Recently I attended Leeds Festival which was an amazing weekend. The festival opened on the Wednesday for the early entry ticket holders, however, I went on the Thursday. The actual lineup did not start until Friday so if you’re thinking of going, don’t worry about missing out on acts if you don’t go on the Wednesday. There is entertainment on the Thursday night that you can go to in order to keep busy, but for us the rain kept us in the tent on the first night. The music was amazing and I absolutely loved seeing such a range of different acts that I had never seen before; some I had never heard of before!
Musical highlights for me were:
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Courteeners
The Vaccines
Eagles of Death Metal
Blossoms
The 1975
Foals
Nothing But Thieves
Lower Than Atlantis
Imagine Dragons
Half Moon Run
Spring King
Twenty One Pilots (even though I only heard three songs..)
If you want to hear some of the artists/songs that I loved from Leeds you can follow my Spotify playlist ‘Leeds 2016’ on my spotify account – my username is georgia_0 (that is a zero).
So, now to the point of the post, I am going to offer some advice to some of you who, like I was, are first-time festival goers and are not quite sure what to expect or what to take with you.
Things to take:
- Tent – the first obvious thing you need to remember to take if you’re planning on camping is a tent. I would recommend waterproofing the tent before you go.
- Large Backpack – this is essential if you want to be able to carry all your things in one bag and carry it somewhat comfortably. I used a Karrimor rucksack, I can’t find the exact one online, but there are lots of others on their website and on other websites!
- Airbed/Sleeping mat – I took an airbed with me when I went to Leeds and I have to say it was such a good decision because it made sleeping so much comfier since you’re not lying on the cold ground. (Also don’t forget the pump if you’re taking an airbed!)
- Earplugs/Eye mask – if you’re anything like me and need complete silence and darkness to get a good nights sleep then these things are a must. Don’t expect complete silence though, you are at a music festival after all!
- Camping pillow – again, comfort is key for sleeping and so I took anything with me that would make the nights outdoors are bearable as possible. A pillow really does make the difference to a good nights sleep. Mine was only £3 for Millets in the sale, but you can find lots of different ones for cheap prices in outdoor shops or on Amazon.
- Sleeping Bag – another sleeping essential… I would also recommend taking a blanket since the nights do get very cold. I wore three layers and a sleeping bag and was still extremely cold and so had to borrow my friends blanket, so take your own just to be safe.
- Baby wipes – there are usually showers at music festivals, the ones at Leeds were free but at some festivals you have to pay so check your particular one! The queue was always very long and I’m sure they probably weren’t the cleanest inside and so I stuck to using baby wipes to clean every day. Use liberally!
- Face wipes – you could just use baby wipes again but I prefer using face wipes for my face.
- Hand sanitiser – an essential for washing your hands after using the toilets – it is provided but I preferred using my own. It also means you have it with you before eating, etc.
- Dry Shampoo – this was my best friend at Leeds, it meant I didn’t have to hide my hair under a hat or tie it up every day. I didn’t have to worry about my hair looking like a greasy frying pan (ew).
- Money – an obvious one if you want to eat/drink/buy merchandise. I took £200 with me but only spent £100, and that included buying a hoodie which cost £40. So anything between £100-£200 would be fine depending how much food and drink you plan on buying.
- Clothes – duh… take lots of spare underwear, especially socks, since your feet can get very wet if it rains and your wellies or shoes get wet inside – it happened to me so I had to fashion a rain cover out of a bin bag to put on my foot.
- Rain jacket/poncho – for obvious reasons.
- Wellies – a must if it rains!
- Bin Bags – keeping your camp relatively tidy by putting all rubbish in a bin bag makes life a lot less stressful.
- Duct tape – in case you get a leak in your tent.
- Bumbag – this is great for carrying your valuables without the hassle of carrying an actual bag.
- Makeup/face paint/glitter/gems – not essential but just in case you’re feeling imaginative and want to get into the festival spirit.
- Food/Drink – this is very expensive at the festival so I would recommend taking some snacks with you for when you are at your tent and buying your main meals there. I would definitely recommend taking your own alcohol (if you’re over 18…) as this was especially expensive in the arena; £5.50 for a vodka+lemonade (!!!!!)
General pointers:
- The toilets are going to be disgusting, I was a bit shocked to say the least when I first saw/used them. But, you do begin to get used to them, take baby wipes if you feel that lining the seat or wiping it down will help, or even take a Shewee!
- Just try and embrace the outdoors and camping – it’s all part of the experience, and spending time thinking of the negatives of camping just makes it harder, so get into the spirit and enjoy it, it’s really not as bad as you think!
- It’ll probably rain, we are in England, and rain means mud. As long as you’re prepared with wellies and a rain jacket everything will be fine, just try not to fall over in it.
- Have fun! Yes I am going to be that cheesy person. Music festivals are great, you get to see so many amazing artists perform and spend the weekend with other like-minded people. So just enjoy your time there and have the best time ever! I will definitely be going to more in the future.
Introducing Georgia 