Advice for first timers

[Battlejacketbloke]

Hey, this year will mark my first time at BOA after attending all sorts of festivals around the world so i was just after some hints, tips or advice such as....

How much is beer and food generally?(and tabs!)
What to expect from the main arena and campgrounds?
What sort of distance is stuff away from each other?
Should i pack with the idea that I'll be well searched? (Nothing about contraband, just won't meticulously pack stuff if it's going to be pulled out and thrown back in a bag on a pop-up table)
Do any of the campgrounds have reputations?(Want to avoid complete carnage if possible)
Are they cool with portable BBQs?
What's the weather generally like at BOA? (I know at download it's either death valley or a monsoon)
How acccessible are the main routes around the site?(Do they have pop up metal roads)
Is there a supermarket on site?

Really appreciate any help you guys and gals can give me!

[WorMzy]

How much is beer and food generally?(and tabs!)

I can't comment on the beer, and I don't think tabs are a thing, but food prices vary from stall to stall. Expect to pay between £5 and £10 for most stuff.

What to expect from the main arena and campgrounds?

Not sure what you're asking here, but here's the site map for last year.

What sort of distance is stuff away from each other?

Everything is walkable. Here's the googlemaps location for the festival site if you want to measure distances (note that the site is host to multiple events throughout the year, and the one that happened to be on at the time google last photoed it ISN'T Bloodstock, but does set up the site in a similar fashion).

Should i pack with the idea that I'll be well searched?

Yes. The queues to get in can get apocalyptic because of it. It does vary of course, some people may get a more thorough search than others.

Do any of the campgrounds have reputations?

Midgard is the original campsite and is also the biggest, so has gotten a bit of a reputation as the party camp. For better or worse, old school binjousting now seems to be a thing of the past, however.
The Ragnarok camp has a noise curfew, if you want a good nights sleep, that's your best bet.

Are they cool with portable BBQs?

Disposable ones only (unless you're in a campervan -- which you need to have a specific ticket for, and have to park in the campervan camp). Solid fuel camping stoves are also okay. No liquid fuel or gas canisters allowed on site (again, possible exception for campervans).

What's the weather generally like at BOA? (I know at download it's either death valley or a monsoon)

In my experience more often than not, it's dry if not sunny. It is during the British summer though, so there are the occasional downpours. FTR, last year was a mudbath. Checking the weather for the area closer to the festival and packing appropriately is advised.

How acccessible are the main routes around the site?(Do they have pop up metal roads)

No pop up roads (except at the coach drop-off). In terms of footpaths, when it's wet, it's a quagmire. When it's dry it's rock solid. There is no in-between.

Is there a supermarket on site?

Yep, in the Midgard campsite (alongside a camping shop), check the site map above.

Hope this helps, welcome to the forum (and festival).

[Cassius]

Hi,

1 ) Beer was £4.50 a pint last year and for a main meal your looking at £7 - £10 and the quality is generally good

2 ) You can see a map of last years site layout from last year at the link below to get an idea and it rarely changed much

https://www.bloodstock.uk.com/downloads ... p_2019.jpg

3 ) Everything is really fucking close especially if you are used to something like Download. Walking from 1 side of the arena is a 5 - 10 min walk depending on pace and similarly almost all camping spots except the most far out are at most 10 mins walk from arena

4 ) While it is possible its not common, they will usually stick their hands inside packs etc feeling for glass and such but iv never had my pack actually pulled apart

5 ) Midgard is the biggest and noisiest campsite with lots of partying into the night, Ragnarok is a designated quiet camp and the rest are somewhere in between

6 ) Yes as long as you use them in the specified areas marked on the map

7 ) Generally good, obviously had the odd bad year like last year with high winds and 2010 which turned into mudstock but iv been every year since 2010 and most of the time its been nice sunny weather. Though id still pack for all eventualities

8 ) As far as I know its pretty accessible with signs and stewards out on roads to guide people. But im not a driver so might be best to wait for someone else to confirm that

9 ) Yes but its pretty small and iv never used it so cant commend on how good it is

[henryburch4]

WARM LAYERS
cant stress it enough how cold it can get in the evening. seems obvious but in 2018 after a few years off forgot how cold it can get and spent most evenings ater bands trying to stay warm.

i normally pack my joggers and a couple of hoodies and a cheeky set of thermals and get changed just after headliner ( possibly before if i know im not moving about for them)

of course a good alcohol blanket will help

[Battlejacketbloke]

Cheers for the replies folks, this is really useful and we're really looking forward to attending. Sadly one of our group can't get Thursday off so we're coming early Friday morning. Any advice on which campsites are likely to be less packed out?

