Oxegen Festival Survival Guide

Surviving a weekend at a music festival is no mean feat. It can be mucky, cold and miserable by times but if you're well prepared no amount of rain or camping disasters will stop you from enjoying the music and the atmosphere.

 The DOs
* Bring your wellies, regardless of the weather forecast. It gets mucky really quickly after showers because of all the traffic. A waterproof jacket is an essential wardrobe item for the weekend too!

* Bring a torch, for navigating the campsite late at night, preferably a head torch so that your hands are free for balancing as you climb over tent ropes (or guy-lines if you're down with the camping speak!) - and don’t forget batteries for your torch (it's the simple things that get you when you think you're really prepared!).

* Pack some disinfectant hand-gel – this is a must when negotiating the portaloos on day three! Enough said on that subject.

* Bringing a distinctive flag to tie from the top of your tent, for identification purposes, is always a good idea. They all look pretty similar when it's pitch-dark and you're totally lost in the campsite.

* Bring plenty of fleece blankets and warm clothes. No matter how cosy your sleeping bag is or how sunny it is during the day-time (What? It might happen!), it gets very cold in those tents at night-time.

* Bring plenty of changes of clothes. No, I'm not thinking that you will just 'have to be' the biggest fashionista there. I'm thinking practicalities. If it rains you’ll need layers to keep warm and something dry to change into at night time.

* Pack a hat, bandana or headband if you aren’t prepared to queue for hours to have a shower or wash your hair - either that or some dry shampoo, which should also do the trick. And if we're sticking with the optimistic tone then the hat might come in handy in cases of extreme sunshine too!

* Bring your own toilet paper. It's essential for those aforementioned portaloo excursions. There won't be many luxuries on a camping weekend like this but why make it all harder on yourself than is absolutely necessary. Remember the basics people!

* Bring some first aid essentials, like plasters and antiseptic wipes/cream, because you're bound to trip over a tent rope at some stage or fall over dancing or something like that.

* Take some sunscreen and shades – because stranger things have happened and you wouldn't want to be that person who looks like a lobster in all your friends' photos and you know everyone would just love making the most of that situation!

* Investing in an official festival programme when you arrive at the venue is a good idea, even if you've printed out the running order. Loose pages tend to go walkabout over the weekend or disintegrate in the rain.

The DON’Ts
* Don’t bring metal cutlery, can openers or other sharp objects to the campsite with you. They might seem like handy additions to your picnic basket but they will all be confiscated.

* Don’t bring umbrellas, even if the forecast is promising rain all weekend. They too are considered dangerous objects and are not allowed inside the festival venue.

* Don’t bring glass bottles with you to the campsite. Only plastic containers are allowed inside that area.

* If you need to bring medication with you don’t take the labels off bottles or containers as unmarked tablets/pills could be confiscated during the campsite searches.

* Don’t bring large sound-systems/speakers as these are not generally permitted in either the campsites or the music venue. (Here's a novel idea – why not just head into the venue and listen to a few of the bands that are playing live on stage?!).

* It sounds simple and obvious but we're going to say it anyway… Don't bring valuables with you to the campsite. They are likely to get lost, stolen or buried in the muck.

* Don't forget to close your tent door when you go walkabout in the campsite. Apart from the obvious risk of having personal items stolen when on display, there's nothing worse than returning to a flooded tent and trying to find a dry corner to sleep in for the night and having no dry clothes to wear the next day! Nobody wants to appear in photographs wearing the same outfit all weekend (horror!).

Etiquette Tips:
* Be nice to your neighbours at the campsite because it's always good to have a friend next-door.

* Learn how to barter. It's all part of the fun of the festival experience. For instance, if you're a pro at putting up tents, why not help the people next to you who have been struggling for the past two hours. (In my experience it's worth at least three Milky Ways and a few chocolate-chip cookies… not that might not seem very exciting right now but trust me, when you're cold and wet and hungry for a full weekend it will!).

And finally…
* There are a lot of tips about life on the campsite and braving the elements here but there is absolutely no shame in attending the festival as a day-tripper. Camping is not everyone's cup of tea and maybe you'll actually enjoy the festival more if you're not walking around like a zombie!

Linda McGee

Are you a seasoned festival goer with some tips to share? If so you can post your words of wisdom for fellow-festival-goers below.

Read our Essential Festival Beauty Guide here.

Confused about where to buy the perfect festival wellies? Look no further...