A British festival weekend can throw a heatwave, a thunderstorm, a cold night and a dust bowl at you before Saturday lunchtime. Packing well isn't about cramming in everything you own — it's about taking the right things, in a bag you can actually carry from the car park to the campsite without needing a lie-down. Here's what's worth the space.
Tickets, ID and the paperwork people forget
Sort the boring bits first, because nothing ruins a weekend like a queue argument at the gate. Have your ticket on your phone and a printed copy or a screenshot saved offline. Networks collapse in a field of forty thousand people, and a dead battery has ended more festivals than rain has.
Check what the gate actually asks for: photo ID for age-restricted wristbands, a car park pass, a campervan or live-in vehicle pass, accessible camping paperwork. Save the booking reference somewhere you can find it without signal — a note on your phone, an email to yourself, or written on the back of your printed ticket.
Agree a meeting point with your group before you arrive. Something specific: "the big tree by the cider tent" works better than "near the main stage".
If you take regular medication, bring enough for the whole trip plus a couple of extra days, keep it in its original labelled packaging, and carry a copy of your repeat prescription. If you're travelling with anything controlled or you're unsure about what you're allowed to bring, speak to your GP or pharmacist before you go — they deal with this often and can tell you exactly what you need.
Dressing for four seasons in one day
Layers beat single thick garments every time. You want a thin base layer, a warm mid layer you can stuff in a day bag, and a proper waterproof shell with taped seams. A poncho will keep you dry for about eleven minutes in horizontal rain.
Footwear is where most people get it wrong. Wellies handle mud, walking boots handle everything else and protect your ankles on uneven ground. Whatever you choose, wear them in before the festival — a blister on day one is a miserable way to spend the rest of the weekend.
Socks matter more than you'd think. Wool or synthetic, never cotton, and pack more pairs than days. Wet feet get cold fast, and cold feet ruin sleep.
Bring the things that feel optimistic when you pack them: sun cream, a hat, sunglasses. A field with no shade is brutal in June, and sunburn on top of a hangover is a special kind of misery. Also bring a warm hat and gloves for the small hours, because temperatures drop further than people expect once the sun's gone.
Camping kit that earns its place
A cheap tent that leaks is worse than no tent at all. Look for taped seams and a hydrostatic head figure in the low thousands if you want a reasonable chance of staying dry through a British summer downpour. Practise pitching it in the garden first — you do not want to learn the layout in the dark, in the rain, slightly worse for wear.
- A footprint or extra groundsheet to protect the base and stop damp coming up
- Spare pegs and a mallet, because the ones in the bag are always inadequate
- A sleeping bag suited to the temperature — a thin summer bag will not cut it in a cold snap
- An insulated sleeping mat. This matters more than the bag for warmth
- A pillow, or a stuff sack filled with clothes
- A head torch with spare batteries for late-night toilet trips
- Bin bags, for rubbish, for wet clothes, and for sitting on
- Gaffer tape and a few cable ties — the universal festival repair kit
If you're driving, a folding trolley turns a grim walk into a pleasant one. If you're getting the coach in, remember you're carrying it all, so cut anything you're not certain about.
Earplugs, sleep and the people next to you
Bring two types of earplug. Foam ones for sleeping, because someone within fifty metres will be having a very loud conversation at 4am. Filtered or musician's earplugs for the stages — they lower the volume without turning the music into mush, so you can still hear what you paid for.
Standing near a speaker stack for three days does real, permanent damage, and ringing ears afterwards is your body telling you it happened. Earplugs cost very little and are the single most useful thing in this list.
An eye mask helps too. It gets light alarmingly early in a tent, and blackout fabric doesn't exist in festival tents.
Health, medication and the small stuff
Build a small kit bag and keep it in one place:
- Any prescription medication, plus a copy of your prescription
- Painkillers, rehydration sachets, and something for indigestion
- Plasters, including blister plasters, and a small antiseptic cream
- Antihistamines and insect repellent — midges in Scotland and the Lake District are no joke
- Sun cream and lip balm
- Hand sanitiser, tissues, and a roll of toilet paper in a plastic bag
- Contact lens solution and spare lenses, if you wear them
Check the festival's rules on wet wipes and single-use plastics before you buy a bulk pack. And if anything medical is worrying you beforehand — a dodgy knee, a new prescription, anxiety in crowds — talk to a pharmacist or GP. It's a five-minute conversation that can save your weekend.
Power, money and keeping your valuables safe
A charged power bank is non-negotiable. Take a large one and a spare cable; you'll be surprised how quickly it goes when you're filming, messaging and using your phone as a torch. A waterproof phone pouch costs a few pounds and has saved more phones than any insurance policy.
Most festivals are largely cashless now, but a bit of cash is still useful for the odd stall or a tip. Queues at the ATMs are legendary, so don't rely on them.
Don't leave anything valuable in your tent. It's not a moral failing on anyone's part — it's just a field full of strangers and thin nylon. Use the lockers many festivals provide, keep your phone and wallet on you, and put a contact number inside your phone case in case it goes missing.
The night-before check
Before you zip the bag, run through this: ticket, ID, medication, power bank, earplugs, waterproofs, dry socks. Then check the weather forecast one last time and adjust — if it's showing solid rain, add an extra groundsheet and leave the flip-flops at home.
Pack your tent and sleeping kit at the top of your bag so you can pitch first and socialise after. Charge everything overnight. Fill a water bottle. And put your keys somewhere specific, because a lost car key in a 40,000-person field is a problem with no good ending.
Then relax, put the bag by the door, and get an early night. The best festival packing is the kind you never have to think about again.
Photo: GuentherDillingen / Pixabay
