The short answer: for a UK weekend festival you need a tent, a warm sleeping bag, a roll mat, wellies and waterproofs, layers you don't mind ruining, a portable charger, a refillable water bottle, toilet roll, hand sanitiser, sun cream and cash. Everything else is a nice-to-have.
Packing for a British festival is a balancing act. Take too little and you spend Saturday shivering in a damp hoodie; take too much and you're the one dragging a broken trolley half a mile from the car park in the rain. The list below is organised by where things end up once you arrive, which is far more useful than one long shopping list.
Camping kit
This is the heaviest part of your load and the part that most affects whether you enjoy the weekend.
- Tent – go one person bigger than your group. A "four man" tent comfortably sleeps three people plus bags.
- Sleeping bag – a two-season bag is not enough in Britain, even in July. Clear nights in a field regularly drop to 6–8°C. Take a three-season bag or add a blanket.
- Roll mat or airbed – the ground steals more heat than the air does. A cheap foam mat makes more difference than a thicker sleeping bag.
- Pillow – an inflatable one, or a stuff sack filled with clothes.
- Mallet and spare pegs – pegs bend in hard ground and vanish in mud.
- Battery lantern and a head torch – one for inside the tent, one for finding the toilets at 3am.
- Bin bags – for rubbish, muddy boots, wet clothes and waterproofing the bottom of your bag.
Clothing
The golden rule is layers, and nothing you would be upset to lose. British festival weather can deliver sunburn and hypothermia in the same twenty-four hours.
- Wellies or sturdy walking boots – plus thick socks, more pairs than days
- A proper waterproof jacket with a hood, not a fashion mac
- A warm layer for the evening – fleece or hoodie
- Two or three t-shirts, one long-sleeved top
- Jeans or joggers, plus shorts in case the sun appears
- A hat – sun hat and a beanie, they weigh nothing
- Something dry and clean sealed in a bag for the journey home
Toiletries and health
Keep this in one small bag you can grab and take to the showers without unpacking your whole tent.
- Toilet roll – two rolls, kept dry in a freezer bag
- Hand sanitiser and wet wipes
- Dry shampoo
- Toothbrush, toothpaste, a small travel towel
- Sun cream, factor 30 minimum
- Painkillers, plasters, blister plasters, any prescription medication in its original packaging
- Earplugs – the campsite does not go quiet when the music stops
Food, drink and kitchen
Most UK festivals let you bring your own food and alcohol into the campsite, though almost none let you take glass or bring drink into the arena. Check the individual festival's rules before you shop.
- Refillable water bottle – free refill points are standard now
- Breakfast you don't have to cook: cereal bars, brioche, bananas
- Snacks with salt in them, which you will crave more than you expect
- A cool bag with frozen bottles of water as ice packs, which then become drinking water
- Cans, cartons or plastic bottles only – decant spirits into plastic
- A cheap camping chair per person
The things people forget
Every year the same items get left behind. Add these to the bottom of your list:
- Portable charger – a 20,000mAh pack will do a phone for a whole weekend. Charging lockers exist but the queues are long and they cost money.
- Cash – some independent traders and most car parks and taxis still want notes, and phone signal in a field is unreliable.
- Ticket and ID – photographic ID is needed at the box office and for the bar.
- A photo of where you pitched – take it on the first afternoon. Every row of tents looks identical at midnight.
- Something tall and daft – a flag, an inflatable, a bright bin bag on a pole. It is genuinely the fastest way to find your tent.
What to leave at home
Glass of any kind is banned almost everywhere, as are disposable barbecues at an increasing number of sites, gas canisters larger than a small camping cartridge, drones, professional cameras with detachable lenses and anything that could be considered a weapon. Nitrous oxide is illegal to supply and is confiscated on entry. Leave valuables, good jewellery and any bag you care about at home too.
How to carry it all
The walk from car park to campsite can be twenty minutes or more, sometimes uphill, sometimes in the rain. A festival trolley is the single best purchase most campers make, but a cheap one will shed a wheel on rough ground. If you're going without, use a rucksack rather than a holdall so your hands are free, and split the heavy shared items – tent, chairs, cool bag – between the group rather than letting one person carry everything.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take alcohol into a UK festival?
Into the campsite, usually yes, with a limit that is commonly around 12 cans or the equivalent per person per day, in cans or plastic only. Into the arena, almost never. Check the festival's own terms, as limits vary.
How many clothes do I need for a three-day festival?
Fewer than you think for tops and more than you think for socks and underwear. Two or three tops, one pair of trousers, one pair of shorts and four pairs of socks covers a long weekend comfortably.
Do I need to take a towel?
Take a small microfibre one. It dries quickly, packs down to nothing and is useful even if you never go near a shower.
What is the one thing I should not skimp on?
Your sleeping bag. Sleep is the difference between three great days and two great days followed by a miserable one.
