What to pack for a festival in the rain

Every British festival packing list says "waterproofs". That is true and not very useful. The difference between a good wet weekend and a miserable one is a handful of specific choices, most of them cheap, made before you leave the house.

Feet first

Wellies are the obvious answer and they are the right one, with two conditions. Wear them in before you go, because a new pair on day one is a blister factory. And pack two pairs of thick socks per day, in a sealed bag, so that at least one pair is dry when you get back to the tent. Wet feet are what people remember about a rainy festival. Dry socks are what fix it.

If you cannot face wellies, walking boots with a proper membrane will do for a light shower and will not do for a field that has been rained on for two days. Trainers will be finished by Saturday lunchtime.

A jacket that is actually waterproof

Showerproof is a marketing word. Look for a jacket with taped seams and a hood that stays up in wind. A poncho over the top is not elegant, but it keeps your bag dry and costs a few pounds. The people laughing at ponchos on Friday are borrowing them on Sunday.

Leave the umbrella. It blocks the view of everyone behind you, it is useless in wind, and you need both hands for a drink and a phone.

The tent, and where you put it

A cheap tent will keep rain out for about a day. If you own a better one, bring it. Either way, pitch on higher ground and away from the bottom of any slope, however far it is from the stages. Water goes downhill, and so does everyone else's mud.

Two things nobody packs and everyone wants: a groundsheet or tarp to go under the tent, and a second one to sit on outside it. A roll of bin bags does most of the same work and weighs nothing.

Keep the important things dry

A dry bag, or freezer bags if you are being thrifty, for your phone, your charger, your tickets and your cash. Phones do not enjoy damp any more than you do, and a battery pack in a sealed bag is the difference between finding your friends and wandering.

What to leave at home

Anything you would be upset to see covered in mud. The nice jacket. The white trainers. The book. Bring one thing you would be happy to lose, and lose it.

The one thing you can sort before you go

You cannot pack your way out of a truly wet weekend. Some days the rain wins, and the best plan is to accept it, find the tent with the best sound and stay put.

What you can do is take the sting out of it. Rainy Refunds rain cover is bought before the event and pays out automatically if the Met Office forecast for the site on the morning of the event crosses the trigger in your policy. There is no claim to make, no form and no argument about how wet you got: the forecast on the morning decides, and if it crosses the line you are paid.

Check whether we cover your event, pack the socks, and make peace with the weather.