One of the UK's most popular music festivals, the Reading Festival usually takes place during the August bank holiday weekend. The first edition was held in 1971 and since that point it has only gone from strength to strength.
It usually brings together some of the biggest names in alternative rock, indie rock, punk and metal, as well as electronic and hip-hop acts, some more left field experimental genres and comedians. People flock from all over the country to see these bands; understandably many simply don't have access to a car and will instead make the trip down via bus or train - services which are provided by National Express.
National Express offer services that take festival goers direct to the Reading Festival from a huge selection of National Express bus depots - located all over the country.
For example, you could quite easily get a National Express bus down to the Reading Festival from Birmingham and not have to worry about traffic being at a standstill on the motorway - simply because you're not driving.
A National Express bus could essentially save you a lot of unneeded stress, allowing you to get into the festival spirit as soon as you get on the bus. National Express buses for the Reading Festival usually depart on the Thursday before the festival starts - on a Friday - allowing you to get down to the site on the same day and put up your tent, ready to enjoy the weekend ahead.
By travelling on a Thursday with a National Express bus you can ensure that you don't miss any of the bands - which usually begin playing at noon - on the Friday. Although some may consider travelling via coach to be boring, a trip down to the Reading Festival on a bus could be used to create a plan of all the bands you plan to see during the weekend.
National Express buses back from the Reading Festival depart on a Monday, providing you with plenty of time to pack up your tent, as well as a little recovery time from the night before - if you need it!
Information on tickets and fares for National Express buses to the Reading Festival, as well as its sister festival, the Leeds Festival, can be found on its website. However, tickets usually cover travel both to the festival and back from the festival and will often provide better value for money than travelling down in a car would.
There are some tickets available from National Express that include both travel down to the festival site, at Richfield Avenue, Reading, travel back from the festival and camping costs. This particular ticket is great for those who want to limit the amount of bookings they have to make; once you've booked a ticket of this kind, all you'd require is a festival ticket - which is in turn exchanged for a wristband, allowing you to access the site.
Similar packages can also be purchased for a number of other British festivals, effectively making going to see the best bands in one place much easier.
Getting to festivals can be quite difficult if you don't have a car. This article details the coach service National Express provides down to the Reading Festival.