All you need for a summer festival + win tickets to On Blackheath | Checkout Festival Guide, Summer 2014
1) First launched over 50 years ago, these iconic Hunter wellies are now as much a style essential as a country classic. With the UK weather being as unreliable as our national football team, probably best take a pair and make them the focus of your festival look.. £85, brandalley.co.uk
2) Don’t think that festival drinking is all about beer and cider. Be a little more refined and take some award-winning gin and a bottle (or two) of Austin’s for a perfect festival cocktail! Oliver Cromwell London Dry Gin, £9.99 (70cl) and Austin’s Summer Punch £5.99 both from Aldi, aldi.co.uk
3) The MusucBag is the all-in-one suit, made for sleeping in as well as walking around in. A sleeping bag and one piece suit rolled into one. If you don’t mind splashing the cash then this is exactly what you want to wear by the festival campfire. £88.99, lazyboneuk.com
4) For those who want to keep some home comforts when out in a field. This Milestone Camping solar shower is a great environmentally friendly way to keep clean. The sun heats up the water inside the shower (up to 40˚ in just three hours) and the shower nozzle provides an effective stream of water. All you need is a tree or someone to hold it up for you! £7.99, amazon.co.uk
5) Ultra small with a big sound! The Veho 360º Bluetooth speaker has dual 2 x 2.2w speaker power and micro SD card slot with volume/track control. That was the technical bit. But what you really need to know is that playing your banging tunes through this little bad boy will keep all your tented neighbours awake… £35.99, www.viking-direct.co.uk
6) Want a no fuss breakfast? Well skip the food truck queues and forget the need for knives and forks by making sure you pack a box of belVita Breakfast Biscuits. Slip these into your backpack saving you plenty of room for wet wipes and tent pegs. What’s more they slowly release carbohydrates over four hours, until it’s time for that first pint! £2.79, belvitabreakfast.com
7) This Biolite Camping Stove is an amazing piece of kit that not only acts as a stove, but also uses the heat from burning twigs to power a generator that can then charge your electrical devices. How cool is that? Or rather how hot is that? Go toast your marshmallows while charging your iPhone. £149.99, firebox.com
8) No we are not having a laugh! You could do much worse than taking a couple of tubs of Spam to the festival. It’s lightweight, easy-to-open (no tin-opener required), has a long shelf life and doesn’t need refrigerating before opening. Make a SPAM sandwich, cook it on the BBQ or simply cut it up and eat it on its own as a source of protein. £1.69 www.spam-uk.com
9) These Seed and Bean organic chocolates are the official chocolate partner to Glastonbury Festival. Handmade in the UK, 100% natural, organic, ethical, fair-trade chocolate bars and suitable for vegans and vegetarians so you can embrace your inner festival hippy. They have even bought out a limited edition range of three flavours for Glastonbury: Raspberry & Vanilla Creamy White, Cornish Sea Salt & Lime Milk and Sicilian Hazelnut Fine Dark. £2.29, seedandbean.co.uk
10) Govino are the ‘go anywhere’ collection of glassware that is perfect for festivals. Who wants to have a drink out of a thin plastic cup! The range includes wine glasses and champagne flutes they have a unique thumb grip and are shatterproof, reusable and recyclable. What else do you need? £10 for four, AroundWine.co.uk
11) Have a more exciting festival with a Field Candy ‘get a room’ tent. Just imagine, the big red sun is slowly setting on the distant horizon, crickets gently chirping in the background and you’re in the mood for love. Well actually, you’re playing scrabble but at least it will always look like you are the romantic type. £395, www.fieldcandy
12) Crawling out of your tent in need of morning-after rehydration, or looking for an energy boost during the weekend’s excesses? Vita Coco can be there to lend a hydrating hand. Free from artificial sweeteners, colourings, preservatives and flavourings, plus it’s low-calorie and fat-free too £1.69 (330ml), vitacoco.com
WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHO & HOW MUCH!
Glastonbury Festival
When: June 25-29
Where: Worthy Farm, Pilton
Headliners: Arcade Fire, Kasabian
Tickets: Weekend: £210
Hop Farm Festival
When: July 4-6
Where: Hop Farm, Paddock Wood, Kent
Headliners: Ray Davies, Brian Wilson
Tickets: Weekend: £135
Wireless Festival
When: July 4-6
Where: Finsbury Park, London and Perry Park, Birmingham
Headliners: Kanye West, Drake, Bruno Mars
Tickets: Weekend (London): £210; Weekend (Birmingham): £172
British Summer Time
When: July 4-13
Where: Hyde Park, London
Headliners: Arcade Fire (July 3), Black Sabbath (July 4), The Libertines (July 5),
McBusted (July 6), Neil Young (July 12), Tom Jones (July 13)
Tickets: £69 (July 4), £49.50 (July 6), £60 (July 12), £35 (July 13)
T in the Park
When: July 11-13
Where: Balado, Kinross-shire, Scotland
Headliners: Biffy Clyro, Calvin Harris, Arctic Monkeys
Tickets: Weekend: £194
Latitude Festival
When: July 17-20
Where: Henham Park, Suffolk
Headliners: Two Door Cinema Club, Damon Albarn, The Black Keys
Tickets: Weekend: £195.50
Global Gathering
When: July 25-26
Where: Long Marston Airfield, Stratford-upon-Avon
Headliners: Chase & Status, David Guetta, The Prodigy, Alesso
Tickets: Weekend: £120
Wilderness Festival
When: August 7-10
Where: Cornbury Park, Oxfordshire
Headliners: London Grammar, Burt Bacharach, Metronomy
Tickets: Weekend: £151.50
V Festival
When: August 16-17
Where: Hylands Park, Chelmsford and Weston Park, South Staffordshire
Headliners: Justin Timberlake, The Killers
Tickets: Weekend: £189
Reading and Leeds Festival
When: August 22-24
Where: Richfield Avenue, Reading and Bramham Park, Leeds
Headliners: Queens of the Stone Age, Paramore, Arctic Monkeys, Blink 182
Tickets: Weekend: £213
The Big Feastival
When: August 29-31
Where: Alex James’ farm near Kingham, Oxfordshire
Headliners: Fatboy Slim, Jamie Cullum
Tickets: Weekend: £120
Bestival
When: September 4-7
Where: Robin Hill Country Park, Isle of Wight
Headliners: OutKast, Chic featuring Nile Rodgers, Foals, Beck
Tickets: Weekend: £180.50
On Blackheath
When: September 13-14
Where: Blackheath Common, London
Headliners: Massive Attack, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls
Tickets: Weekend: £99
The link wouldn’t work from my phone. When is the deadline as we are in Italy until the weekend?
Sarah
Hi Sarah, we’ve fixed that, try now. Enjoy Italy!