Download Festival: Survival Guide

Hey guys,

How y'all doing today? We are nearly out of winter and ready for the nicer and hopefully warmer months to come. It is a bit of a dull time of year, where for most of us there is not really much to look forward to for a while. However, you may have some memories from last summer to keep you going or plans for this summer that are getting closer by the day! One of the things that I am looking forward to this year is going to Download festival for the second time. See, last year was my first time at any festival and it was amazing, so this year should be even better!

I discovered many things whilst being at this Festival, including what I would need to survive the 5 nights and 6 days there. So I thought I would share some tips on what you would need to get you through a festival!

1) Water - this is the MOST important thing you must have while you are there. Especially if it is sunny and you are consuming alcohol. Make sure you take a bottle for travelling and queuing and then you can get a compact 2 litre water carrier for when you get there which will save you many trips to the water point.

2) Food - We all know that festival food is expensive (even if you've never been to one, you can imagine) so it is important to make sure you have substantial food to last you a while. This is where you pasta lovers will be more than happy because you can stock up on pasta for the next 5 days.

3) Money - start saving now! This is particularly important if you want merchandise from the festival or even if you feel like eating something that isn't pasta! I think I took around £100 last year, which didn't feel like enough when you think about the price of merch, drink and food for 5 days.

4) Sun cream - I know we live in England and the chance of sun is about 1000 to 1, but spending 5 days outdoors has exposure to daylight and weirdly you can even get sun burnt even when it's cloudy. So, of course it is important to lather up in sun cream and wear a hat!

5) Waterproofs - Like I have mentioned before, this festival is in England and you will be outdoors for 5 days. The worst thing you could possibly do is not wear a raincoat and end up feeling soaked for days, it's not the nicest of feelings in the world. 

6) Clothes - Make sure you have enough clothes for the next few days with plenty of warm pieces for the cooler days/ evenings. 

7) Booze - If you like your occasional alcoholic beverage then you will need to be prepared. As I mentioned earlier, festival food is expensive, so you can only imagine the prices of alcohol there. If you are getting there via public transport it will be quite difficult to carry crates of beer so you better switch up your alcohol preference. I'd recommend a few plastic bottles with different spirits and mixers (make sure you label them, or that may be a nasty surprise!). 

8) Portable Chargers - You will need to have a few power banks to save the battery on your phone. Of course you won't be using your phone all the time but this is just in case of emergencies and when you want to take photos!

This is not an extensive list with the only things you will need, just a few tips and hints on how to make the most of your experience. If you are going with people who have already been before then you are pretty much sorted as they can guide you through the experience. 

What things do you wish you'd known when you went to a festival for the first time? What was your first experience at a festival like? Feel free to leave comments below!

Peace out!