Travelling To Greenbelt
Many people tend to leave work or college on the day that the Festival begins, and travel to Greenbelt that evening. But you will inevitably get stuck in a huge traffic jam for hours somewhere, arriving at the site in the dark, fumbling around for hours trying to find a place to put your tent up.

Our advice is to take Friday and Tuesday off (if you can) and travel to Cheltenham fairly early, aiming to get to the site mid-to-late morning (don't arrive before 10:00am though). Then you can set up your tent in an uncrowded field, find your lunch and by 5:00pm (when the opening ceremony starts) you'll be ready to investigate the site and all that's going on. Don't bother trying to leave on the Monday night if you're camping; you'll either be without your tent for most of the day or be taking it down in a rush in the dark. And if you succeed in getting home without falling asleep you'll probably not get to work on time anyway.

Food + Supplies
Stock up at with food on Thursday evening or early Friday morning. Alcohol consumption is not permitted in the festival village, though there is a bar if you want a drink at any time. There is plenty of (reasonably priced) fresh cooked food on site – Indian, Mexican, French, Burger-type, loads of good veggie/vegan hot food – so, unless you're into camp cooking or need to save your pennies, you can eat well at these places.

There is usually a gluten-free option available in the festival village, for anybody who has a gluten allergy.

What to take
Important Items to bring:

• A tent
• Matches
• Calor gas stove
• Food & drink
• A musical instrument (for your moment of busking fame!)
• A radio to listen to Relay:Replay on 106.8FM
• Money (preferrably on a money belt around your waist at ALL times)
• Spare clothes including something rain-proof and something warm
• Sunglasses (maybe)
• A warm sleeping bag
• A Cushion or low deckchair - sitting around on the ground all day can be a bit rough but if you bring a tall chair please be considerate to those not so elevated and sit at the back or sides of meetings.
• Pots / Pans / Plates
• A bucket filled with water the night before so that you don't have to trek through the campsite in the morning, looking less than your best
• A torch
• Sun cream
• Toilet roll
• Tin / Bottle opener
• Good, comfortable footwear
• Friends!

The weather is usually hot. However, this is England: so you can get sunburned putting your tent up and find the heavens opening an hour or so later. So, make sure you at least have a change of clothes or even a towel. Some sort of a hat is good sense as well.

Not-So-Important Items
You might want to casually forget to bring the following items:

• Valuables – Greenbelt is a very safe place but we're living in the real world here, so, don't bring it if you value it!
• The world's loudest stereo system - if you're going to bring something for music, think of others.
• Alcohol - although we don't ban alcoholic drinks on the campsite, we will eject people who become disorderly through alcohol over-consumption.
• Things that run off the car battery - you won't be able to leave your car by your tent, so don't rely on it being within reach of your electric device
• Barbecue - we don't mind proper camping stoves but barbecues are discouraged as they do present a fire risk. Also, don't expect to be able to create your own campfire - this is a racecourse, not the wilderness!
• Fishing rod - there's no lake or river at the racecourse ...actually, fishing rods apparently make great flagpoles, so you might want to bring yours if you're that way inclined(?)
• Best clothes - unless you want to get them mucky (maybe you do, who knows?)
• Fridge / Kitchen sink / Microwave - this is camping and chances are you'll survive without these for a few days.
• Cigarettes - OK, you can bring them but please don't smoke in the Festival Village - confine your smoke to your own tent (see below for more information).
• Dangerous tropical animals - leave them at home please. To date we've had a 100% safety record with these kind of hazards and wouldn't want to spoil it.
• Noisy generator - please don't bring one, even if you need it to power your television! Think of others camping around you.
• Firearms - no, just no.

Outdoor Lighting
The campsite is not lit at night (with the exception of some toilet blocks). So, when you finish watching bands/wandering round, it's a good idea to have some way of finding your tent in the dark, and locating your bed (or sleeping bag!) once you get there. Many people get together and sit around torches or gas lamps late at night. If you're on your own - go and find another bunch of people to join with! If you come bearing gifts of some sort you will usually be even more welcome.

Parking - Take Note!
Parking is included in the price of the ticket. Traffic stewards will be there to guide you in, and direct you to the campsite and a suitable parking area. Simply find a space and park. When you first arrive on the site you can drive into the campsite to unload and put your tent up, but you can't leave your car by your tent (the fire regulations and practicalities of fitting cars and tents into the same field forbid it). So, as soon as you've unpacked, move your vehicle to the nearest car park. The stewards will be happy to guide you there.

If you have anything particularly valuable with you, it sometimes makes sense to leave these in your car (out of sight) as this can be locked much more securely than a tent. Don't take anything for granted, though, and the best policy is to leave anything of value at home. It can sometimes be a good idea to leave anything you brought just in case in the car. If your tent springs a leak and everything gets waterlogged you'll be glad of the warm change of clothes you left in the car!

Children's Festival
Children between 0 and 10 have their own festival area which they must be registered for to enjoy. See the Children's section of the website for more information.

Alcohol, tobacco and Drugs
Greenbelt's license does not include the sale of alcohol except in licensed venues. Please keep alcohol consumption within these venues or in your own tent - Greenbelt does not condone the consumption of alcohol within the festival village. Anyone found in possession of alcohol there will be asked to return to their accommodation and leave it there. Anyone incapable of regular social and physical functioning as a result of alcohol consumption will be warned that they maybe evicted from the site if such behaviour continues.

Smoking is not encouraged within the festival village - please be considerate of other people and confine your smoking to the camping area and your own tent. If you must smoke, also be aware that tents can be a fire hazard, and very often the surrounding grass can be very dry. Careless use of matches can easily lead to a fire that is out of control.

Greenbelt does not condone the use or possession of illegal drugs, and, where required, will uphold the law.