Lifestyle

The ultimate guide to enjoying Notting Hill Carnival


A man dancing with a vacuum cleaner at Notting Hill Carnival – this did not make our list of what to bring (Alex McBride/Getty Images)

If you live in London, this year’s Notting Hill Carnival represents your final, desperate chance to make summer a good one.

After the halcyon paradise of last year’s heatwave, a time which felt like living through the memory of an idyllic childhood summer – except with more pints – it was inevitable that 2019 was going to be a disappointment.

But what a disappointment it’s been: a great, big, wet, dirty blanket of a season.

And, worst of all, it’s drawing to an end. There will be no third-act redemption for this summer; no last-minute heatwave. It’s over.

The dark nights are already drawing in. The mornings have a distinctly autumnal chill. The city is suffused, everywhere, with a sense of indescribable loss.

It’s only going to get colder and darker from hereon in. When we look in the mirror we will only appear older.

The point is: Carnival is your last chance to wrestle some joy and hedonism from what has otherwise been an unmitigated washout…s o don’t f*** it up.

Here is some advice from old-school Carnival heads, who really know their stuff, on how best to enjoy, or simply survive, the event.

What to bring

‘Bring a backpack filled with Rizla, a few lighters, some tinnies, a small bottle of rum and some Cherry B,’ Carnival veteran Tom tells us. ‘And definitely water.’

‘People love bringing weed to carnival but personally it kind of slows me down and gives me the fear – but feel free if you’re that way inclined.’

Far be it from Metro.co.uk to advocate drug use (cannabis is against the law, guys),it’s also true that the police generally turn a fairly blind eye to the old ‘waccy baccy’ – which is what all the young people at Carnival are calling it these days. If you refer to it as that in their presence, they’ll really respect you.

‘Definitely bring booze with you,’ Mutya agrees, ‘and cash. Loo roll is another essential – you probably won’t be using the portaloos as the queues are so bad. It’s quite common to pay £2 to use the bathroom of a savvy Notting Hill resident, so it’s good to be prepared.’

This is sound advice – getting caught short in a posh person’s bathroom and having to wipe your bum with a towel from The White Company doesn’t sound very festive.

When to arrive and how to get there

‘Get down early, around midday or a bit before, because after that it gets way too busy to travel,’ Tom says.

Trying to arrive into a relatively compact area of London at the same time as literally thousands of other people can have quite an apocalyptic, ‘last chopper out of Saigon’ vibe.

One way of avoiding this, Istvan suggests, is swerving public transport altogether. ‘My only tip is really boring,’ he tells Metro.co.uk, ‘you should walk there via Regent’s Canal, which leads onto the Grand Union Canal.’

‘It’s just nicer, and you arrive at Glenbourne Road in North Kensington – which is where all the best stuff is.’

How not to get lost – and how to style it out if you do

Like any large-scale event, Carnival is an absolute nightmare both for meeting up with people and then losing them.

‘If you feel like going for a wander that’s cool,’ Tom says, ‘but keep your crew tight because losing people is easy and there’s never any signal.’

Although Justina agrees how easy it is to lose your friends, for her this isn’t always a bad thing. She tells us: ‘You should try to buddy up but even if you do get lost, it’s easy to make friends. Everyone is super friendly and welcoming. I got lost last year and had a great time.’

One way of avoiding the risk of losing your friends is keeping your circle tight. ‘Don’t go with too many people,’ Andres says, ‘otherwise things get stressful. You need a good squad – preferably someone who has been a few times before or knows the area well.’

Women wearing costumes during the final day of the carnival (Picture: Brais G. Rouco/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Where to dance

Dancing, of course, is what it’s all about.

‘Find one sound system you like and hang about there for a bit,’ says Tom. ‘Aba Shanti and Channel One are always good, as is Sir Lloyd.’

‘Make sure you check out the newish “return to Jungle” stage held by Chase and Status,’ Andres says, ‘last year was wicked.’

According to Junior, ‘the two best stages are Sancho Panza and the Red Bull Stage. I usually float in between the two.’

Carnival can be so hectic that it’s tempting to spend all day in the first decent spot you find, but it’s worth exploring, too.

‘I don’t usually chase stages,’ Justina says, ‘I find it’s better just to follow the crowd through the streets.’

Although Istvan argues that ‘you should always keep on moving,’ not everyone agrees. Junior says: ‘You should find a spot and don’t move!’

The answer depends on how lazy you are and how stressful you find walking through very busy streets. For the more claustrophobic among you, finding a spot and sticking to it is probably a good shout.

What to eat

The food options at Carnival are pretty great, and having a meal is essential if you want to last the day. Getting pissed during the day is always an endurance sport and you want to be an athlete.

‘You should eat some nice food around 3 or 4 to give you the energy to make it to the end,’ Tom says.

‘If there’s jerk chicken,’ Justina says, ‘which there will be, you have to get some. But there’s so much available, so go with what your taste-buds are tingling for.’

When to leave

‘It’s distinctly possible to stay too long at the Fair,’ wrote Joan Didion, and she may well have been talking about Carnival after dark. It can get pretty messy.

According to Andres: ‘You should try to leave slightly before the end in order to miss the carnage.’

If you need to travel by public transport, it’s better to walk a bit further before you do so. But realistically, if you’re anywhere even slightly close to Notting Hill, it’s going to be a bit of a nightmare.

So there you have it. If you do go to Carnival, we hope you have such a great laugh that it allows you to forget, even momentarily, how disappointing this summer has been, the chill winds blowing, and the fact that very soon, when you wake up for work in the morning the skies will still be dark. Have fun, and please do drink responsibly.

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