Cheers again!

[slayerslays]

Don't bring anything in glass, decant your hard stuff into 'plastic' or a stainless steel thermos...they will take your bottle of Southern Comfort and stick it under the search table! Also I saw mirrors there once

[WorMzy]

I wouldn't worry about the campsites being full. They didn't get anywhere close to that for the past couple of years. You'll be able to see into the Valhalla and Asgard camps as you queue to get into the festival, so you'll be able to gauge whether there's enough space in those for your group. If there's no space in them, you'll find plenty in Midgard, Ironwood or Hel. There's usually plenty of space in Ragnarok too, if you want to camp in the quiet campsite.

[beerman]

Hi there,
I'm a first timer on BOA(and UK) this year, so please tell me about payment method on-site.
Can I pay for merchandises(T-shirts, Hoodies etc...) or beers/foods by credit card? Or should I trip to the ATM before purchasing something?

I appreciate your help with awesome metal heads!

[bloodofthekings]

Hi there,
I'm a first timer on BOA(and UK) this year, so please tell me about payment method on-site.
Can I pay for merchandises(T-shirts, Hoodies etc...) or beers/foods by credit card? Or should I trip to the ATM before purchasing something?

I appreciate your help with awesome metal heads!

Merchandise yes, food & drink will depend on the individual stall I think - some of them may be cash only.

[fluffkitten]

Hi there,
I'm a first timer on BOA(and UK) this year, so please tell me about payment method on-site.
Can I pay for merchandises(T-shirts, Hoodies etc...) or beers/foods by credit card? Or should I trip to the ATM before purchasing something?

I appreciate your help with awesome metal heads!

Merchandise yes, food & drink will depend on the individual stall I think - some of them may be cash only.

If cash is needed there are cash machines onsite, they do charge a fee but tend to be reliable.

[beerman]

Thank you for your replies!
Cheers!

[Green Man III]

As for the weather, two of the three times I'd been there, there was really hot weather, then some rain, and then on the last night, shivering cold like Immortal, resulting in lots of condensation inside my tent and just way too uncomfortable inside or outside the tent, had to walk around to stay warm.
Biggest mistake, not bringing a jacket just because it's warm and sunny at first.

[Jamesh1913]

On this note, this will be my first BOA (was meant to be last year as Judas Priest were headlining my birthday but...corona).

I'm almost certainly coming alone so I wondered if there was a camp loner area similar to at download? Happy to spend the festival on my own but would be nice to camp with other people who have friends that are probably only hitting one festival this year.

[i0th2]

There is indeed a loner camp, think there's a facebook group for it? Someone normally makes a thread just before the fest saying where they're gonna be and what flag to look out for, iirc it's a stein glass in front of a pair of bollocks.

[AlixB]

WARM LAYERS
cant stress it enough how cold it can get in the evening. seems obvious but in 2018 after a few years off forgot how cold it can get and spent most evenings after bands trying to stay warm.

i normally pack my joggers and a couple of hoodies and a cheeky set of thermals and get changed just after headliner ( possibly before if i know im not moving about for them)

of course a good alcohol blanket will help

As someone who grew up with fake winters and real summers, I second this, so hard. I pack 3 hoodies, extra socks, thermals and a long-sleeve and sometimes that's not enough either. The 24 hour market does sell warm blankets if you're still cold. I would never say the weather has ever been hot (my camping neighbours would beg to differ though), but certainly there have been days where it's warm enough to wear a shirt/shorts for a cold-blooded creature like me.

Also, it's rained every single time I've been (as previously stated, some years worse than others) so pack a poncho and boots.