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driving to a festival
Simon Jones white clock learner driver3 minute read Guides

Get Festival Ready this Summer

It’s hard to think about a music festival without thinking of British summer time, and a part of British culture to go to at least one music festival, whether that be one of the big ones like Glastonbury or Reading, or perhaps…

Simon Jones

It’s hard to think about a music festival without thinking of British summer time, and a part of British culture to go to at least one music festival, whether that be one of the big ones like Glastonbury or Reading, or perhaps a smaller one, maybe even a local one. With this right of passage in place, it’s essential you’re ready and prepared! So here is your guide to getting festival ready this summer.

Getting to the festival

This is obviously one of the biggest challenges when planning your festival antics, for those who have been to a festival before you’ll know the cost and inconvenience of finding the best transport and carrying around all the essentials you’ll be bringing. So, a good idea could be to get a lift sorted or maybe even borrow a car for the weekend. By bringing your own vehicle it gives you the freedom to pack whatever you need and get there and back very simply. If you’re borrowing someone’s car make sure that you’re protected against anything that could happen, get some temporary insurance for the duration of the festival and travel home safely with Veygo!

For whichever festival you’re attending, their website should provide you with all of the adequate information about getting to the festival by car. The website should also provide you with the information relevant to parking and permits. It’s also good to check it out for yourself, use maps to find a quick route there and back. For both journeys it’s a good idea to have a look beforehand at which service stations are on the route so if a stop is needed you’ll have a good idea of where to go.

What will I need to bring to a festival?

Essentials

Tent
Sleeping bag
Some kind of pillow
Sunglasses (practical and quirky)
Some form of fancy dress
Small shoulder bag (check policy)
Enough socks, plus more!
Clothes (arguably should be higher up the list, but fancy dress is way more fun!)
Baby wipes, or some form of cleansing wipes

Worth while

Large collapsible water bottle
Alcohol, check festival policy on bringing your own drinks (also drink responsibly and NO
DRINK DRIVING! Please familiarise yourself with the drink driving limits)
Spare footwear, i.e. sliders, flip flops or sandals.
Camping chairs
Towel
Gazebo
Speaker
Portable chargers
Rain poncho
Wellington boots

All these items on the lists are suggestions as you will have to check the specific festival guides for a list of what is allowed and what isn’t allowed. For example, some festivals say sound systems aren’t allowed in, but others will be fine with you bringing one to listen to around your campsite.

Planning a festival trip

When planning the festival you’ll have likely picked one where you and your friends like a certain type of music or artist that’ll be playing, so beforehand or on the first day of the festival it might be a good idea to find out set lists and times. Doing this you can arrange where to be and at what times, it’s a good way to plan so that everyone gets to see someone they’ll enjoy!

British music festivals

According to Festiticket and other sources these are the hottest UK music festivals, these go off of popularity and attendance. In terms of which ones are the outright best you’d have to do some exploring around as everyone has different music tastes. Glastonbury is probably the biggest and most known for its outstanding headliners and capacity, however, you may not be feeling a mainstream festival and may be more swayed to a dance based festival like Creamfields or NASS.

Glastonbury
Download Festival
V Festival
Reading & Leeds
Creamfields
Isle of Wight
Boom Town
Wireless
Boardmasters
All Points East
Hyde Park
Y Not Festival
Boundary Brighton
Field Day
TRNSMT
Terminal V
Neighbourhood Weekender
MiNT Festival
Beautiful People
Strawberries & Creem Festival

Tips and Tricks for music festivals

When driving to and from the festival, make sure the journey is planned well. It’s going to be busy getting there and a nightmare leaving so you will want to be prepared. For example, making sure you have plenty of water in the car with you to stay hydrated.
Bring some kind of snacks, this is a great way to make sure you’ve always got something to keep you topped up, especially as the cost of festival food is always rising.
Check what the festival’s policy is on bags and similar accessories, if you’re able to bring a smaller bag to strap around you then it’s a good way to make sure all your personal belongings are safe and with you.
As it is a music festival, you’re likely to be enjoying a few drinks. Find out what the
festival’s policy is on bringing your own, as festivals are notoriously expensive for drinks, this could be a good way to save on costs.
With regards to expenses, find out what facilities and shops are located in the festival as some have little supermarkets in them and provide food and drinks for a reasonable price.
Bring a cool bag/box, by doing this you’re able to use ice and ice packs to keep your
food and drinks cool.
As mentioned in the list above, under what bring, look at getting a large collapsible water bottle, 5 litres will do the trick, it’s a great way to keep water near your tent, or even use to pour over yourself to either keep cool or rinse off!
Again, for your own health and safety, make sure you stay hydrated the whole time, it’s
easy to get caught up enjoying yourself, but in the summer heat make sure you’re drinking plenty of water!
Phone signal is always terrible at music festivals, so maybe have a time and location for meeting if you get lost, having to go back to camp all the time (especially if you end up on your own) can be frustrating and boring, so have temporary meeting spots or have a buddy system so you’re always with someone else.
If driving to the festival make sure you’re aware of road safety, there’s a couple of things to look out for…

1. Driving there – this is important because you’re going to want to plan ahead, as previously mentioned. Finding the best routes, and getting the best times so that you’re not stuck in the worst part of the traffic. As its a music festival the chances are you’re going to be excited to get there, so use this to your advantage, pack in plenty of time, plan the best routes, and use that adrenaline to get over being tired and leave early so
you can get into the festival, avoiding traffic and get the best spots.
 
2. Parking/camping – This follows getting to the festival at a decent time, as getting good spaces can really enhance your experience. First of all a good parking spot, whether you’ve chosen to park in the festival allocated sites, or found your own, get there early and make sure your car is safe. Next, the camping spot, there are 3 things that make a good spot: location, how close you are to walking routes, and surroundings. The ideal sweet spot is close to all the venues, not too far away from a footpath and not super close to any kind of food stall, or shop (generators make a loud noise a lot of the time).

However, that’s just a guide, some people may want to be further away from the stages
to avoid noise and crowds when trying to sleep, and some may want to be super close to be constantly involved. Others may want to be closer to food stalls, toilets, and showers, that way they’re not having to trek to find these things. Lastly, some people may find it easier being closer to a footpath, as avoiding tent ropes in the evening and night is super difficult, especially when it’s dark, it’s a much easier way to avoid getting hurt.
 
3. Driving home – First priority is to make sure that you’re in a fit state to drive, if need be take some time, eat some food, and drink plenty of water before setting off. The rest is fairly simple, make sure you have everything packed up (try not to leave tents, unless the festival makes a promise to recycle them), double check and load your car. As you’ll have had such a great time in the sun with your friends, it’s unlikely you’re properly rested, so, if you’re feeling tired make sure that you feel confident to drive, try an energy drink or coffee to keep you stimulated. If you do feel drowsy, make sure you pull over somewhere and take a rest, or maybe even switch drivers if you’ve opted to insure more than one person using Veygo’s brilliant temporary insurance.

Car sharing insurance

If you are going to head to a festival with mates this summer and want to share the driving, our temporary car insurance covers drivers from 1hour and you can be on the road in minutes. 
 
Simon Jones

Worked for short-term car insurance provider Veygo for over 3 years. Been involved in building insurance products for learner drivers and people looking for temporary cover on cars, then telling the world about them through marketing campaigns. Also drive a bit myself, mainly my son around where ever he needs to go.

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