73 replies to this topic

[jockmcd]

Hello peoples , I have just joined this website and also will be a virgin to the infamous T in the park this year 2012 , I cannot wait to be there myself and wife will be attending , i will have a few questions to run through regarding the festival but starting with the first , could i have as many answers as possible to help me out with different peoples ways + views , thank you so much , excited , hell yeah !

I will be camping out all weekend (Myself and Wife) from the Thursday night in a 2 man tent , We ofcourse will be taking some lagers and wine with us , Are we best to only bring the drink for 1 day at a time to our tent and leave the rest in the car (We will be driving and using the car park there), Is it trustworthy ? Can we leave stuff in our tent unattended i.e drink , sleeping bags ,clothes etc ?

Really really cant wait to go , look forward to hearing from the you the experienced T goers and even if you have only been once if you could share your views and please state wether you are experienced or just benn once or twice , would be greatly appreciated, thank you so much :-)

[Gingo]

The journey from the car park to the campsite is massive so I reckon it would be far more efficient just bringing all your drink with you, the security of the valuables i.e. drink in your tent is really hit or miss as is the case with the majority of festivals, your best bet is to not camp alongside pathways which makes it far easier for people to walk by and take a chance that something is there to take, everyone is in the same boat for leaving stuff in the tent and it is just really unfortunate if things get stolen but I would definitely not leave wallets, purses, phones etc. basically anything of value that people would want to steal.

I am not a TITP veteran but I like to think after reading a lot of peoples views on the festival and having experienced a couple of times for myself that I know what I am talking about

[jockmcd]

I have never been to a festival like this before so thank oyu for taking the time to reply Gingo , stay away from paths sounds like a good start , thanks.

[Chiefski]

Unsure on veteran status (been every year since 2003, 10th if I go this year, so probably haha) but I'll give some answers and an overview

Quote

I will be camping out all weekend (Myself and Wife) from the Thursday night in a 2 man tent , We ofcourse will be taking some lagers and wine with us , Are we best to only bring the drink for 1 day at a time to our tent and leave the rest in the car (We will be driving and using the car park there), Is it trustworthy ? Can we leave stuff in our tent unattended i.e drink , sleeping bags ,clothes etc ?

Speaking on camping experience, I would first maybe say go for a 3-4 man tent instead, and test whatever you get before hand, you will know why when you do this... Drink... Bring as much as drink you feel is reasonable, but bare in mind walks between the campsite and carpark are a killer, especially when your freighting 3/4 crates lol, drinks cant be brought into the arena so bring some money also or be creative...I prefer squeezy bottles of preferred drink in the welly myself.

Camping stuff, most people are there for the same reason as yourself, to have a good weekend, drink a bit, see some bands etc, with that in mind you shouldn't worry about your stuff too much, play by the rule of if its too valuable to lose, dont bring it. Be aware of the people around you, look after yourself and your neighbours, think of the campsite as one constant night out, most people are going to be intoxicated in some degree, most people you will bump into will have a random banter with you, just watch for the few bad ones.

Personal Pros/Cons

Pro's
Location - Half an hour down the road for me really so location is ideal
Line up - The Lineup is sometimes up and down (repeat bookings, similar acts on at the same time, bands in the wrong places etc) but if your intent on seeing ALOT of bands, many of which you wouldn't normally, you can do.
Arena - Despite mixed reviews on it last year, I really liked the new arena layout, I'm sure it will be moved again slightly to accommodate these minor issues too
Food - The healthy T is great, if your hungry, visit it!

Cons
Costs - It isn't a cheap weekend, taking into consideration costs of drink, food, other stuff, band tees etc, you can sometimes look at splashing out close to the same prices as your ticket.
Other activities - Apart from the music, theres sometimes not alot of other things on offer.
Hygiene/choice of toilet - Though not particularly the fault of the festival, too many people pissing where they feel like, not nice, especially when you get downpours like last year mixing it up.
The rare ersehole - I think I've been fortunate in my T's that I've not encountered too many arseholes, there is definately alot there, those that look to cause bother, through piss in cups, abuse folk etc but the good minded crowd always usually outweighs this, infact, last year was probably one of the most laidback crowds I've been in there (though that might have be down to the weather).

Overall, if your looking to have a good weekend, you should do

[guitarbhoy1888]

dont camp along the pathways

dont camp next to the arena or at the entrance to the camp site

take all of your drink with you

[jockmcd]

Well Chiefski, that is quite some write up you have given,  thank you very much, you say there is no drink on sale at the arena , do you actually mean when the groups are on i.e stone roses or whatever that there is nowhere to buy drink ? Are we allowed to take drink in ( when i say in its obviously outside ) like for exampl could i take 6 tins down with me to watch the group ?

guitarbhoy1888 take all the drink sounds reasonable do they have trolleys to transport it down lol ?

Where is the best place to camp in the event as per your knowledge chiefski ?

[Chiefski]

jockmcd, on 09 January 2012 - 01:48 PM, said:

Well Chiefski, that is quite some write up you have given,  thank you very much, you say there is no drink on sale at the arena , do you actually mean when the groups are on i.e stone roses or whatever that there is nowhere to buy drink ? Are we allowed to take drink in ( when i say in its obviously outside ) like for exampl could i take 6 tins down with me to watch the group ?

guitarbhoy1888 take all the drink sounds reasonable do they have trolleys to transport it down lol ?

