What to Pack for Wilderness Festival
Panicking about what to pack for Wilderness Festival?
I’ve been, I can help.
Camping at Wilderness Festival is chill. The camping site is near the area, with a river separating it, and with a capacity of just 10,000, there’s no fighting for spots. One thing to note – when you’re packing for Wilderness Festival – is that there aren’t any shops there, and you’re in the middle of a field, so you need to take exactly what you think you’ll need. It’s not like Glastonbury for example, where you can buy all you need on site.
So make notes!
Your kit list for Wilderness Festival needs to be finely honed, and carefully considered. If you’re travelling by public transport you might have a bit of a mission to go to get to the main arena. We arrived by car, no problems.
The easiest thing to do is to make the decision now that you’re just going to wear the same thing all week, but if you’re like me and don’t really see that as an option, check out my Wilderness packing tips below.
READ MORE: 10 Things to Do at Wilderness Festival
Wilderness packing advice
The essentials
Your Wilderness Festival ticket – definite essential
Money and card – don’t waste your time queueing at the ATM on site, get the cash out before!
A good tent – my days of cheap as cheap have gone, get something weatherproof with good ratings!
This 3-man festival tent looks promising – good reviews, double skin and easy transportation.
Camera – for the memories, that you don’t quite remember the next day. I think the Canon G7x Mark II is a great little point and shoot, or you could go retro and take a disposable camera instead.
Warm sleeping bag – this cosy Mummy one is great value at only £11.70 and 4/5 stars from 228 people. It’s light and has a good temperature range too. Or you could check out one of the better quality sleeping bags on Amazon, although, given the summer we’re having it might be a good idea to just pack a bed sheet. It’s hawt in England right now!
You can always use the sleeping bag to lie on instead.
Bags of wine – cheapest and lightest way to get your fix in. Could save quite a lot over the weekend, and saves you decanting it. Then you can just order cold soda water to spritzer it up.
READ MORE: The Best Alcohol for Festivals
Comfy wellies – check the weather beforehand but you definitely need some wellies on standby. Chances are Wilderness 2018 could be a flip flop kinda party.
READ MORE: Best Footwear for Festivals
Toothbrush and paste – one of the very few ways to stay fresh at festivals, you could also pack some mouthwash for the early mornings.
Sun cream – buy smaller packs of sun cream so you don’t weigh your bag down. Also, the mist is lighter and easier to apply too.
Socks – stay warm, and a fresh pair of socks can freshen you up like nothing else.
Rain mac that fits in your bag – these ones start from £2 on Amazon, and look how happy they could make you and your partner 🙂
READ MORE: Best Ponchos for Festivals
Toilet roll – essential, although you probably only need one roll. Wilderness is definitely one of the classier festivals in the British line up.
Baby wipes – and they’re only 70p on Amazon. Bargain! You need these for a quick baby wipe shower in the mornings.
Hand sanitiser – this one is a spray too so you can give the toilets a quick going over before you park your bum.
And it’s kinda faaancy.
More on How to Stay Fresh at Festivals and How to Avoid Those Festival Toilets
What to wear to Wilderness Festival
Summer clothes – check out my cheap festival fashion tips for inspiration.
And winter clothes – however sunny the day starts off, it could all change by the afternoon.
One of the main things to remember when you’re packing for Wilderness Festival, is that you can never be over dressed or OTT. Think playsuits, sequins, glitter, feathers and fancy dress.
READ MORE: The Festival Accessories You NEED This Year
– My friends last time I went…
People who go to Wilderness throw themselves into the dress up, seriously. It’s a small, fun crowd at Wilderness, with no judgement. Go for it!
Oh and make sure you take your swimming cozzie and your yoga kit – you never know what you might fancy getting up to in the heat of the moment.
Not so essential
Lilo or blow up bed – this single blow up mattress is just over a tenner from Amazon. I can guarantee it will be worth every penny, especially if it rains and the ground is cold and wet. In fact, you might as well go for the double for just a few pounds more. Just to note, these are pretty annoying to share – as soon as one person fidgets, the other bounces up and down.
Get one each, you’ll thank me.
Groundsheet – this 6 x 4ft one is less than £2 from Amazon. Bargain. Good for carrying around the festival to sit on too. An extra groundsheet is a great idea to have back at the tent, as if the ground is damp in the morning you can spread it between you and your friends’ tents.
Beer trolley – could be the best money you ever spend. These beer trolleys make it SO much easier to carry your stuff from train to tent. Trust me. WISH I’d had one of these at Glastonbury. You won’t have to walk nearly as far at Wilderness Festival, but they’re still useful, especially if you have children. I’ve found all the best festival trolleys here.
Spare carrier bags – to keep all your rubbish in order, and to separate filthy clothes from not so filthy during the fest. Also, great for sitting on during the festival, when the ground is muddy.
Torch – believe me, you need to check out those toilet seats before you get your skin anywhere near them. Get a headtorch so you can wear it on your head while you’re rooting around in the tent.
Don’t forget to pack…
Hat – to cover your skanky hair, for warmth, and to protect from the sun.
Flip flops – it’s gonna be a sunny Wilderness this year: be prepared!
Onesie – perfect for getting into the spirit of things, and for warmth.
Check out The Best Festival Onesies
Compact mirror – great for checking for boogers or spots without having to spend a second longer in the skanky Portaloo than you have to. Here’s a a pretty one for £2.04
Pop up beer cups – great idea, so you’re ready at a moment’s notice, and they won’t damage the environment as much as the plastic.
More Wilderness essentials for the packing list
Make up – you’ll probably sack it off after a while, but check out my Glastonbury beauty tips anyway, same tips go for Wilderness obviously.
Sunglasses – the best way to transform yourself to be Wilderness ready as quickly as possible. Go mad. Go crazy.
READ MORE: The Festival Accessories You Need This Year
Solar powered shower – I paid a fortune to use one at a stall, see My First Time at Glastonbury, when you could just group together and get this for £8.
Glitter – a festival must have in my eyes. Or on my eyes. Lols. Try and go for the biodegradable stuff to help save the planet.
Moisturiser – once you’ve jumped in the lake at Wilderness, you’ll want to moisten up a bit.
Lip balm – you will be weak and broken by the end and my lips always go dry when this happens.
Vitamins – get those fizzy ones that make your water taste nice, like these.
Paracetamol – you know.
Oh, and you can get a lot of this stuff from Poundland by the way – go explore!
Pillow – a rolled up hoody can have the same effect but depends how much you value your sleep. Try one of these inflatable ones so they’re not so much effort to take.
Portable phone charger – way better to buy a good one now for than to have to queue and pay for a festival charge.
Tights for extra warmth – so simple to carry around, and so effective.
Ear plugs (20 Pairs for £3.58!) and a decent eye mask – you need your sleep, it’ll make you a better person, honest.
READ MORE: 11 Top Tips for Sleeping at Festivals
A hat – perfect for those cold nights, and to keep you cosy in bed.
A specially bagged clean set of clothes to go home in – they will feel amazing.
When I went in 2016 I didn’t see any camping shops, so make sure you have everything you need to pack for Wilderness before you go, or you’ll have to go without!
Thank you so much for this post. Never forget to get your tent and some mosquito repelent are in my top 3 priority.