My advise

[indie-rocknroll]

Feel free to add your own, there are some many people asking advise and just thought I would add this from my experience of festivals over the last few decades.

1. Don't stress - festivals can be as chillaxed and stress free as you make them, worrying too much does not get anywhere, get your ticket get to the site and enjoy.

2. Girls - don't take too many clothes you end up wearing almost the same, if you have a few pair of shorts, a few t-shirts, leggings, wellies, pumps and a Bikini, you re pretty much sorted - Your gonna look rough on the last day face it.

3. If you can manage don't both carrying chairs, you might as well chip in with someone and pay £5 each to get an already inflatable sofa when you are there, they easy deflate if you want to take it home but otherwise, it was a fiver and did it's purpose, leave it.

4. Cold blooded people take a hot water bottle and ask the fod vans to fill it up with boiling water before you go to bed

5. Don't worry about clashes, if someone clashes and you try to hard to work around a time table you will be disapointed, walking from one stage to another takes up allot of valuable festival time - I have found some of the best acts by watching someone I never wanted to see but could not be arsed moving.

6. If you get there past 10am on the Friday, don't even bother attempting to get into red or Orange, camp nearest the car park the further you walk the more chance of not finding a spot.

7. If it's cold laugh, it's is warm have a wash

8. Try to take alcohol that comes in boxes so you can stick the bag under your top and sneak into the Arena

9. Don't wear denim or jeanns etc... if it rains you are not gonna get them dry all weekend, cotton drys within an hour is a tent, you will feel warmer in light cotton clothes.

10. Femme Fresh

11. Dry hair shampoo

12. Air beds are heavy try to just take a single.

13. POPPERS !!

[Dannny]

6. If you get there past 10am on the Friday, don't even bother attempting to get into red or Orange, camp nearest the car park the further you walk the more chance of not finding a spot.

[indie-rocknroll]

uhm, shuttle buses don't start to leave stafford train station till 9:30am. Does anyone think they could save me space in the eFest camp?

[Tee_Jay]

uhm, shuttle buses don't start to leave stafford train station till 9:30am. Does anyone think they could save me space in the eFest camp?

[Tee_Jay]

I would oblige but have my own 20+ to organise

[dixie chicks]

Feel free to add your own, there are some many people asking advise and just thought I would add this from my experience of festivals over the last few decades.

1. Don't stress - festivals can be as chillaxed and stress free as you make them, worrying too much does not get anywhere, get your ticket get to the site and enjoy.

2. Girls - don't take too many clothes you end up wearing almost the same, if you have a few pair of shorts, a few t-shirts, leggings, wellies, pumps and a Bikini, you re pretty much sorted - Your gonna look rough on the last day face it.

3. If you can manage don't both carrying chairs, you might as well chip in with someone and pay £5 each to get an already inflatable sofa when you are there, they easy deflate if you want to take it home but otherwise, it was a fiver and did it's purpose, leave it.

4. Cold blooded people take a hot water bottle and ask the fod vans to fill it up with boiling water before you go to bed

5. Don't worry about clashes, if someone clashes and you try to hard to work around a time table you will be disapointed, walking from one stage to another takes up allot of valuable festival time - I have found some of the best acts by watching someone I never wanted to see but could not be arsed moving.

6. If you get there past 10am on the Friday, don't even bother attempting to get into red or Orange, camp nearest the car park the further you walk the more chance of not finding a spot.

7. If it's cold laugh, it's is warm have a wash

8. Try to take alcohol that comes in boxes so you can stick the bag under your top and sneak into the Arena

9. Don't wear denim or jeanns etc... if it rains you are not gonna get them dry all weekend, cotton drys within an hour is a tent, you will feel warmer in light cotton clothes.

10. Femme Fresh

11. Dry hair shampoo

12. Air beds are heavy try to just take a single.

13. POPPERS !!

[Josephinus]

Great advice!

I would also advise to bring the following items . . . helps alleviate stinky messy portaloo!

Mini-can of body spray (to spray in the aforementioned stinky loo before going in yourself)

Torch (so that you can survey the loos at night for a hopefully cleaner, less stinkier one)

Anti-bacterial hand gel (they always run out in the loos, so you're best taking your own)

Bog rolls (no explanation necessary)

[richietal]

If your tent is right next to a path, position it so that the door faces away from it.

