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?

Don’t know what it’s like now but in 1971 it was magical. Not many people, great bands and everyone out of their heads. Even the toilets were manageable! Wouldn’t be able to do i5 now.

I found people really kind and the hippy anything goes love vibe is still there, I remember there was a woman in her 70s walking through the site naked. No-one bothered her and it was lovely. I experienced some great things such as ballet at 11am on a Sunday morning, a church service in a forest glade, a hip-hop band from Ghana I'd never heard of in a random tent who were amazing...it's so much more than the headliners. It is a LOT of walking though and utterly exhausting.

I’ve just got back today, I’ve been going since 2001 and I’ve probably been 10/12 times.

It’s ridiculously huge, the scale is hard to compare to other festivals- there’s so many different areas with completely different music and vibes, there seems to be new things appearing every time I go even now.

The long drop toilets can be utterly vile, not going to lie last night in Silver Hayes before I got my coach I misjudged my breathing in the loo and thought I was going to throw up…

But it’s incredible, it’s sometimes overwhelming, this time was so hot which is tough when you’re up late and can’t lie in because your tent is like an oven! but if it’s muddy it’s exhausting, you can’t sit down anywhere, it can get really cold at night.

You can forget all that though and just be in a little bubble world where your proprieties are just about which music to see next, whether to go to the pier, or the greenfields for a massage, to the stone circle to watch the sun rise or go dancing all night.

Theres tonnes of glamping options now, but I’d take a lot of their claims to be ‘10 mins walk’ etc with a pinch of salt - all of them are on the outskirts/or outside of the festival so already a trek to get to, so still not necessary an ‘easy’ option.

Every time I go I wonder if something will make me decide that’s my last, but something always pulls me back!

I enjoyed it, not sure I'd be rushing back every year. Those long drop toilets were another level of wrongness 🤮

I went in 1985, when I was at uni, I was volunteering with CND, we got there on Friday night and the mud was so bad that several of us went home on the Saturday morning after a night with water pouring in through our tent. The mud was up to your knees in places, I had to throw away everything I had worn on the Friday including a new pair of boots as it was totally ruined.

People were being refused onward travel at Bristol as they were so filthy.

I would love to go again, but only with a comfortable bed and clean facilities.

This was my view of Elton on the Pyramid, I guess like a lot of big arena shows to see the actual stage you’ve got to get right close which is much more achievable for acts earlier in the day if you want to.

To reiterate this very important point the site is covered with free water fill stations, some manned by Water Aid and some self service and attendees are encouraged to bring refillable water bottles rather than bring single use plastic bottles on site.

To those of you who've been so many times how on earth do you manage to always get tickets?

I was also curious !

I went in 94 when I was 22 , and Levellers headlined a weekend ticket was £59 ! I haven’t been since and I’m not sure I could cope with the size of it these days . I’ve been to a few smaller festivals over the years such as Beautiful Days , did Reading in 92 and also do Maui Waui in Suffolk which is a lovely small family friendly festival but the toilets are grim even there ! We take a camping loo with us and take our work van so we can use our own clean loo !

You couldn't pay me to go!

-the toilets. absolutely no way could I deal with them especially as someone who is very likely emetophobic. I went to Badminton horse trials when younger and the portaloos horrified me. The thought of the toilets at festivals absolutely no. And I say this as someone who when they had a horse would pee in the stable as no loo on the yard!!

-the walking. I am unfit and would probably die. Likewise the standing for hours on end I'd want a nice comfy chair to sit on!

-the camping. I am a princess and do NOT do camping. Just no. Especially with other people's tents right on top of yours. The ONLY way id go if paid would be in a campervan

-way too peopley. The crowds and being surrounded by loads of random strangers. No

-the drunk and drugged up people

-the lack of sleep. I'd be so grumpy!

Least I'm not going to be taking a ticket from someone who loves it. I did think it must have been good to be able to say I was there for Elton's set last night but given it would come with all the above ill stick to watching from my nice comfy bed/sofa with a nice clean toilet 😬

Planning and preparation

But nowadays it’s quite a lottery to get through on the website.
The final year that I didn’t go, I was at an event swigging a bottle of wine with the following conversation:

Are you going to Glastonbury this year?
Yes, as long as we get the tickets
Who’s getting you the tickets?
I’ll be sat next week tapping my laptops on the website
Its tonight, now
Im not going to Glastonbury this year then

Following this thread with interest as DH desperately wants us to go next year (me, him, and 3 boys, DS, DSS1, DSS2 aged 11,12, 12). We're both mid 50s and I'm not exactly the camping/roughing it type. DH is North American /Canadian so very outdoorsy. He has agreed to us going for one of the VIP/glamping options, and our boys are pretty adventurous so hoping it will be bareable. I do worry about the crowds and weather though, and will there be enough to entertain the kids away from the music.

