Boomtown 2026- Everything I ate in a day and how much it cost

At many festivals, food can be expensive, especially when there are no alternatives to the stalls on the site.

I spent five days at Boomtown festival on the Matterley Estate, and here is how much I spent in a typical day.

With my wrap! (Image: Newsquest)

Boomtown is unique as purchases can only be made by scanning a QR code on your wristband, which needs to be topped up. It feels harder to track how much you’re spending as it’s so easy to just tap your wrist, and the money can just run away!

Many festivalgoers bring food with them when they’re camping, for breakfasts or snacks. I had brought chocolate brioche, so for my breakfast I had one of them, but I did also buy an iced black Americano from Collectors Coffee, which set me back £4.50.

My iced black Americano (Image: Newsquest)

After this, we ventured to see the opening ceremony and Madness. With the length of the acts and the intense heat, by the time it had ended, I was super hungry.

My next stop was at Hughes Fresh Fruit Smoothies stall where I paid £7.50 for a very tasty large raspberry, oat and banana smoothie, which I shared with my boyfriend. The stall was also selling pieces of fruit for £1, so I picked up a nectarine.

The smoothie and nectarine (Image: Newsquest)

After settling down in the press tent to write a few articles, I had worked up an appetite and was soon getting ready to eat a proper meal.

Most main meals at Boomtown stalls ranged from around £12 to £15. I managed to be thrifty and find pomodoro pasta at Green Pepper Red Tomato for £9. This was quite a big portion, and I found it quite filling!

The pomodoro pasta (Image: Newsquest)

With my pasta as my late lunch at just after 5pm, I set about exploring the Hidden Woods, walking through the dusty conditions and popping back to my tent to drop off my bag.

Knowing I was going to see Kneecap at 10.30pm, I thought maybe I should have a proper dinner before the big performance.

We chose to eat from Harissa and Lemon, a Moroccan street food stall, where I had a chicken shawarma wrap which came with a mixed green leaf salad, Mediterranean tomato salad and pickled purple cabbage.

Mine and my boyfriend's chicken shawarma wraps (Image: Newsquest)

This was my most expensive purchase of the day at £13.50, but it was also probably the tastiest and a stall I would have considered revisiting.

Before heading to the Lion’s Den stage, we popped into the San Miguel venue, where we both had a pint at an understandable £6.75.

Drinks at festivals are usually more on the expensive side, with one bar in the Hidden Woods selling a cocktail in a pineapple for £16, which I did decide to give a miss.

Boomtown does allow campers to take drinks in, though, including up to 16 cans of beer or lager, which is what we did to take the edge off the prices!

All in all, my day consisted of two main meals, a coffee, a smoothie, a piece of fruit and a beer, resulting in a grand total of £42.25 spent on food and drink.