Outdoor accessories to ensure the music festival season is enjoyed to the max
(26/03/2010)

The Handpicked Collection offers a range of practical, fun and essential outdoor accessories guaranteed to ensure the music festival season is enjoyed to the max, whether wading through the mud at Glastonbury or soaking up the glamour at Glynebourne.

For full-on party weekends like Glastonbury and the V-Festival it is imperative to not only look the part but be cosy at night ready to party the next day. The Festival Sleeping Bag (£44.95) is the essential packing item and certainly looks cool enough for any supermodel-attended event. While for a posh event, how about the Five-way Cashmere Poncho (£119.95) – surely the perfect item to keep warm on a cool summer’s evening of Don Giovanni. And to round off the evening there is nothing better than a warming cup of coffee or hot chocolate in the Wild Flower Flask (£15.95) which is pretty enough for any occasion.

For comfy picnics, look no further than the Funky Picnic Blanket with Carry Strap (£14.95). Wax-coated on one side to prevent damp bottoms and amazingly compact when rolled up, this is an outdoor festival must as is the Single Striped Lawn Lounger (£69.95) that is extra padded and could double up as a sleeping mattress. But for real comfort, the Thornback & Peel Deckchairs (£109.95) are the ultimate classy accessory for Proms in the Park.

You don’t want to run out of light or music because of a battery shortage. So take a Sun Jar (£19.95) that has a solar cell which will charge during the day and provide several hours of light once the sun sets. Alternatively, the Pump-Up Animal Torches (£5.95) with trigger-powered dynamos will stay powered if you pump the wing/arms. For non-stop music once the bands have stopped playing, the Roberts Solar Digital Radio (£79.95) will keep playing for 27 hours once fully charged, and recharge during the day if you wear it down.

Outdoor summer festivals are not the same without a chilled bottle of wine. So how about the Wine in the Park (£32.95)? This ingenious carry bag is insulated to keep the Chablis cool while also carrying plastic ‘glasses’, a corkscrew and a bottle top in the unlikely event of some being left over!

And you don’t want to worry about being safe whilst partying, so pack an Ila Dusk Personal Alarm (£19.95), an ingenious alarm that combines style and safety. It is designed to hang prettily from a handbag or keyring , but when activated, emits a piercing scream to alert help and deter a potential attacker.