Where is the best place to camp in the event as per your knowledge chiefski ?

Haha, no bother, felt I went over board after re-reading it, the main T in the Park site is split into two areas, the campsite and Arena (where the bands play) You 'cant' bring your own drink into the arena (they have stalls around the arena, works on a token system for this, my note previously on drink is if you plan on trying to get some in), the campsite, your free for your drink though. I'd like to give a certain answer on campsite but they change it slightly now and then, if your looking for a constant party, Red/Blue, then the other areas are a little quieter.

You also have the options of renting trolleys at the entrance when you come in if you have a crapload, not sure on costs for that

[jockmcd]

As for padlocks on tents ?

[guitarbhoy1888]

jockmcd, on 09 January 2012 - 01:48 PM, said:

Well Chiefski, that is quite some write up you have given,  thank you very much, you say there is no drink on sale at the arena , do you actually mean when the groups are on i.e stone roses or whatever that there is nowhere to buy drink ? Are we allowed to take drink in ( when i say in its obviously outside ) like for exampl could i take 6 tins down with me to watch the group ?

guitarbhoy1888 take all the drink sounds reasonable do they have trolleys to transport it down lol ?

Where is the best place to camp in the event as per your knowledge chiefski ?

honestly there are guys who take your stuff for you for a price but alot of people have sledges

i personally campped in pink 5 llast year but the campsite may change again ....

as for taking beers in the arena ... its not allowed but if you have a rain jacket on theres always plenty of ways to get it in
i think we took about 30 cans in total on the sunday last year for foo's !!

[guitarbhoy1888]

jockmcd, on 09 January 2012 - 03:05 PM, said:

As for padlocks on tents ?

DONT PADLOCK YOUR TENT !!!

it only gives people the idea that you have valuables ... dont take valuables infact

if your gonna get stuff stolen they will just rip open your tent anyway ...

[jockmcd]

There will be no valubles just sleeping bags and Alcohol :-) , we have to sneak drink in to the arena then if we are not buying from the arena , do you get searched in and out of arena  ?

[Chiefski]

As said, no padlocks, they'll only do the reverse of what they are meant too.They search on and off at the ticket/check points, your usually OK as long as you don't make it too obvious, dont go pulling all the drink out as soon as your in etc. For the arena, apart from the odd few bought pints, I went with a vodka/whiskey pouch you can get in a supermarket and something to mix it with.

Edited by Chiefski, 09 January 2012 - 03:45 PM.

[jockmcd]

Chiefski you mean a hip flask dude ? Do we need to show tickets when 2ing and frowing from campsite to arena then ?

[Chiefski]

jockmcd, on 09 January 2012 - 03:52 PM, said:

Chiefski you mean a hip flask dude ? Do we need to show tickets when 2ing and frowing from campsite to arena then ?

Nah, you can get refillable pouches from asda/tesco, like this



enough for a day (if you keep your head!) and easy to store in a welly or in trousers (and refill with more drink if need be). Not the greatest tasting but they do the job.

Yeah, wristbands/tickets, keep them on you at all times, you'll need to have both of them to get in the main arena each day, its a silly rule really.

[jockmcd]

I was thinking that i would be able to go to and fro during the day , do you reccomend staying in the arena all day then , surely i will have to pay for all pints, i was thinking more 2ing and frowing from arena to campsite for drinks ? mmmmm this could be a tricky 1 , beer will be very expensive.
P.s ive never even seen that thing you posted , do they confiscate if found or just say you have to get rid of before you enter ?

[theampersanddevil]

jockmcd, on 09 January 2012 - 04:13 PM, said:

I was thinking that i would be able to go to and fro during the day , do you reccomend staying in the arena all day then , surely i will have to pay for all pints, i was thinking more 2ing and frowing from arena to campsite for drinks ? mmmmm this could be a tricky 1 , beer will be very expensive.
P.s ive never even seen that thing you posted , do they confiscate if found or just say you have to get rid of before you enter ?

It can take ages to get in and out of the arena from the campsite.

Toing and froing is not recommended on a drink by drink basis.

From the arena entry there is a hefty walk and sometimes because of the fact that the acts transport road cuts across the path, then you can get held up for a little while. 20 minutes each way is really good in my experience. I've waited about an hour to get the whole way into the arena before, but that was due to security keeping everyone back for cars.

[Gingo]

The drink is really expensive in the arena but it is very easy to sneak drink in whether it be under a jacket or whatever, remember that glass bottles cannot be brought in anywhere in the whole area that includes campsite and arena for obvious safety reasons so cans are your best best with plastic bottles for the wine, you hardly get searched going into the arena they will only really confiscate drink if it is obviously sticking out a pocket or you are holding it in your hand

[jockmcd]

Never gonna sneak like 4 beers in so i guess its best to stick with spirits then ?

[chickenfire]

Spirits are probably your best bet, although I have managed to get 4 cans of cider in before so it's not that difficult. Wellies are quite roomy

[guitarbhoy1888]

i had combat trousers and a massive jacket on and i got 4 cans in the trousers and about 4 in the jacket

in my experience last year though the stewards arent all bad
some will just let you in with it anyway

and they let in those metal water canisters
even fill them for you at the stage front

i think a pint was about £3.50 :-\