Download Festival's biggest queue - and it's not for beer, toilets or showers

If you're a frequent attendee of festivals you will be familiar with the battle to get either a drink or access to a toilet. In fact, you become a bit of an expert at standing around waiting for stuff, while becoming increasingly concerned about your deteriorating bodily hygiene.

Download isn't like your typical music festival though and whilst the queues for a beer or a wee are not insignificant, the biggest queue, year after year, is for the tattoo tent and no matter what time of the day or evening, there are always people waiting to be inked.

Tattoos can be priced anywhere between £50 to more than £300, depending on the size and complexity of the design. They can take anything from 10 minutes to 40 minutes to do.

Abbie Singleton, of Derby was waiting to get herself a new tattoo to join the other two that she had done at previous festivals. She said: "I am having a Fall Out Boy tattoo this time. I am hoping it will fit on my left arm with the others I have had it done before here.

"I have been waiting about two hours and am next to go in to have it done and looking forward to it." US rockers Fall Out Boy were due to headline Saturday night at the Download Festival.

Waiting in the queue just behind Abbie, were Jordan Keys and Tyler Cole, of Bournemouth, attending their first Download Festival. Both are no strangers to tattoos having several each and decided that a memento of their time at Donington Park should be an Avenged Sevenfold tattoo each. The US heavy metallers are due to close out the event on Sunday night after three days of music and more than 100 bands.

Jordan said: "We have not been to Download before and we are enjoying it. So being a fan of tattoos, it seems fitting to get one done. It was pretty wet waiting and we have been here a couple of hours. The lightning was pretty close at one point. I am going to have my tattoo done on my leg."

Tyler opted for his to be done on his arm and said: "Really looking forward to it and it's well worth waiting to get it done."

Another person prepared to wait as long as it takes was Laura Kilbourne, of Manchester, who had just joined the queue and probably had at least two hours to wait although the weather had turned sunnier by this time.

She was being kept company by her friend Amy Colsh, who was attending Download for the first time. Laura was attending her 11th Download Festival but had never had a tattoo done there before. She said: "Download is important to me and I got engaged here a couple of years ago.

"For the first time I am staying in a hotel and not camping - Amy's influence - and I won't be going back to camping. But it means I can get a tattoo of my favourite band Limp Bizkit and know I haven't got to be sleeping in a tent which means I can look after it better.

"They put a second skin over the tattoo and dress it and there is aftercare available so it feels very hygienic."

Download’s resident tattooists are Old Sarum Tattoo, who have brought in more artists and expanded their aftercare services to make sure tattoos heal over the weekend.

After getting a tattoo, Downloaders are able to come back every day at the festival to get it cleaned, creamed and freshly wrapped to help protect them and their new ink.

Interestingly, at around 10.30am - 11am on Saturday, there were queues forming for the portable showers, which were surrounded by the sweet smell of shower gel and soap - yet all around them the early morning rain was soaking them anyway.