Camping at Glastonbury Festival

[twynkle]

Have got tickets for me and DD (11) to go to Glastonbury this year. Am now getting a bit worried though, as have never even pitched a tent before, and fear I may be rather throwing myself in at the deep end!

Anyone got any tips for a first time camper at Glastonbury??!!!

Yep

buy a cheap tent and leave it there

its one place litter is OK, as Oxfam get paid to clean up

Pop on ebay now and get yourself a Gelert Pop Up tent

You won't want anything smarter, as tents can get nicked (trust me on this one, Dh did, and I trained, as security at Glastonbury,a nd he did catering there for over a decade as well)

You will be surrounded by people who will be delighted to help.Honest.Festie folk are generally friendly,try to camp in the family area if you can.
Pack only what you are prepared to carry,then take some clothes out of the bag.Take a pack of wipes and a toilet roll each.

Info and nice people here

Think about using the lock up towers to store all of the things from your tent that you don't like to lose. It's a bit of a faff but if you are unlucky enough to have your whole tent + stuff nicked you'll be glad! We also take a bucket with a lid for wee's! it's nicer than the toilets.

Wellies
Waterproofs
black bin bags (in case you need to keep stuff dry, to sit on, to wear)
warm dry clothes

You'll have a fabulous time whatever the weather!

Glasto chaps have asked people NOT to take toilet roll this year, they will handing out environmentally friendly rolls to peole as they arrive

at glastonbury dont camp at the bottom of a hill, in case it does rain.

tempting though it is to not be far from loos, dont be too close either - smell and also the endless clanking of doors 24 hours a day!

there have been a few festi threads asking about glastonbury advice this year so a search through the archives this year might bring you some more tips.

also if you really dont want to do the tent pitching thing, various companies let you book pre-erected tents or even little huts. tangerine fields is a company that does tents, and podpads do the huts.

it'll be fab!

if it doesn't rain.

Don't camp downhill from toilets-obvious reasons.

Don't camp in front of toilets- queues for loos get huge and they will queue on top of your tent and you will listen to them chattering all night in the queue.

Avoid pitching right beside fences or trees- thats where the guys pee.

If you see a lovely big strip of grass with no one pitched on it, don't think yipee lots of room- its a fire lane access for security vehicles and toilet trucks.

Avoid pitching right on the corner of an area next to a road junction- these tents can get trampled at night in the dark especially those closest to entry points, plus big toilet trucks need loads of room to get round corners.

Try and remember a place near you like a fire point or observation tower. It all looks the same once it is dark or covered in mud.

Arrange meet up points so if you lose each other you know where to meet up.

Agree use lockers and don't leave much in tent, use a small back pack or bum bag and keep all the vitals on you, and yes those around you will help you pitch up.

If taking loo roll they will probably like Nouvelle.

Hello, Im a veteran Glastonbury camper,I work for Oxfam during festival.My advice would be head for the family field, it's perfect. Camp midway down hill, close to fence. That way the trees shade your tent in morning from the VERY hot sun, and if the weather turns..my friends were there last fest,05, when the torrent began and they were dry as a bone. Strangely enought he tents at the top of hill didn't fare so well. There's also flushing toilets nearby and the toilets are well cleaned.

Hope you have a ball, it's everything to everyone.

x

PeachyChocolateEClair Oxfam don't get paid to pick up litter, our responsibility is to operate the gates, it's Network recycling who do that. Please please don't leave your tent as it does pose a problem afterwards.

Hope you have a great festival.

Hi twynkle...maybe we'll bump into you as we're going too....Luckily for us we live just up the road so can come home to our comfy beds at night......it's been really exciting seeing all the festival coming together...when we walk our dog we can see all of the fencing, marquees and yurts (I think !!) from the top of the hill...it's looking fab, just off to take the dog for a walk now ...and to take a peek at latest progress

It'll be our first festival too, and we'll be taking DS (6) and dd (4)..thought I'd better find something more suitable to wear than twinset and pearls

Oh i am going too and its my first time so a bit nervous about the loo situation and it seems like we are going to get wet!

Thankfully my mum is having my two angels for the week as we will spend a day either side travelling to the uk. My DP is a glasto veteran though so i am relying on his "wisdom" to see me through!

It seems impossible to know what to pack though, in my case amongst other things i have factor 60 suncream, wellies and wet gear??? Do i need to put my mascara in too?

Buy a travel potty, or don't drink after friday!! The toilets are unbelievavle after then!

Top tip - loos in kids field are cleaned regularly and are absolutely fine.

we camped in the family field last time (middle) and stayed dry.

Hmmm, just heard that we couple we are going with have bought a ten man tent, which means we have a small 2 person one now redundant.....contemplating bringing it as a loo tent, esp as i am pregnant and need to go frequently during the night! Now any suggestions how to get an empty nappy bucket through customs without raising an eyebrow or two??

Pack what you think you need to take a week in advance. Then try carrying what you think you need for more than 15 minutes (you have to carry everything quite a distance away from where you park to where you camp.

If you cannot manage everything, discard stuff Remember, you can buy many things there if neccessary.
A fold up wheelbarrow from Argos is my absolutely TOP tip for anyone camping with kids as you can load it up, load yourself up (buy bungee straps too..) and away you go.

wet wipes are a great thing to have at festies IMO. A plastic empty beer glass will do as a potty in a 3am emergency too Those plastic buckets with lids you can buy supermarket popcorn in is another really useful thing (forr peeing in, or for washing in!)

tried to find those collapsable wheelbarrows, looks as if they've been discontinued by Argos...will have to resort to ebay me thinks !!!

So if we bump into any families with said wheelbarrows, and lots of wet wipes, I'll know that they're mumsnetters !!!

Foam ear plugs.

sadly, looks like you might need lots of rainclothes... Black bin bags and duct-tape and scissors can work wonders

ok, in absence of fold-up wheelbarrow, one of those fold-up trolley thingies
like this

Also, I found a trendy cheap shopping trolley from habitat last year was fab, as for a day on the festival field I could throw in 2 fold-up chairs, big bottle of water, sun screen, rain coats, bubble mixture, rug and a few snacks! Trouble is, will not be good in mud I don't think...
So, pack a big bag for days on field. (with carrier bags inside in case of prsistant rain)

oh, and have a good time! (I'm jealous)

My tip is don't pitch near the loos, fences, fire lane junctions or the bottom of a hill.

Have fun!!!

PS Mud at Glasto isn't just mud .

Get a big, high, bright flag so you can find your tent again easily.

The first time I went we pitched up the outside of the tent, never got round to hanging the inside bit. Then we went off to explore. I didn't see my tent again until as we were alking out we literally walked past it, cracked up laughing and decided we may as well unpack it and take it home.

First night I feel asleep round a fire after watching the Orb. Boyfriend woke with a scabbed up face from sleeping too near the fire.
2nd night we unzipped someone elses tent, as in a complete strangers, and slept in the corner. (they had seperate bedrooms, was one of those really old fashioned family style tents). In the morning they got up and walked past us saying 'good morning'!!!

LOL thomcat. Happy days.

Another tip is to camp next to a big, galmourous tent/teepee/yurt so you can use it as a point of reference with minimal effort on your part.