Glastonbury - what's it really like?

[halfbakedkate]

After watching Elton John last night, DH and I had the annual conversation about whether we would want to go Glastonbury.
I love the idea of it but the thought of it being too suffocating and overcrowded, potentially a mud bath and a nightmare to get home from puts me off...not to mention the toilets. But last night there were so many people who looked like they were having the time of their lives, is it worth it?

I wondered if you have actually been, what's it really like being there?

The last 3 years I didn't even step foot in the Pyramid field or John Peel/Woodsies.

Ahh cross piss post

Depends! Mostly coke, ket & nos for the youngsters I'd say, pills for the oldies, mushrooms/acid in the green fields.

I live between Bristol airport and Glastonbury. The number of helicopters back and forth this weekend has been insane.

Are Sundays ridiculously busy? I'm tempted to get a Sunday ticket but have heard it's the worst day for business.

I just drove past the site. The traffic is moving well and loads of people are leaving now. They seem to have sorted the traffic hell out finally!

I went to the first Glastonbury in 1970, ( called the worthy farm festival) there was a basic tent field and arena field. We took the bus from bath, slept in a tent, as did most people. It was much, much smaller, few food outlets apart from the odd burger van.
The toilets were open stalls over a pit, in a huge bell tent - totally disgusting 🤮. But the whole experience was quite new and novel, although I’d also gone to the Isle of Wight festival the year before.

it is absolutely like disney land for grown ups but also like running a marathon every day

the bands are just the tiniest part of the fun it's everything else that goes on as well after the bands finish

I think Glasto is so iconic that people often say 'you've got to do it once' and I would if I were given a VIP pass, a helicopter ride and a luxury van to stay in! As a regular punter it looks my idea of hell - those crowds, waiting for ages if you want a good view, mud, latrines, pricey food etc. Maybe seeing a musical hero makes it worthwhile but I think I'll stick to watching it on TV and go to smaller events.

I went 22/3 years ago.

as I entered the festival there was a man dropping his trousers and doing a poo, lots of people off their faces

The stream was yellow, the loos were lots of queues

it was lots of fun, the bands were great, it was only crowded in certain areas, plenty of space in other areas

Im glad I went

You can get out from the Pyramid Stage crowd & back to your position. Use the tall flags as sighting points & it's not too bad. It looks like hell from the telly, but actually it's fine, you're not crushed up against everyone and there's generally still room to dance. It's the most friendly, inclusive festival ever.

I used to go every year but I haven’t been able to secure tickets lately. And last year I had to miss it as I was in labour. But it’s totally fucking amazing. One of my favourite places on Earth!

It's magnificent OP! You've got to go if you can get a ticket. I live in the village so go every year and I love every minute of it. Yes there are a lot of people but the crowds are not overwhelming and there are plenty of places you can find somewhere quiet to sit down. The perimeter fence is 8 miles long I believe, so it's massive, and as PPs have said, you walk miles every day. But the range of activities on offer are huge - there's far more than just music stages - kids field, circus tents, craft field, etc etc etc. It's off the scale massive and when you walk in, it's like you've walked into a dream - a mini city full of colour and sound & smells. Couldn't recommend it highly enough... though to be fair, we don't have to endure camping as we can walk home afterwards so that's a massive plus point!!

I remember those basic festival bogs...Hessian over the doors if you were lucky..At Knebworth a girl was sat in one of these reeking hellholes eating an ice cream.

That is etched in my mind.

How no one caught dysentry is beyond me.

Stonehenge festival, the Army {Bless them!} dug latrine pits that were lethally deep...Probably as a test for their equipment.

How no one fell into them is a mystery.

One night, Army helicopters flew low over the site, freaking out those on the potent 1970's LSD

LSD was in fact tested on Soldiers not too far away at Porton Down.

Royal Marines

They were not told, which was really mean.

Not at Glastonbury but I use to go to another big festival every year... with age it got worse to be honest.

Last time I went was 2015 and I was tired, miserable, muddy, wet and cold because it rained all day. I spent it wishing I hadn't bothered and haven't gone back since and I wasn't even that old then just mid 20's.

Its a shame because I did use to love the social aspect of it but it use to always be sunny and dry the whole week but since 2010 its rained heavy and even had some crazy storms (tent and even stalls blowing away) EVERY YEAR.

Also the fun police seem to crack down on anything and everything year by year too, we got told off for dancing in 'too big of a group' in 2012 (they have an obsession with 'breaking up groups' but theres no definition of what a 'group' actually is and no one is ever seemingly doing anything wrong).

''They were wiped out as a Fighting Force''

It used to be said that if everyone took acid, there would be no Wars.

and I would if I were given a VIP pass, a helicopter ride and a luxury van to stay in! As a regular punter it looks my idea of hell - those crowds, waiting for ages if you want a good view, mud, latrines, pricey food etc. Maybe seeing a musical hero makes it worthwhile but I think I'll stick to watching it on TV and go to smaller events.

Are you me?

I went to Leeds festival as a day visitor a few years ago, and I'm glad I did. We walked through several campsites to get to the main part and were really pleased we weren't staying. I enjoyed it but wouldn't rush back. And the crowds were nothing like the size of Glastonbury.

I agree that music festivals have become too large. Loads of people I know say that Slam Dunk isn't the same now that it is no longer in the centre of Leeds, and they say the same about Tramlines now that it is no longer in the centre of Sheffield.

