Reading 2016 - First timer

[PompeyJules]

Hi - my daughter and a group of  8-10 friends are wanting to attend Reading this year, she is a school leaver (part of the celebration) 16 turning 17 this autumn. This would be her first 'proper' festival and whilst she is sensible I'm not stupid enough to know that drinking and drugs are a big part of the culture. As a concerned parent I want to get a feel for the safety and security on site at the Festival and wondered if any other parents can advise. Ultimately I have the dilema of should she go or not??

[coreyt409]

My first big festival was Reading, with exactly the same scenario as you described, 16 years old (17 the following week), picked up my GCSE results from school and then went and jumped straight on a bus to the festival!

If you know she is sensible, and if you know her friends are half tidy too, then I'd say you have nothing to worry about.  Under 18's without ID will have alcohol taken off them if they aren't discreet with it (obviously whether or not you tell her this depends on whether you're letting her take any alcohol with her).
As you said about drinking and drugs, festivals are known for it, especially Reading, and this year's lineup may cause more of that crowd too, But If your daughter was into that sort of thing, then stopping her from going for that reason probably wouldn't stop her doing them anyway.  Drugs are easy to get up there, so if she has it in mind then there's not much you can really do about it, but on the other hand, if she isn't into that sort of thing and is sensible enough not to buy stuff from strangers, then it's not hard to avoid it all either.  The security are okay, can't say much as I've never had much to do with them but most are pretty helpful as long as you're tidy with them (no doubt they see a LOT of drunk/drugged up people).

Our first year when we were 16 we kept ourselves to ourselves and still had a great time, had a few drinks but nothing too much, saw loads of great bands, had a good laugh with my girlfriend and some friends (along with the neighbours we met over the weekend) sat around the fire in the nights chatting about who we saw that day, and just generally made some real good memories of a first festival!

In a nutshell, Reading attracts mainly the younger crowd, people's 'First Festival', and generally attracts all sorts of people due to the wide range of acts they book, be it rock, indie, rap/dance (my bearbug haha).  But, I think you should let her go, it gives her a chance to be independent and see how she manages away from home for a few days.  The main things she wants to think about is getting a decent sleeping bag (it can get very cold), a good hiking rucksack to carry all her things (suitcases are nooo good in the mud), plenty of wetwipes/deodrant/hand sanitiser, easy to make food, TOILET PAPER!!, enough clothes for the weekend, including spare dry clothes/socks etc, wellies/walking boots, and plenty of money as food/merch etc can be expensive (£3 Chips, £5+ for a burger/decent meal).  I took around £120 my first year and that was plenty, as she won't be able to buy alcohol up there, it's surprising how little you spend without all those £5 pints in the arena haha!

Let her go, she'll have a ball with all her friends, learn some independence, and most likely come home so tired that she'll be seriously quiet and sleep lots for a good few days haha!

[PompeyJules]

Thanks so much for this information, some really useful hints and tips. I have shared it with my daughter and she thanks you for the positive comments! Its certainly helped me feel more confident about letting her go :-) Also any tips on best areas to camp?

[cb4747]

11 hours ago, PompeyJules said:

Thanks so much for this information, some really useful hints and tips. I have shared it with my daughter and she thanks you for the positive comments! Its certainly helped me feel more confident about letting her go :-) Also any tips on best areas to camp?

I first went to reading when I was 17 with just my boyfriend, not a big group of friends. We camped in Red and found it a fun but not too rowdy campsite, from experience I would recommend avoiding Green, Yellow and Orange - having camped in all of those I found Red the only one I would camp in again! If she wants more peace and quiet go for the White camp!

My dad was apprehensive about letting me go, even whilst he was driving us there he still didn't want me to go! 

