13 Things You Need for the Glastonbury Festival

1200 acres.

Hundreds of thousands of participants.

Dozens of performers across multiple stages.

This is the largest festival in the U.K. and this year you’re going to be a part of the action. There is music. There is a mellow vibe. There is a chance to help raise funds to help the various causes the festival supports.

But like any large festival, you want to be prepared for what you’re going to enjoy. Whether you are there for the full five days or just for a day or two of fun and immersive festival culture, you need to be prepared.

We have compiled a list of thirteen things you need to bring with you this year as you make your way to Glastonbury.

Rain gear

It might be one of the most exciting festivals of the year, but it’s still in the UK. That means you are still more than likely going to experience a bit of darker, gloomier weather at least once. Best to prepare by having a full set of rain gear – not just a poncho, but perhaps a long rain coat or a full rain suit to keep yourself protected from drizzle or torrential downpours.

Trash bags

Outdoor festival. Camping. Wet gear. Definitely trash bags. A roll of heavy trash bags can serve so many purposes. A trash bag can be an emergency poncho. It can serve as a dry place to sit on otherwise wet ground. The trash bag can hold laundry. It can transport wet gear in a dry car. Or it can just hold trash, since it’s important to not only have a great time but to clean up after yourself as well.

Headlamp

You’re going to be out and about at all hours of the night. You need to be able to see where you’re going – especially on late night runs to the toilets. A flashlight will get the job done, but a headlamp gives you lots of light for moving around in your tent and in the festival without tying up your hands, leaving them free to do jobs or hold other things.

Tent

To enjoy all that the festival has to offer, you need somewhere to crash at the end of a concert-filled day. A basic tent offers you protection from the elements without the huge investment required for top of the line backpacking or climbing gear. Get a tent big enough to hold you and your gear, and then you have a bit of privacy and shelter when you need it.

Easy shoes

Thousands of people. Potential (probable) rain. Lots of walking and moving. Your shoes are going to be living a very hard life with unpaved surfaces, mud and generally soggy conditions. You will be on your feet a lot, so you need good shoes, but you want to keep your shoes easy to get in and out of at your tent. Look for easy shoes like mules or even water shoes that wear easily but dry quickly as well.

Charging cords

At a festival, electricity is at a premium. You might not have much of a chance to plug anything in over the course of the event. It’s going to be hard to keep a phone for pictures, communication and safety features, so you need be sure you can keep your phone charged. Bring along your portable batteries but also grab a few extra charging cords. A powerful battery will not help you a bit if you lost your charging cord.

Night light or fairy lights

Unless you’ve recently acquired stellar night vision, it’s going to be very dark at night. A headlamp will keep you pointed in the right direction while you’re moving, but it’s nice to provide some general light inside your tent. A nightlight or fairy lights can also make it easy to find your own tent when you’re walking back toward a crowded field.

Water jug

A water bottle is great, but it needs refilling. A faucet by your tent would be handy, but unlikely. The more likely scenario is that you will need to haul water to and from a spigot somewhere not particularly nearby. A good water jug will make that job much easier and allow you to take fewer trips to and from the water source.

Sunscreen

The sun can cause damage even on cloudy days. Grab a bottle of sunscreen and lather up! It’s important to stay protected from the damaging rays of the sun and short of wearing long pants, long sleeves and a full brimmed hat (which may not be a bad idea) regular applications of sunscreen will get the job done.

A first aid kit

A festival is just musical camping. And time in the outdoors always has plenty of potential for injury. Stubbed toes, broken fingernails, splinters, bug bites, scrapes and bruises are all part of the adventuresome life. Be ready with a first aid kit. At the very least you’ll probably enjoy a few aspirin sometime over the course of the event.

Duct tape

If it’s broken, duct tape can probably fix it. Use it as a label. As a patch for your tent. As a way to hold items together. Wrap things up in duct tape or keep it for emergencies, but it’s a handy essential to have. Want to really be prepared for a good time? Get duct tape with a distinctive pattern and you can more easily keep up with everything you’ve coated.

Extra tarps and blankets

Think you have enough protection from the elements? You probably don’t. Grab some extra tarps and blankets. Blankets can stay dry in your car until you need them, or wrap the blankets in the tarps to protect them and keep them clean and dry for future use. Tarps give you ground cover, protect you from wet conditions and can be used as a sun or weather awning as well.

Your camera

Finally, no trip to Glastonbury is complete without plenty of pictures. You are there for a momentous experience, and you should document the best parts part – and the worst parts! Take lots of pictures and consider bringing a camera, not just your phone. That way you can still capture memories even if your phone battery is dead.

You come to Glastonbury to have a great time, to be part of the richer experience and to embrace the immersive power of music. Having a good time requires more than simply showing up, however. You must be prepared in order to make your stay as comfortable as possible so that you can have as much fun as possible.