To think we CAN actually do Glastonbury?

[hmmisthatright]

Glastonbury tickets on sale soon

I'm a single mum to 2 dc, one is autistic, one neurotypical, 8 and 9

I assumed it was something for the future, but actually, the tickets are £400 each for the weekend, i might be able to go as autistic dc's carer, costing me £800. And I can pay £100 as a deposit

I can stay at a hotel with dc and then drive us all in. I would meet friends who have kids.

Is the drive in difficult, does anyone know? I would rent a traveloge or similar 20 miles away.

Can we do this?

I take my kids every year and we all love it - it was a slog when they were babies but it’s so much fun now. Camp in the family fields and give up the notion you are going to see all the acts you want.. but get stuck in and have a great time!!

buggies are generally fine at glasto. I must say we haven’t really had a wet year since I have had to use one 😬 and glasto mud is pretty legendary so be prepared your buggy might end up a bit of a sacrificial lamb. If the forecast is for wet then buy something older that you don’t mind wrecking. It can be done but muddy glastos are hard fecking work even without kids and buggies.

tickets are always a nightmare but give it a go. I will be!! My kids are hopeful they will get to go again!

I say no. I’ve been on numerous occasions and it’s brutal, especially if it rains. It’s absolutely huge and masses of walking to get around from one stage to another. I also would absolutely not fancy a 40 mile round trip everyday, you’ll be ruined.
I have kids a similar age and we love festivals but I think Glastonbury is too much / big at that age

I think you would be utterly crazy to consider this (and yes I go to Glastonbury regularly and yes I’ve taken my kids previously).

Take them to a smaller festival - I highly recommend bearded theory as a family friendly one with an excellent lineup.

Glastonbury is so big now, it’s literally miles to walk in from the car park, we stay on site as still do at least 40k steps a day. The past few years have been considerably busier and there have been multiple times I’ve been caught in non- moving crowds when trying to get from one stage to another. It is extremely overwhelming to a neurotypical adult, let alone an autistic child.

I won’t take my kids again until they’re old enough to do their own thing. In the meantime we go to Glastonbury without them and take them to smaller more manageable festivals.

YABU for wanting to put your kids through all of that just so you could try to see Green Day 🤮 just go to a gig without kids like everyone else! You’d be very lucky to even get tickets, never mind going from there and forcing it on them with no official announcement and no guarantee you’d even get close! You’ve had pointed advice on here, take it!

2005! And I found a picture of the people in the canoe - classic Glasto rain/mud fest!

I've never experienced rain like that before or since. DH got out the tent and showered in it. Then it was all sunny and lovely by Sunday.

The walking from stage to stage is massive distances ! I’ve been the last 6 times it’s been on ! Once with kids - rest without

even without the kids it’s hard going - you can never see everything you want as you underestimate how long it takes to get there

im really good at it now and not over planning and managing to see some big things I want but there’s always a few you have to bail on

if you want a good spot at a headliner you’ll need to get down there way early too so lots of waiting around

good luck if anyone needs a wee 🫣🫣

id think you be mad to try travel in each day though way better on site

if you want to glamp book immediately after the tickets are gotten as it sells out super fast

year I went with kids we were in kids field all day and then we went to some evening bands and had a big old trolly for the them to wrap up and nap or rest in

years without kids I went to loads of random stuff rather than always being focused on headliners and bigger stages - there’s so much more going on tbh

im taking a break this year as want to try a smaller festival tbh after years of going and I can’t face the walking tbh this time 🫣🫣🫣

good luck anyway op !!

I have a SEN child and sometimes you just need to give things a go just for the adventure and fun of it. Ok so maybe there will be crazy tricky moments. Maybe they won’t last the whole weekend. But they might surprise you. My son finds lots of things difficult such as sitting in a restaurant or attending a wedding. It’s the unpredictability of the noise such as if someone drops a plate or a group sings Happy Birthday. However, he loved Latitude and one of my best moments ever was him flapping excitedly and pacing around on the edges of the crowd to Fat Boy Slim. He has also been to the Grand Prix. Yeah it doesn’t make sense. 😂 I suppose what I am saying is your excitement and sense of fun might just carry them through. Do you have anyone close who could come with you?

I’ve never been to Glastonbury, but with Reading Festival we used to drive in every day, and we live further away than you’re planning to be. I think we had roughly an hour’s drive, but a lot of the traffic was because of the festival itself and also bank holiday weekend. We still enjoyed it. Teen dc also camped with friends a couple of years.
But as far as glasto goes, I’ve only known people to camp, but there must be a lot of people who go back and forth each day. We have another big festival just up the road from us too, most people camp, but generally not all of the local people do. I guess you can only know how your own children would be, but I think a ND child of that age would definitely struggle with the camping there, unless you know they enjoy camping. There are family sites you can camp in, but I personally don’t think your experience would be lesser if you drove in everyday, especially as you wouldn’t be that far.

I don’t remember any rides either but haven’t been in a long time. There were kids areas though. A Greenpeace one and a main one.