My main advice would be to take all her important belongings (such as phone, money, purse, camera, anything she values) with her at all times, do not leave it in the tent, she could even use the lock ups to keep stuff safe. Come the Sunday night after the acts have finished the campsites do become a bit, well, lively... As long as she has her head screwed on (which I'm sure she does) she will be fine! I would really really drill it into her head to not be tempted by buying anything off strangers, I know it goes without saying, but it's all too tempting when you're at a festival and having fun. If she and her friends are taking a smartphone tell them all to download Find my Friends, then if one gets lost or even loses the phone they can locate it, it's served me well on a few good occasions! The toilets are minging, full stop. Make sure she has lots of toilet roll, baby wipes and I even take anti bac wipes. If she wants a nice sit down breakfast there are a fair few cafes within a 20 minute walk of the festival, I find that a decent breakfast really sets you up well.

She will be fine, she will have an amazing time and be absolutely knackered after! 

[AndrewSmith]

15 hours ago, PompeyJules said:

Thanks so much for this information, some really useful hints and tips. I have shared it with my daughter and she thanks you for the positive comments! Its certainly helped me feel more confident about letting her go :-) Also any tips on best areas to camp?

Here's a full map of last years site 

White camp would mean a lot of walking to get to / from the arena and main areas - I've never camped there myself.
Brown camp - again it's quite far out and I've not camped there
Purple - has a history for flooding especially around the pathways in ABCD
Yellow - Very busy when the arena is emptying or filling up as it has one of the main entrances and a lot of pathways. I've seen FG flood here in previous years. Be prepared for very little sleep.
Orange - Not camped here myself but a few friends have and often the larger groups head here as it's far enough away to still have space for groups to stick together.
Green - My personal preference as it's lively and has a great atmosphere with the least pathways. Avoid camping near the pathways that are there as they can get very boggy but the middle areas are much better especially if you go more towards area D (we camp here each year).
Red - Again, never camped here, a little bit out of the way and can be used as a main exit at the end of the night and on the final day.

Tip for all areas, don't camp within 50 metres of the toilets, they stink!
Bring warm clothes it gets freezing at night.
Don't pack a pillow, pack a pillow case and stuff some of your clothes inside when you get there.
Arrive before 09:00 on the Thursday if you want to camp in a big group and want a decent area.
Leave enough space for a campfire, if the tents are too close the stewards will put your fires out as they're a fire risk - also close your tents when a fire is burning nearby.
As someone said, never leave anything valuable in your tents. Make sure you can carry everything and don't bring loads of money on site with you. There's ATMs near the arena entrance that charge £2.50 to withdraw but that's better than carrying £150 around with you.
Tesco is near the green car park which is a 30 minute walk away or 10 minutes on the boat (if there's no queue). Don't be brave and try to walk all the way with your stuff on the first day - it's not worth it, get the boat!
Don't bring a trolley or suitcase if it's even slightly damp. You'll pick up mud everywhere and it will take you ages to get across the campsite.
Ask your neighbours for help with setting up if you need it. It's a good idea to get to know the people you'll be camping around for the weekend.
If possible, bring an old phone without Internet that can simply phone and text. You won't need to charge it all weekend and you can stay in contact easily with others.
Plan the acts you're seeing with your friends using clashfinder (http:///s/read2016/) use the colour codes for each person so you know who else will be at the same act. The clashfinder is normally 100% accurate about 2 weeks before the festival.
Set a meeting point each time you split up with people and state the times you will wait from and until. If someone doesn't turn up in that time then text them with the next meeting point and also set up an end of day meeting point (normally back at camp by midnight or something)

 

The festival recently moved the fairground rides in to the arena so this area now opens on the Thursday night and is where most people head. Get familiar with the area before it gets dark and make a note of the nearest pathway to your campsite (all signposted)

Most important of all, enjoy the festival! You don't have to see the headliners just because they're on the mainstage, sometimes acts on other stages have produced some incredible performances.

I'm sure I'll think of more so I'll add it in later.

 

Edit: bring a hiking/camping backup! so much easier! 50 litres minimum I'd suggest

Edited June 21, 2016 by AndrewSmith