Glastonbury with a 4yo? Help me decide!

[LittleLionMansMummy]

Have been loads in the past but not since I was pregnant with ds. Tickets on sale next weekend but can't decide what to do! Concerns mainly with the cost of it all. It's not cheap. But also when ds is in 'that frame of mind' we struggle to motivate him to walk far.

But I know he'll absolutely love it and all the wonderful things to see and do. And as he starts school next September it's really our last chance to take him.

Anyone taken their dc at a similar age? How was it? How did you cope if it was rainy/ muddy/ your child was tired or wouldn't walk?

Never been to Glastonbury or similar (though I'd love to!) but I reckon you should go for it. Maybe just go with the attitude that you're going to do everything at a slower pace, probably won't see half the things you want to, but still have fun. I have a preschooler sized sling which is fab for 3yo dd when she gets tired, folds up small enough to stuff into a rucksack. Or you could buy a secondhand stroller really cheap maybe for taking out in the evenings when he gets tired?
You've got me tempted to take the little ones to a festival now... Don't think I could persuade dp to come though!

I took twins to a festival at seven months!

All terrain buggy, even though he's 4? Tray underneath to shove useful bits in.

Do it. But take a pushchair. We still did this summer for our 3 and 5 year olds and congratulated ourselves hourly on doing so. It was a godsend. And meant we could stay out late as they soundly slept

We got an old mountain buggy off Gumtree them sold it on for the same as we paid for it

It was also invaluable for shifting stuff from the carpark

As an alternative to a pushchair, will he go in a back carrier? My DD is quite a bit younger but I envisage using ours for a good few years yet. It's not for everyone but I often find it easier to bung her on my back than push a hulking great buggy round all the time and this might be easier if it's muddy.

I have been to Glastonbury every year for the last 7 (with the exception of 2012, the fallow year when I happened to be pregnant) and personally I would not take 2 year old DS. I took him to another smaller festival this summer and had a brilliant time but for me, Glastonbury is about seeing loads of music, staying up late, drinking lots of cider and covering a lot of ground - I walk for miles . I will take him when he is old enough to enjoy it and find his way back to the tent in case he gets lost. I saw so many people trudging around with muddy pushchairs this year - it did not look at all appealing and the kids all looked shattered. I obviously didn't go to the kids field though - am sure that was packed with happy kids!

Do the all terrain buggies work even when it's horrendously muddy though? I must admit, I've been (before ds) when tents got washed away and the rain came down in biblical proportions and I imagine that when that happens it's so much worse if you have dc. We would take our caravan though which might be easier in terms of being able to get dry, clean and comfortable. We do have one of those back carriers but he might be too big for it next year? We are prepared to do a different kind of Glastonbury, where we'd meander our way around and take our time, visit the kids field and spend time in the circus field/ cabaret etc. I'd still worry about the late nights though as ds doesn't do well with a couple of late nights in a row. But he loves music and will be mesmerised by all the weird and wonderful things he'd see. Aarrggghhh! I'm no closer to a decision. But thanks for your suggestions!

Festival wagons like these? Bit more sturdy than a buggy, plus room to kip (if you do a Google image search you'll see plenty with rain covers etc.). A lot of festivals often have things like this for hire as well (although no idea if Glasto do i'm afraid).

We have taken the dc to smaller festivals - Greenman in August just gone which i highly recommend. the dc were 4 and 1

I have never fancied Glastonbury with the dc because of the size and because it would annoy me to have to miss things i really wanted to see.
Greenman had the wagons linked above ^^ for hire ....i really want to buy our own for next year.
I will definitely take the dc to Glasto when they're older.
That said, if you decide to go for it, i'm sure you'll have a fab time!