They have just turned into huge money making enterprises.

Noooooooooo oh lord

I went the year I finished uni in 2004. It rained the whole week before and the wed/Thurs but not actually when the bands started. Sadly the ground was already churned up and you couldn't sit down. I took a camping stool but none of my friends did so I just looked like a knob!
Atmosphere was great, on the whole really friendly. I remember waiting around for Muse and sitting down on a binbag and just as it started a big group came and stood in front. We were gutted but politely asked if they could move and the couldn't have been nicer! Managed to find my brother and some home friends a few times despite it being huge an mobiles weren't a massive part of life then. Food was expensive and we lived off junk/snacks. Managed to break my glasses, sunburn my face and get lost having a mid night wee (no glasses 🙈) but still had an amazing time!

Toilets are beyond grim....I mean when a portaloo is full to the brim and then someone does a poo on top of the mountain grim 🤢 oh and someone did a shit behind my tent and I stood in it while taking it down 🤮

Went to Leeds festival about 6 years later and the atmosphere was horrible in comparison.

Same here, went once, 1981 I think. The ticket was £8 and there were about 10k people there. The toilets were wooden shacks over pits and they got burnt down on the last night. Lorry loads of logs got delivered for people to make fires and the bikers would cut them up for you with chainsaws. No one asked why they had chainsaws with them. I recall really enjoying it all.

It's fascinating to see how much has changed since those days, it's completely different but still looks like a good time.

I went last year for the first time (in my late twenties for context) My friends go every year and I wanted to see what the hype was about.
I’ve done a few festivals in my teens but nothing can compare to the size of Glastonbury!

There are sooooo many areas that aren’t just for music. The hippy fields for example full of fortune tellers, crafts, workshops you can take etc… You will find something to do at all hours of the day/night. I was salsa dancing at 3am and on the hunt for carrots to gain entry to a secret set in the Rabbit Hole.

Bad points:

-It’s expensive so be prepared to spend

-Hardly any signal. Nightmare if you lose someone

-Very limited shaded areas, it can get unbearable on the hot days

-It’s loud, if it isn’t people drunk or drugged up in the tents around you it’s the music blasting for the stages around you

-The main stage gets so busy, you can hardly see or hear unless you push your way through the crowd to get close

-Toilets are disgusting like all festivals, recommended using the compost ones rather than the long drops.

-It is exhausting, I averaged 60k steps a day and is even worse on a hangover

Definitely worth doing it once in your life. I personally enjoyed it as a whole but in no rush to go again!

We took a camper van in 2017 (I think!) and it was exhausting but also very good. I treated it as my main holiday for the year - we stayed 6 nights and it cost a fortune as we had to hire the van. I walked 7 miles on average each day. Walking back to the van at night was amazing though and I sat on the hill and watched the site at night.

I did struggle to see some of the bands I wanted to see because it took so long to go between stages, but the Foos, and a couple of lunchtime sets were amazing. As was Elbow (especially sunset during their set).

If I did it again I would definitely take a camper van but then I don’t like camping. My OH is on his way back now from this years and is happy in a tent!

I’ve been 5 times, last one was 2004. It isn’t as crowded as it appears on TV. It slopes up a bit from the pyramid stage and I have never had any problems seeing the bands or being crowded about half way back from the stage. It’s a lot of walking including dragging your gear from the car to the campsite. Really friendly and loads of random entertaining stuff going on away from the main stages. I have never bothered with showers. Happy with wet wipes for a few days.

Last time we went it was a mud bath and we just didn’t enjoy it much, several things didn’t work out. I drank too much on the Saturday and we left early so I missed my favourite band Muse 😭. Haven’t made it back since having DC as it took at least a week to recover even in my younger days. We may return now we have a van but it’s ££££ extra to camp plus a longer walk from the campsite. We go to Beautiful Days in Devon which feels like a mini Glastonbury with a really friendly vibe and a good mix of bands. Non of the big names that Glastonbury gets obviously but I never thought the headliners were the best thing about Glastonbury anyway.

We must have been there at the same time! We were definitely there 1981 - We left before the very end so didn't see the loos get burned down- but parents took their caravan that year- we had private loo! {Previous year dug holes in hedgerows as it was that small and uncrowded}

@BeanCounterBabe - it is a long way from the camper van fields but it’s also worth it. So much space and cleaner loos too. Also having a proper bed 😁

Been 6 times in 25 years. It's extraordinary. There really isn't anything like it - the quality of the acts, not just headliners but every tent and stage has talented musicians, is phenomenal. No matter where you end up - and we quite frequently missed the act we were headed for and ended up seeing someone else - the music is very, very, very good.
The atmosphere is lovely, people really are friendly, helpful, in good moods, chilled. It's one of the really unusual things about this festival, so many people, really kicking back and I have never seen any trouble. No fights, arguments, nothing.
And there is SO much else to do apart from music - comedy, theatre stuff, film, art things. Michael & Emily allow performers and volunteers in for free so you really do see all sorts going on. Fire-eaters, new age travellers, artists, acrobats etc and making, building, performing everywhere you go. All day and most of the night.
There's also a lot more space than you think. And because the sound systems and big screens are so good, you can easily sit back from the Pyramid stage and still see everything.
Go, if you can get a ticket - go. And go when the gates open on Weds so you can fit it all in.