Glastonbury is about four times as big and the walk from where you park is like a country hike. The disabled parking might be better though.

The more difficult aspect would be actually getting a ticket, it's nearly impossible without loads of people all trying for you at once on multiple devices, and even then you'd be very lucky.

Getting tickets op everyone I know who’s went has spreadsheets on the go with 6 names and reg numbers numbers and has multiple people trying for Them to be successful

the walking us insane - like you can’t even just pop back to the tent sometime you’d be an hour away like

we used to just take naps on the ground as I couldn’t face going back - in fact I don’t think I ever did go back once we’d headed out for the day

my heart sank when my kids needed a poo !! I remember standing in the pitch black holding my 4 year old over a long drop loo with only a head torch for light and really contemplating my choices hahah

but we had loads of fun - there aren’t like
funfair rides - but heaps for kids (and adults)

we were absolutely shattered at the end and only saw a fraction of what we’d planned

There are no rides/fair
the ground is strewn with broken trolleys, chairs etc: there is disabled viewing platforms if you can a ticket there:
o would try a more family friendly festival first. Try the “in it together” festival or one of its sister festivals and see how you go before you do Glastonbury

Honestly no, you cant. It will take hours each day to get to site and then to the main stage, and then back. The size of the site is just incomprehensible until you’ve been. It is insanely crowded. Can take an hour to go to the toilet. Takes an hour to get between stages sometimes. You either stay at one stage and just watch whoever, or you accept only seeing a few acts a day at different stages. Most days ive been weve done 30k steps and thats staying on site.
and I love Glastonbury so much, been 7 times. But no way I’d take daughter until she is a teenager. Do a more local / smaller festival. Or just go and see the specific bands on tour

you cant even compare the site size at reading and Glastonbury. I have never met anyone who’s stayed off site at Glastonbury

i live close to the festival and I wouldn’t entertain driving / hotel. Getting in and out each day is a nightmare. You would be better going for a private campsite nearby with pre erected tents and a shuttle service. Expensive but a slightly nicer option

Mad tbh if you've never even camped together before...

Yes, this is also something to consider. My first year of Reading we did have to park further out which was then a walk and then a boat ride to get to the festival. The times after that were with a disabled ticket and parking, and that was right at the entrance, so if you do decide to drive in, and you qualify for disabled tickets/parking then yes, definitely choose that option. I probably should have added that in to my post, so apologies for that, so thank you @Fortheloveoffrogsfor pointing that out ☺️
Also it would mean access to platforms, disabled loos etc, which would likely be better for your ND child too.
eta The disabled parking we used was also next to the disabled camping field, so again, close to the entrance, and I’d imagine other festivals would have a similar arrangement, but obviously these would be things to look into first. We were originally going to camp there but unfortunately I wasn’t able to manage that, hence the driving in each day. I guess only you can decide which of these options would best suit your child and family as a whole.

Glastonbury is so huge. My friend who does ultramarthons came home exhausted and with blisters. I've been many years and am contemplating trying to take my 10 year old next time but I'm wobbling, and she's been to festivals before.

Green Man is very family friendly and a really beautiful setting. Sells out quickly but tickets come up on Twickets.

Bearded Theory is family friendly too but I think starts in term time. There is a home ed festival school set up for those days but not sure how that works.

A starter festival idea for those who haven't camped before is Green Gathering. Really tiny but the kids can have some freedom and it's not that expensive, so if you come home early it's ok. Again, beautiful setting. Some of the kids activities were like a village fete - tug of war, a daft sports day kids v adults and a silly one where they just crawl round trying to take their opponant's sock off. Silent disco each night which started fairly early from what I recall too. Seemed to be very disability friendly but I'm not well placed to tell.

While I wobble about Glastonbury, I'm trying to find a festival that's a step up from Green Man in size but still OK for kids, if anyone has any recommendations.

Kindly OP, it seems like:
Green Day MIGHT headline.
You MIGHT get tickets.
The kids MIGHT make it through the day so you get within the vicinity of the main stage for the headliners, late into the night.
But the odds diminish with each point I think, based on what PPs have said.
I highly recommend Green Day but if you’re set on seeing them, maybe try to get tickets to a stadium or arena, child free, splurge some of your Glastonbury budget on great seats and have a great time just for you.

In it together or one of the sister festivals! We do together again in Chester: 10 year old was able to go round with his friends as it’s big but not too big. Line up was great. Becky hill, jax jones. Ministry or sound. James Arthur were the headliners. On in July

How do you think that your DC will cope with 130,000 other people (that's larger than the population of Bath) around?
Portaloos?
Stinking of unwashed bodies?
Driving in can be a nightmare. I've not been to the festival but BBC Points West show hundreds of people walking the lanes from the nearest station at Castle Cary every year. That's why lots of the performers come in and out by helicopter.

if you want to go somewhere easier to get around and to stay off site I would (again) recommend Latitude. Although the traffic queues at the start and end can be very long.

I think you should try a smaller festival or even just camping with your kids first next summer and then build up from there if everyone enjoys it.