. Even on hazy days you’ll burn and kids especially need to be protected from harmful rays.

8 Bottle opener
The essential festival accessory?

9 Toiletries/medicines
Festival toilets have improved over the years but it’s always advisable to bring your own loo roll and a small bottle of anti-bacterial handwash just in case. Paracetamol is also advisable.

10 Kids’ ear protectors?
Another essential if you’ve got youngsters with you.

11 Money
You’ll need cash all weekend and rather than endure the endless queue at the one ATM machine on site it’s much easier to bring money with you. Bring as much as you can as well – eating and drinking is not cheap on-site.

12 Torch
Avoiding guyropes and closely-pitched tents can be tricky in the dark.

13 Food and drink
There are always plenty of food outlets at festivals so you probably won’t want to cook meals at your tent and some festivals actually ban you from bringing cooking equipment onsite anyway. But crisps and other nibbles are hard to come by so best to bring your own. Cereal bars are also a good thing to bring for a cheap and nutritious breakfast. Most festivals have restrictions on how much alcohol you can take on site and some ban it completely. But don’t forget to bring plenty of water and soft drinks as well.

14 Bin bags
Keep all your rubbish and dump it at the end of the weekend in one of the festival bins – or take it home and put it in your bin at home.

15 Bring a cart or trolley for your gear
Chances are, you’ll have to park elsewhere and carry all your kit into the camping area. Ideal for ferrying youngsters around in too.