Hi I'm New

[hp123]

Hi Everyone

I've searched and read and read (and read some more) the forum but still have a few inane and probably irritating questions so here goes...

I'm a festival virgin (no? really?) at the ripe old age of 29 (i know, i know) but going to one has been on my list of 'things to do before I'm 30 for around 15 years so better last minute late than never, as I hit 30 in Oct. SO have booked my weekend camping tickets with Big Green Coach and am all-out-of-proportion excited and thinking the end of Aug is v.far away still.

Here goes my stupid q's:

1) I'm going with my husband (minus the 2 kids - hurrah) but we have a 'family size' tent, i.e. 8 berth/3 bed... is this slight overkill? Will people point and laugh/try and move in? Should we borrow a slightly cooler 2 man pod or similar?!?

2) Are people really as friendly as everyone says on here? I'm worried we wont meet lots of new people because we will be in a'couple' but hell after 8 years of my life I'm looking for new people to talk to!! Am I likely to get lost? Will I be alright hanging around on my own if he's off doing something else?

Finally...

3) How do you manage to plan who and what you see when you are there? Do you get some sort of guide or list of who is on where and when? We have wildly differing tastes but have a few 'must see's' on the line up and I really want to go to the disco I've heard about on here.... or do you just go with the flow and hope for the best...

Sorry, did warn you, hope someone will be able to help, but am prepared for snorts of derision too...

Cheers!

Helen

[redmad1971]

Hi there. Went to my 1st festival last year at v Staffs with my mrs, and i am 38.

1. A great idea to take a big tent so you will have a nice space to chill out if it rains. Also you will have space to have a drink with your new friends camped next to you.

2. Yes you will meet lots of nice people. Me and my fiance sat chatting and drinking with loads of strangers after each nights bands had finished. Was the best part of the weekend for us. As for safety, we never witnessed any crime or trouble of any sort.

3. You can buy an official programme at the festival but it costs £10. You will be able to get one for free off this forum nearer the time.

My other half has wildly differing tastes in music to me but she was happy to go off and do her own thing from time to time. She always felt safe and went with some of our camping neighbours to the indie disco which wasn't really my cup of tea.

As for getting lost and finding your tent, well that depends on how much booze is consumed / substances taken. Just remember the colour of the camp your in and use something to distinguish your tent from others ( a flag or battery powered fairy lights are great)

Hope you enjoy your 1st experience as much as we did, am sure you will have a fantastic time.

Best wishes, Mike and Ashley (former festival virgins)

[xxtinkerbellxx]

Here goes my stupid q's:

1) I'm going with my husband (minus the 2 kids - hurrah) but we have a 'family size' tent, i.e. 8 berth/3 bed... is this slight overkill? Will people point and laugh/try and move in? Should we borrow a slightly cooler 2 man pod or similar?!?

2) Are people really as friendly as everyone says on here? I'm worried we wont meet lots of new people because we will be in a'couple' but hell after 8 years of my life I'm looking for new people to talk to!! Am I likely to get lost? Will I be alright hanging around on my own if he's off doing something else?

Finally...

3) How do you manage to plan who and what you see when you are there? Do you get some sort of guide or list of who is on where and when? We have wildly differing tastes but have a few 'must see's' on the line up and I really want to go to the disco I've heard about on here.... or do you just go with the flow and hope for the best...

Sorry, did warn you, hope someone will be able to help, but am prepared for snorts of derision too...

Cheers!

Helen

[Squall Moogle]

The tent will be fine if you stick to campsites like Green or Gold (plus get there semi early). People generally cram into the ones nearest the arena (in 06 I even saw someone camping right over a tree stump in a thin small tent). If you feel you must size down, go for a three person tent.

With the programme you get a bag and a laminate that goes round your neck, it has all the lineup and all the stages on it.

[xxtinkerbellxx]

also with the tent issue dont forget you have to walk from the car park with all your stuff i presume a 8 person, 3 room tent is rather heavy? dont want to put you off like but i think a 4 man tent would be big enough for just the two of you and not to heavy for the big walk and also would not have 2 much trouble finding a spot, wouldnt have to limit your self to the further afield campsites then!

[vickster*arsenal]

Hi, I had an 8 man tent last year, first time I'd camped at V.

We got there about 9.30 on Fri morning. It was crazy trying to get all our stuff from car park to campsite, but we managed to find a pitch in the red campsite big enough for the tent (quite easily).

However I think it would be a problem if you got there much later - people were turning up Fri night and Sat morning and struggling to find somewhere to put 2/3 man tents...

I don't regret taking it, and will be taking it again this year. When it rained it was good to have room for mates to come in and sit in the dry....although am hoping it won't rain this year!

[bekimo]

Just be aware that very occassionally your tent can get very destroyed at festivals. Just depends on who you meet and how much you party, and lucky you are with the weather/mud/neighbours!!!

You should be fine. No one will stare at you for taking a larger tent. My friend has a big teepee that we take and we never get looked at like "what were you thinking?" It's good though cus we never get lost we can always see it!!

It also depends on if you want to pitch up close to the arena. If you do, then you want to get there early. Or like others said, you will not get a spot for a big tent!!

I find people at V really very friendly. If you are worried about meeting people, there will be an efest meet arranged at some point.

Also, there are timetables to buy. Just choose what you want to go and see and enjoy.

B x

[hp123]

Hi Guys

Thanks for the replies, I've not got online all weekend (another lost one, think we are havng a mid life crisis!) but we were just chatting about V and remembered I'd posted so came up to see!

We haven't even put the tent up yet (its a new one) so maybe will give it a few trial runs and see how unwieldy it actually is, great point about carrying it to site (I'm not known for my strength or patience) and I presume we will need to take a couple of chairs, disposable bbq etc too.

Just another q, how do you know which campsite you will be camping in? Do you choose yourself? As we booked through Big Green Coach, will be all be allocated a campsite or is it a free-for-all? Ooh the pressure. How do we know where the efest camp is? Sounds like the place to be. If you see us struggling with our huge tent you will all know who we are haha.

Maybe borrow a bijou 4 man tent...

Cheers again

Helen

[xxtinkerbellxx]

You can camp where you like at staffs but each campsite seems to have its own personality. If you type in the little search box at the bottom there is a thread describing each one. Efest camp will be orange (where all the cool people are )

[indie-rocknroll]

We left our 9 man tent last year, it was ok getting there in the sun and putting it up on the Thursday but there was no chance we were dragging it home in the mud on the Monday, but there again there are 20 of us and we need somewhere to go at night if the weather is not that good.

If you are in a couple I always recomend big smiles and introducing yourself to the neigbours (unless they are 16 year olds drinking Stella)

[hp123]

Orange it is then!

And decide Re: the tent nearer the time!

Helen

[bekimo]

Good call on doing the test run with the tent! Always a good plan.

Tink, you have got it right there, the cool people are always in Orange. That is where you will find moi!! Hehe!!

B x

[finallyfestivalling]

from one Helen to another... thanks, this has answered a few of my questions too.

As the title suggests, I am a total festie virgin, but my mate who is joining me for V is a Glasto veteran. She was trying to persuade me to take as small a tent as possible but having read this thread I have suggested a bigger tent in case it tips it down and we need somewhere to gather together with new friends

Think we will also join you in Orange...