Unofficial Community Festival Guide for Newbies

[grimjim]

Dude i learned my lesson with sleeping bags the hard way... The saturday night last year was icey.... I woke up dithering n needing a piss had to pee in my skull cup ( which filled fast ) n promptly ask my mate for a foil blanket.... If in doubt get a foil blanket its well worth the quid just in case

[Metal_Lobster]

Stupid question but is there somewhere to buy ice? People have mentioned coolboxes a few times, I don't know whether they're topping them up or just eating fresh food in the first couple days.

[tmcgoay]

To keep food costs down I cook sausages for breakfast and then follow up with cereal bars and tinned fruit. I snack on cereal bars, crisps and tinned fruit throughout the day. I then buy a decent sized meal before the headliner.

To recover in the mornings I keep a 2 litre water bottle filled and chuck in some rehydration salts and a berocca tablet. Chug on this while bbq·ing sausages in the morning.

I normally try the showers mid·afternoon. There's usually a gap in the bands I want to see and the queues are reasonable then as everyones taste varies

To keep money safe I split it across 2 wallets. I sleep with them in the foot of my sleeping bag.

[Black Wizard]

To keep money safe I split it across 2 wallets. I sleep with them in the foot of my sleeping bag.

Thanks. This will save me a lot of time going through your tent.

[CharlesDexterWard]

To recover in the mornings I keep a 2 litre water bottle filled and chuck in some rehydration salts and a berocca tablet. Chug on this while bbq·ing sausages in the morning.
.

Rehydration salts are a lifesaver, I take them every year

[tmcgoay]

To keep money safe I split it across 2 wallets. I sleep with them in the foot of my sleeping bag.

Thanks. This will save me a lot of time going through your tent.

Good luck getting to the bottom of my sleeping bag with me in it

[Black Wizard]

Good luck getting to the bottom of my sleeping bag with me in it

[Noodle]

Stupid question but is there somewhere to buy ice? People have mentioned coolboxes a few times, I don't know whether they're topping them up or just eating fresh food in the first couple days.

Thinking about it, I'm not sure there is. Not on site anyway. There's a good chance you'll find some at one of the big supermarkets in a nearby town (Lichfield might be the place to look) but that would involve a car or shuttle bus journey there and back).

I do a lot of weekends away through the summer and have found that 6 or 8 frozen tins of really cheap custard tend to keep cold fairly well through a few days, as long as they're packed together. The downside is that they can get pretty heavy to carry.

[Metal_Lobster]

Thinking about it, I'm not sure there is. Not on site anyway. There's a good chance you'll find some at one of the big supermarkets in a nearby town (Lichfield might be the place to look) but that would involve a car or shuttle bus journey there and back).

I do a lot of weekends away through the summer and have found that 6 or 8 frozen tins of really cheap custard tend to keep cold fairly well through a few days, as long as they're packed together. The downside is that they can get pretty heavy to carry.

Thanks for replying! Yeah, from having a Google it looks like a lot of people just freeze bigger ice blocks (or custard I guess in your case!). I'd never tried it before, so I didn't realise that it lasts a really long time that way. Not sure if I'll go ahead with it as I'm travelling down by train, but good to know it's an option.

[Mauler]

Greetings, I rarely post but I figured that a useful thread of tips (but not tricks, that sounds rather shifty... ) would be cool to assist with people who haven't been before, been for a while, or even regulars who may learn something new. Out of respect to Adam, organisers & staff, preferably nothing to do with sneaking contraband past security, lol.

I'll start:

If you're going to bring a trolley to lug stuff from car park to festival MAKE SURE IT HAS FOUR WHEELS THAT ALL WORK! Me and my chum sat and had a few beers on the sloping grass path in the daft heat and the number of people struggling with 2-wheeled trolleys was unreal.
For the uninitiated: A fair bit of the path from cars to road crossing is on a slope; high on the right side, down to low on the left at the road fence. Two wheel trolleys (if they are stacked up high especially) don't handle the combination of sideways lean and uneven grass very well and love to tip. Save yourself the agg; try to get a low 4-wheel trolley!

NEXT?

[robin8585]

There's already a thread for this http://community.bloodstock.uk.com/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=86742

[Mauler]

See, doesn't post much

[Gandalf the Red]

Big tip.

If you need a trolley to move your stuff then you're probably bringing far too much stuff. It's a few nights at a festival, you're not accompanying Shackleton on an Antarctic expedition.

[kurrupo]

Big tip.

If you need a trolley to move your stuff then you're probably bringing far too much stuff. It's a few nights at a festival, you're not accompanying Shackleton on an Antarctic expedition.

I agree, last year we packed way too much in a a holdall on wheels. Didn't know about the slope and put all my beer in the left side of the bag. Probably took me a good 40 mins to get it from the car to the tent as it tipped over every 5 seconds

Think this year I'll just stick to a rucksack each and the tent!

[i0th]

2 easy car park runs are better than 1 hard one. First time take what you need fist, tent, rucksack, enough beer for a few hours. After you're camped and settled head back and get the rest of your beer.