Yes!! You have summed up perfectly my view of it!

World class is right. There's nowhere else where the artists put as much effort into their sets and performances consistently. The audience are thrilled to be there, there's an electrifying buzz in the air and just pure surreal and joyous random and bizarre moments throughout.

But. It is hard work. 45k steps most days. Crowds. Toilets. Journey in, the walk with equipment. Journey out. It takes a toll.

You've got to want to be there! It's the greatest 5 day+ party. If you enjoy music, singing in crowds, dancing, you will love it!

If you go as a group work as a team. Make sure you all have each others registration details. Then all log onto the ticket website soon as it opens with multiple tabs open and keep refreshing. As soon as someone gets in message everyone else so they stop (if you book the same registration number twice both sets of tickets get cancelled). Then fill in and pay and there you go. The stress the year I got through in my phone and had to type it all in there was real!

worked for us 5 times in a row anyway. Not full proof but ups your chances.

Minging

@Tallyally you’ve totally summed it up! 👏it is really special in so many ways but also quite hard work. Stamina is required!

@MandyFriend We've done the IOW for many years, missed it this year for one reason and another but already have our tickets for next year. We also do the glamping - we had a yurt last year and it was brilliant ! If you go again, i highly recommend pre booking tickets for the "posh" loos (When nature calls) up near the Big Top, couldn't do without them now !

@1037370E 'and will there be enough to entertain the kids away from the music'

That made me laugh! You could quite literally not watch a single music performance and STILL not do everything else. They have fantastic stuff for kids, a really lovely kids field to chill in with all sorts going on and then, well - there' all the rest.

OP - ignore the comments from people who've never been! Why on earth would you come on and go ' oh all the drugged up and drunk people ' etc - it's genuinely not like that. But if you haven;t been you would know that, so feel free not to comment!

It's a leveller, Glastonbury.

What i love is they don't let artists behave like divas - you have your time, you go on, you perform, then get off so the stage can be re-set for the next band.

I really like Lana Del Rey but her prissy, diva behaviour got her set cut short! she rocked up 30 mins late - which is almost unheard of! - so they turned the sound system off at the end of her time. And serves her right, they have a strict curfew.
It's disrespectful to keep an audience hanging around while you're fussing with your hair! Particularly when there's so much to see and do!
I don't want to be waiting for some artist when i could be at another stage or tent.

It's like a lot of things - it is what you make of it, and how much fun you will have (or not) depends on your attitude.

You can have a million different experiences at Glastonbury so it's a bit like a choose your own adventure story.

This weekend was my 14th Glastonbury. It's honestly the best place in the world, and so so much more than what they show on TV. I am lucky that I can get tickets via other channels than the main sale. This year DP was DJing and doing a few talks. There are so many stages, so there's just endless stuff to see - obviously music of all genres, but also theatre and art and all sorts of other things. So one of my highlights was stumbling across Billy Bragg talking and singing in the left field stage at sunset Friday. But singing along to Elton in a crowd of thousands was an incredible life affirming experience too. We stayed up at a party at park stage on the Saturday night and walked home to the most glorious sunrise across the vale of Avalon. Honestly after a very tough year of grief and perimenopause, to be somewhere with so many different kinds of people, and so much joy and colour, was completely life affirming.

I always say it's not for the faint hearted, as a few posters have mentioned, you walk loads, and if it's muddy and you can't sit down, it's harder work. This year, it felt way more diverse than other years. Broader range of ages - lots of much older people, but also young people, of all races, loads of different tribes. For me, that's amazing to see, as people always accuse Glastonbury of being middle class, middle age and white, and of course those people are there, but it's much more than that, and they've worked really hard to diversify the lineup, and I could see the results.

I've been to loads of festivals, but for me nothing compares to Glastonbury. I love it.

yes, agree with this 100%. And besttobe8001 I was having this conversation with dp on Sunday - everyone has a different experience, and I learned a long time ago not too bother planning too much, to just wander and explore and not to worry about missing out, because you physically can't see everything.

Agree the long drop toilets ate grim, especially in heat!!! Thats something else, something I never wish to see or smell again.