Leant that the hard way last year at Staffs...........

[Josephinus]

If your tent is right next to a path, position it so that the door faces away from it.

Leant that the hard way last year at Staffs...........

[richietal]

Nothing mental, just the tent and door got completely covered in mud where people had in a vain attempt to avoid the 18" of mud in the middle, walked along the edges of the path, and in so doing so churned up the edges into about the same. Made getting out of the tent in the mornings a bloody nightmare!

Edited August 12, 2009 by richietal

[bekimo]

Nothing mental, just the tent and door got completely covered in mud where people had in a vain attempt to avoid the 18" of mud in the middle, walked along the edges of the path, and in so doing so churned up the edges into about the same. Made getting out of the tent in the mornings a bloody nightmare!

[dixie chicks]

This happened with us too and we were right up the back of orange by the fences. Thankfully Teepee of love has 2 doors so when 1 door way was too bad we used the other one!!

We saw so many ruined tents by the pathway going through Orange. I swear people must have been falling on top of them when they lost their footing in the mud!!

[Tee_Jay]

Was Orange really that bad last year??

[dixie chicks]

Having second thoughts? Hmmmm!

[magicmat]

6. If you get there past 10am on the Friday, don't even bother attempting to get into red or Orange, camp nearest the car park the further you walk the more chance of not finding a spot.

[Mr Nasty]

You'll get in red after 10am.

[heavenly271]

fear not efesters we were in efest camp last year and although the walkways were complete mud the actual camping area was grass and it didnt get muddy. It was always a relief at night to get off that pathway and back to the tent to sit and not have mud underneath your feet. We were smart we camped at the top of the hill

[tell]

OK...concerned about this one! This will be our first camping trip to V...we will be in Red Camping. So...if we get there after 10, we're unlikely to get a space? So what is the area closest to the car park? A "non" coloured camping area?! Hope someone can help us newbies! Thanks

[bekimo]

And remember folks of Staffs, the campsite is opening earlier this year so red and orange will fill up quicker. Efest camp will probably take up most of orange!!

[bekimo]

Was Orange really that bad last year??

[lonely_soul]

13 is the only point to remember !! ha

[mrsgaz]

Baby wipes and spare bikini/swimsuit - it you can't get into the showers (or campsite has none) then just strip down to swimsuit/bikini and stand/duck under the taps for a very refreshing wake up (goodhangover cure too).

Oh yes - and aspirins for the hang-over too!

[indie-rocknroll]

You're bringing the party alright! Is your mob joining in the efest camp too?

[theramm]

Some more tips that have served us well in the past :

1. Take loads of baby wipes & loo roll

2. If you don't mind lugging the extra weight take a camping stove/disposable bbq & camping kettle. The ques in the morning to get a horrible brew from the vans suck balls & as you'll be up early you'll have time to kill. Cooking breakfast is fun & cheap.

3. Take a load of bin bags. Multi purposes, especially if the weather is like recent years. You can use them to sit on the ground, for keeping wet clothes apart from dry ones & keeping your general camping area (half) liveable.

4. Get to know your neighbours. Loads of people get robbed every year, even though it's a huge minority knowing who should be in what tent around you helps. Last year I baked a load of 'special' brownies & dished a few out...I got paid back in loads of beer which helped as we ran out early Sunday.

5. Waterproof hiking boots are a million times better than wellies, there's a lot of walking at V & if it's wet your feet will thank you come Monday. I got some a few years back from my local Sports/Soccer/Chav World & loads of festies later they're still going strong.

6. Get your beer tokens on the Friday as soon as you get there. Unlike other fests that use the token system there's always big ques for beer tokens at V, if you get sorted out while peeps are still arriving no the Friday you wont waste precious time when acts are on.

7. Smuggling drinks into the arena is pretty easy, I usually walk around the arena perimeter & see which stewards are being jobsworth gits & which look like uninterested youths who can't wait to knock off. Last year I got my personal best of 9 cans of lager in all on my person...'Midnight Express' style!

8. If you see a toilet pee in it. If you've not been to V before but have been to other fests there's nothing that will prepare you for the sheer amount of queing, take advantage wherever possible.

[sifi]

Mine would be - don't take advice from anyone who spells it "advise"