Reading festival

Jagraf

My DD is 17 that very weekend and wants to go with some mates.

Experiences please

silvercar

Mud.

Lack of sleep.

2 requirements are wellington boots and toilet paper.

duchy

Is she a sensible and mature teenager , who would she be going with, at seventeen if she's determined to go could you (and would you want to) stop her ?)

Everyone's experience is different - what exactly are you concerned about ?

Faith177

I went to my first festival at 17 and had an amazing time!

I go to the same festival every year and there is a real family atmosphere everyone looks after everyone else. Normally the people you camp near end up being friends and you share resources lol

The police at the festival I go to are excellent and really helpful if needed and there are normally plenty about aswell as stewards who are normally ok you get a few who go mad with power because they have a hi-vis and a walkie talkie but you can normally spot them a mile away.

I can't speak for Reading but I know at Download the festival I go to they have a full medical team there with ambulances and can treat most injuries on site. There is also a welfare team who will help you with ANYTHING. One year my friend forgot where she was camped (she's a ditz btw) they looked after her gave her food, shelter and bedding until one of the people camped near her recognised her sitting outside and showed her back to her tent

Izadora

I went to Reading when I was a similar age to your daughter, so a long time ago now, but I don't imagine it's changed much.

It was always well organised, there were plenty of security towers and welfare tents, so I always felt safe, and it was a really friendly atmosphere.

The fact that it's so close to town is good as well as we could pop out for supplies, rather than eating overpriced festival food all the time, and it's less of a problem if you realise you've forgotten something.

Get a solar powered phone charger, or at least a couple of portable ones, as the difference between festivals with and without mobile phones is huge. I first went before mobiles were popular and trying to find people could become a mission!

hazyjo

Been to others, not Reading.


Okay, so the things to drum into her - DO NOT GET DRUNK. That's the most important. Do you know if she's planning on drinking? Do you like the friends she's going with? DO NOT SLEEP WITH A STRANGER. Long chat needed about self respect.


DON'T GET LOST! Chances are her mobile signal will be weak or the battery will die. They must have a meeting point for if one gets lost/goes missing for a while. TENT - OMG I would never have found mine at Latitude - thankfully the bloke I went with had a better sense of direction/memory. Get a flag, a banner, a distinctive tent, anything to find it again! They all look the same in the dark and you just get lost. Take note of what's nearby and remember, tents can move! So don't rely on nearby moveable things, make sure they're fixed - there'll probably be blocks or rows with numbers on. Make sure they write them down, or take pics of the numbers with their phones (until battery dies!). There are cordless mobile charger things that might be handy.


Erm, will shout if I think of anything else! Oh, a pillow is nice - I took mine


Ah, one more, if someone is driving, FGS remember where the car is parked lol - I didn't (although thankfully easy to spot being pink!). The car may be a way from the tent (at one, I was parked next to my tent, at Latitude, they were several fields apart - it was hell trying to lug all my stuff from one to the other - get a trolley of sorts, or instead of loads of bags and/or separate items, just lug one large suitcase with everything in it! Definitely hand sanitiser (even if only to wipe the seat [if there is one]!), and definitely toilet roll. Maybe a peg for her nose if loos are bad


Jx

hazyjo

PS this is all presuming it's overnight (or more than one night)! If just a day thing, no probs

DS4215

Reading has changed a lot since I frequented it, but as the others have said it is well organized, convenient (maybe 15 mins walk from the station/city centre) and packed with youngsters all out for a good time.

The city centre is close enough to visit (for the toilets!) each morning or to stock up on supplies/cash. It always used to be good on the Thursday night - although at 17 its too young to go out properly.

The festival site is down near the river, so if it is wet before it can get *very* muddy. I was there in 92, when a thunderstorm overnight turned it from a little damp in places to 1ft deep in mud in the bottom fields (always camp uphill ) and the main stage had a 100m wide mudpit in front of it. IIRC after that year they stopped people parking next to their camps and made separate car parks!

There is little shelter in the arena, so you could get soaked, or sunburnt, or frequently both on the same day.

Anyone that goes will need to take decent boots, suncream, toilet roll and something to charge their phone. Unless planning to be down the very front, cheap chairs of something to sit on makes it more comfortable. Something like a flag to help find the tent would be useful.

The downside (for parents) is that there are drugs available (and a strong police presence), some kids do drink far too much and accidents do happen (first aid is available on site) and there are always some arrests - but given the size of the crowd it is usually fairly peaceful compared to a city centre on a weekend night out.

MallyGirl

As a local resident, I usually leave town when the festival is on. It turns the town centre into a smelly mud bath. The site is pretty close to the town centre and station and there is a strong police presence.
I would say that anything she takes there should be disposable as tents/clothes are likely to be ruined. The standard outfit (weather permitting) seems to be shorts and wellies.
DD is expecting to go after her GCSEs - it is seen as a right of passage around here. Obviously we can be on hand if needed.

heuchera

If she's 17 you can't really stop her..

Is she going for the day or camping for the weekend?

DigForVictory

I'll presume she's going with friends whom you know & regard as no worse than others?

Can you get a tent that holds them all? Then several flags? As finding Your tent can be a real challenge & an unusually big one with distinctive markings will certainly help. As a navigation point for other festival goers, possibly, too

If she's on any medication, check she has it, and spares & a mate has an additional stash. A lot of festivals have medical capabilities but may not be able to refrigerate insulin - ask beforehand if relevant.

As for drink & drugs & other foolishness, has she spent an hour in A&E on a Friday night? As it can be educational without being risky.

Frankly, there's a lot you can do to help it go well, and not much you can do to prevent it, so focus on comfort & communication & caution but otherwise enjoy herself?

If you let her go for this, she's more likely to cooperate with staying home for an 18th or 21st if you wanted a special family thing.