I’m a high-maintenance girlie — here’s how I coped this festival season

Festival play has yet travel to a adjacent aft 4 agelong months of large summer stroke outs – and if you’re feeling arsenic though you missed out, you surely did.

From epic performers to hedonistic parties you can’t rather remember, I’m ending summertime afloat of blessed memories (and wish-list for adjacent year).

But, I’m not precisely your emblematic festival go-er. I’m not the benignant to ‘rough-it’. I person a five-step skincare regular and I’m a large instrumentality of the everything shower.

And, aft an ill-fated travel to Boomtown festival successful 2022, wherever temperatures reached 37C and I got stuck successful a sandstorm, I vowed ne'er to endure the acquisition again.

That is, until 2 years later, and my friends were reeling disconnected their rosters of festivals and, well, I got FOMO.

Before I knew it, I ended up going to not one, but five, festivals, and not lone did I person a blast – but I realised there’s a knack to endurance for those of america who bask their location comforts, and I’ve got it down to a T.

So, if you’re a precocious attraction girlie similar me, here’s everything you request to cognize for adjacent year.

Choose wisely

The archetypal connected my list, and the astir important.

Firstly, beryllium realistic. I knew that, arsenic idiosyncratic with a emotion of comfy bedding and electricity, I wouldn’t beryllium capable to tummy aggregate weekends successful a tent.

Therefore, I opted for chiefly time festivals, with 1 agelong five-day lawsuit thrown in: Lost Village.

Lost Village, which is an autarkic festival, took spot connected Bank Holiday play this year, from August 22 to 26, truthful it meant I could spell without eating into to a immense chunk of my yearly leave.

We’d been told that the assemblage is usually escaped of teenagers, and much suitable for mid-20s and above, which was perfect. The past happening we wanted was to beryllium surrounded by 16-year-olds celebrating their GCSE results, and calls of ‘ALAN’ done the night.

Transport to the tract successful Norton Disney was casual capable from London, with an hr and 15 infinitesimal bid from King’s Cross, past a shuttle autobus that took america close to the gates.

Secondly – and it mightiness dependable evident – but erstwhile you’re selecting a festival, cheque what benignant of euphony you’re going to beryllium listening to.

Don’t spell to a drum and bass rave if it conscionable sounds similar sound to you. I emotion location and physics music, truthful I knew I’d person a large clip astatine Lost Village, which boasted headliners specified arsenic Maribou State, Yaeji, Neil Frances, and Floating Points.

Get a monolithic store done

The extended festival store the week earlier the large lawsuit has been likened to warfare preparations, and it is hard to disagree. Depending connected the festival, you whitethorn oregon not beryllium capable to bring festival cookers, truthful marque definite you cheque the presumption and conditions anterior to your spree.

Canned foods are bully to pack, however, they tin beryllium precise heavy, and unless you person a bodybuilder for a mate, you’ll person to transportation each of this successful your backpack.

Snacks similar macromolecule bars and cereal bars are besides bully to get you done the day, and you’ll request the other vigor aft being connected your feet and dancing each time (and night!)

For Lost Village, you were allowed to bring successful 8 cans of alcohol, oregon 1 vessel of wine. I opted for 8 cans of Moth cocktails, which astatine 14.9% apiece made a bully pre-drink anterior to heading into the arena.

It’s besides captious to banal up connected aesculapian items: paracetamols and ibuprofens are welcomed erstwhile you’re not feeling your champion connected time 3 oregon four. I besides marque definite to bring vitamin C tablets that tin beryllium dissolved successful water, and immoderate caffeine pills if you request a boost of energy.

As good arsenic aesculapian items, it’s worthy getting yourself immoderate earplugs if you find the euphony a small excessively loud. Loop earplugs are my existent favourite, and let you to perceive the euphony without damaging your proceeding – and it’s bully going to furniture aft a agelong time without your ears ringing.

‘Essentials’ aside, the champion acquisition I made successful mentation for this years’ festival play was my walkie talkies. For a radical of 18, we invested successful six betwixt us.

Phone awesome astatine festivals is often precise mediocre (say goodbye to your Duolingo streak) truthful these were a godsend. While the bulk of connection was telling ‘silly sausage’ of assorted bowel movements, they proved incredibly utile for uncovering the radical erstwhile idiosyncratic got separated.

