Festivals MSE stylee! :D

Badger_Lady

Sustainance

Packet noodles (12p from your local Asian supermarket) - light to carry, quick and easy to cook on your hexi-burner, and tasty at any time of day.

For the health-conscious, complement these with some dried soya protein and some shrink-wrapped pickled vegetables for a balanced diet.

Mood control

Don't drink beer. It's heavy, weak and makes you wee. Plus there's nowhere to keep it chilled.

Instead, take a hipflask of whisky - tastes good warm, and is much more compact to carry around with you. Also works diluted with water if you're worried about drinking it neat.

Even better - if you're going to Lowlands (in Holland), take a personal supply of hash to keep you mellow in the comfort of your own tent.

Clothing / Shopping

Don't buy it on site - come prepared! A good pair of all-weather boots is a must, and some comfortable, cool clothes (couple of stretchy summer dresses usually does the job). If you like to "express yourself" in funky gear, bring it with you.

If you do see something you fancy on one of the stalls, wait until the last night of the festival - you can haggle them down to half price or less when they realise they're just going to pack it up and take it home again otherwise.

Tickets

Bit late for this season but, if there's a festival you usually fancy, look out for Early Bird tickets - guarantees you a place if it sells out, and can be 33% cheaper.

Even better, get a job - the Workers Beer Company takes volunteers to work the bars for charity. If you can find a participant charity that will take you on, you get free entry to the festival along with free cooked food and hot showers (plus backstage passes). At Reading, for example, you only have to work 3x 4-hour shifts in return (one morning, one afternoon and one evening). Gives you a reason to get out of your tent!

For Glastonbury, you can go a step further and actually get paid employment with the security firm. In return for 3x 8-hour shifts, you get to stay on-site for 6 days and go home with a £150-ish paycheck.

Camping Gear

Argos (or similar retailers) usually does a very cheap "festival tent" for around £10. This is basically disposable - not much fun if the weather turns nasty, and bad for the environment if you do just abandon it (as many do). If you're expecting to do festivals regularly, get online and look for a decent second-hand tent that will serve you well. Make sure it's light, big enough for the number of people that will use it, and of course weatherproof!

Joe Bananas do a great supply of cheap, second-hand camping gear and usually have a stall at the festivals - if you do need anything, always head here before considering anywhere else.

princesslizzie

Been to Reading twice (not doing it again, like cleanliness too much!). My tips are walk over the bridge to Caversham and stock up with goodies (beer, water, food etc) and hide it in your ruck sack. You can take food onto the site, not sure about booze, I think you can unless it's glass. I took water bottles filled up with Vodka. Paying £2 for a small bottle of water on site is just ridiculous so stock up on those massive bottles from the supermarkets.

Pay for fry ups in the town centre and get to use the toilet facilities!

Get a camping stove, and take stuff you can make on that. I wasted money buying food.

Also, I used my tent both times I went and it was covered in mud and other substances (mainly men thinking it was funny to pee on my tent) but I scrapped it the 2nd time and left it there. It was just so disgusting I couldn't contemplate folding it up and carrying it back.

I found the Reading weekend soooo expensive but there are ways round it.

I camped with boys which was a nightmare because I was the only girl and none of them would get off their backsides to walk me to the toilet at night for a wee. I'm ashamed to talk about what happened! Take hand sanitizer, dry shampoo and baby wipes. Look for buy one get one free in Boots for babywipes because they are so handy.

competitionscafe

Does anyone have nay tips on getting to Gatecrasher from Edinburgh - cheapest return train ticket is £106! :eek: :mad: I guess a hire car with 4 people would be the cheapest option?

dondo

competitionscafe wrote: »

Does anyone have nay tips on getting to Gatecrasher from Edinburgh - cheapest return train ticket is £106! :eek: :mad: I guess a hire car with 4 people would be the cheapest option?

Try here

http://www.happybus.co.uk/gatecrasher.html

And enjoy- cracking line up

Badger_Lady

competitionscafe wrote: »

Does anyone have nay tips on getting to Gatecrasher from Edinburgh - cheapest return train ticket is £106! :eek: :mad: I guess a hire car with 4 people would be the cheapest option?

What station is that from, and what date/time? I bet you could drive the cost down - check out cheaper train fares.

If you give some details, I'll have a little lookey for alternatives

dondo

Festivals wise I have done my fair share of dance ones like Tribal Gathering, Homelands, Global Gathering and only ever camped at Glasto. Glasto is really good as the arenas aren't "closed" so you can take your food and drink around with you- so if you're willing to lug all your beer from the car then can save some money that way. Also at Glasto there is a Hare Krishna tent that gives out food for free but normally has a fairly long Q at it.

But as others have said- working your passgae is a good way too- me and my wife worked as litter pickers a few years back when we couldn't get tickets and you got a free ticket (well you paid for it 1st and it was then refunded when you had completed your shifts), free meals, staff camping- with showers. The staff camping was quite lucky for us as it was 2005 when they had the real bad floods and when we walked around the site and found where we usually camped it was under a heck of a lot of water!!!

I also find http://www.efestivals.co.uk/ an excellent site for all things festy related

competitionscafe

Badger_Lady wrote: »

What station is that from, and what date/time? I bet you could drive the cost down - check out cheaper train fares.

If you give some details, I'll have a little lookey for alternatives

Thanks! Edinburgh Waverley on Saturday - Found some cheap singles for Saturday morning - Edinburgh Waverley to Banbury but cheapest single to come back on Monday was £91! Happy Bus is an option at £58 rtn - thanks for that. Otherwise flying (BMI Baby) Ed to Birmingham and then train (£5.50 advance single, so £11 return) might be an option, there were flights from £25 each way, I asssume there is a train from Birmingham airport to Birmingham central so bit extra on top for that too...

Badger_Lady

competitionscafe wrote: »

Thanks! Edinburgh Waverley on Saturday - Found some cheap singles for Saturday morning - Edinburgh Waverley to Banbury but cheapest single to come back on Monday was £91! Happy Bus is an option at £58 rtn - thanks for that. Otherwise flying (BMI Baby) Ed to Birmingham and then train (£5.50 advance single, so £11 return) might be an option, there were flights from £25 each way, I asssume there is a train from Birmingham airport to Birmingham central so bit extra on top for that too...

Hmm, I'm not doing very well so far... You can get a National Express for £63 return if you book in advance, but the journey is 11 hours sat on a coach!

Going back to the trains -
Get your cheap single on Saturday morning - £16.00
Split tickets on the way back:
- 9:25 Banbury to Preston £18.50
- 12:29 Preston to Edinburgh £23.00

Total cost of return train journey: £57.50

kay41_2

Guilfest is nice for the 30 somethings - small, not too crowded, good for kids, some pretty good bands etc. We always take a picnic and you just can't take glass bottles in, we take stuff in picnic flasks so it stays cold too! My little one always wants to camp, but I can't bear the thought! I get sick of all that greasy, hot food at festivals, and the litter that goes with it.

competitionscafe

Badger_Lady wrote: »

Hmm, I'm not doing very well so far... You can get a National Express for £63 return if you book in advance, but the journey is 11 hours sat on a coach!

Going back to the trains -
Get your cheap single on Saturday morning - £16.00
Split tickets on the way back:
- 9:25 Banbury to Preston £18.50
- 12:29 Preston to Edinburgh £23.00

Total cost of return train journey: £57.50

Thats much better than £106 - many thanks Badger Lady!
Which website did you use to find those if I want to book and check times etc...