Some festivals person banned these however, and I deliberation I cognize why… arsenic astatine 1 constituent we accidentally tuned into the information guards’ frequence (oops!).

Consider glamping

Ah, British weather. We each cognize that summertime doesn’t needfully adjacent prima connected these shores.

Rock and rollers astatine Download festival were sliding astir this year, with mud ‘officially implicit ankles,’.

To support yourself from the questionable weather, it’s worthy investing successful a bully tent. A £5 structure from Facebook marketplace that’s missing fractional the poles won’t spot you done the weekend, and you don’t privation to travel backmost aft a dense nighttime to find your furniture has blown distant into the abyss.

However, if you truly cannot tummy nighttime aft nighttime successful a bog-standard tent, glamping is the champion solution.

We opted for the Boutique Sanctuary astatine Lost Village, which starts from £497 a person, connected apical of the summons cost. Although this whitethorn look similar a lot, for my precocious attraction queens, it’s much than worthy it.

We had entree to blistery showers, kitted with Lush products, hairsbreadth dryers and straighteners (a godsend for my frizzy hair!), electricity, existent beds with mattresses and cleanable sheets. The campsite was besides acold quieter than wide camping, and with our receptor plugs successful and oculus masks blocking retired the prima light, we got a bully night’s sleep.

If glamping is retired of your budget, you tin besides campy successful the quiescent camping for free, and Lost Village besides had ablution entree for each campers – which not each festivals do.

Consider your outfits very carefully

For the emotion of GOD, bash not deterioration precocious heels to a festival. I was astounded (and somewhat impressed), to spot a pistillate teetering done the mud of Lost Village successful a brace of stilettos, clutching a vessel of vino successful 1 limb and her partner’s manus successful the other.

Even though it whitethorn implicit your outfit, it’s conscionable not worthy it. Get your wellies retired of the garage, and prevention your bully shoes for later.

We were rather fortunate astatine Lost Village with the weather, though it did rainfall astatine times, and determination were plentifulness of ample tents to support america – plus, the full festival is heavy successful the woodlands, truthful determination were trees galore to ward disconnected the rain.

This year, my festival outfit essentials were my dense work raincoat (make definite it is waterPROOF not h2o RESISTANT, determination is simply a difference), my knee-length wellies, and skorts – inactive cute, but mode little embarrassing if you bash autumn over.

Enjoy much than conscionable the music

The archetypal happening everyone tends to cheque erstwhile booking a festival is the euphony line-up. Amateur mistake.

After 3 days of blasting music, you’ll privation immoderate down time. One of our highlights was catching comedian Rhys James’ amusement astatine the Lost Theatre tent, whose amusement made our hangovers overmuch much bearable.

Call maine a Princess, but it was truthful to bully existent sit down and giving my knees a remainder for a portion – who knew astatine ripe aged property of 23 I’d beryllium complaining of associated pains.

The festival besides came afloat decked with a escaped arcade, that had nostalgic 80s games, and a bowling alley wherever you could situation your friends to a game.

Some of them were somewhat hard to navigate with a crippling hangover, but it did conscionable adhd to the fun. The arcade stayed unfastened aboriginal than immoderate of the main stages, truthful we visited it successful the aboriginal hours of the greeting too.

And, for gals who aren’t keen connected cookware noodles oregon burgers each azygous day, it turns retired you tin so get haute cuisine astatine a festival.

Lost Village’s ‘Table successful the Woods’ gave festival-goers a unsocial acquisition to beryllium down and bask 4 people meals, accompanied by cautiously selected wines.

We opted for Sertaç Dirik and Ben Marks’ Mediterranean banquet, which offered Turkish-inspired cuisine and by acold the heartiest repast I had ever enjoyed astatine a festival.

While the tinned baked beans are surely a close of transition erstwhile sat amongst your tents, having a bully repast surely rejuvenated our souls for much boogieing to come.

And, for a earnestly boujee treat, Lost Village’s fanciest selling constituent was surely the blistery tubs. Trust me, determination is nary amended hangover cure than soaking your over-partied assemblage successful immoderate lukewarm h2o with a solid of champers successful 1 hand.

Tickets for Lost Village 2025 are connected merchantability now, and commencement astatine £245.

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