Glastonbury Help

nickyhutch

DS (16) and his friend are going to Glastonbury this year. They are both seasoned campers (Scouts), but haven't done lightweight camping (and getting all the stuff down there by train) and haven't done a festival before. We've been out and he's done some bits of shopping for it today, but I wonder if anyone has been, or had kids who've been, who can pass on some tips - must-haves, don't-needs, never-dos etc. etc.

Many thanks!

lynzpower

Ive been and am going this year. :beer: YAY

Every year I take less and less stuff. Although saying that we don't really set a budget and just spend fairly freely.. so we can and do buy booze and all our food there.

Eg you can take food - many people do- eg supernoodles, bacon, mini bbqs, tins of beans etc. I cant be bothered with the weight of this as it is a long way to the car. I do take some snack items like choc biscuits/ cereal bars. If you want to take eg bacon its a good idea to freeze it at home and take it frozen.

the quality of food at glasto is superb- lots of organic/ veggie stuff, bakers, bbq meat along with the usual greasy burger van variety of food.

take a roll of gaffer tape, useful in case your tent gets damaged by someone falling into it

Always take wellies. Always take loads of carrier bags and elastic bands ( handful)

Always take some sort of mac ( army ponchos are good as can double as a picnic blanket)

Toilet rolls in flat boxes ( tescos still do these)


Torch- head torch is good to save tripping over the thousands of tent lines at night - it is very cramped!

Suntan lotion and batteries are phenomenally expensive to buy there as are disposable cameras.

We have mini microfibre towels that are good for taking. IN a shower they will dry off the hair well . I usually strip to bikini and wash under the cold tap , but there are usually solar showers there if you can bear the queue.

I always take a couple of pegs, in case you need to try and dry something out. Or clip a packet together.

The 3 legg stools are about 3 quid out and about are worth having although they are usually only a fiver or so there, so not worth carrying. These are good in wet weather so you don't have to stand up all the time.

Clothes do get wrecked there, i would never take a nice pair of trousers or trainers again.

I would never again take bottled water on site, just take empty bottle and fill up at the standpipes


There are safe-boxes there, I will use again to put in the important stuff like keys/ cashcards/public transport tickets

I know lots of people do ( not sure about your 15yo ) but I barely take any booze as against his is heavy. For anyone else going you can take spirits but you need to decant them into plastic bottles to get them in.


The only reason i say this is that every time, its been at least an hours walk with all the bags/gear from parking the car to setting up camp.

Pack smart is definitely the way forward.

SkintBrideToBe

I done Leeds festival for the 1st time when i was 24, so i was alot older than ur son. BUt i took a pack of babywipes to make sure i could clean myself every day lol.
Plenty of snacks and drinking water cos the snack bars can be really expensive. Batteries and a good torch are always a handy thing to have. And perhaps a roll of toilet paper, as it can also be hard to come by at festivals.

Perhaps its the mummy in me now lol, but i would give him a gel hand santiser, cos the toilets are always RANK!! lol

I hope he has a great time

thatgirlsam

toilet roll !

nickyhutch

Thank you all - that's exactly the sort of thing we need to know - Lynz - you're an expert!

Food they're planning on buying at a supermarket close by - is that feasible?

Gel hand sanitizer - I've already stocked up and given him a lecture!

Gaffer tape - brilliant idea. Glad you said that about the wellies too, because I've been trying to make him see sense on that, and on not taking decent trainies too.

We're interested in what you can get there - he was looking at little fold up chairs today but they looked too bulky too carry on trains from Manchester all the bl00dy way down there, and I thought maybe that sort of thing would be available there.

They still haven't got the tent yet!

lauren_1

How are they getting there? research the journey right up to the site as some may be by foot.

Morganarla

Different festival, but the Download Forums are great for general festival advice - http://forums.downloadfestival.co.uk/f130.aspx - there'll be lots of stuff in this subforum, just ignore the festival specifics bits obv!

Redman30

Bare in mind that everything you need can be bought at festivals, but normally for 3-5 times the normal price.

Spray sanitizer is great for the rank portaloos all over the seat, door handle etc, although the best bet is to use the ones in the arena first thing if you have to go, and hold it for the rest of the day

I know he's young, but for older types reading this if you take booze, take boxes of red wine - tastes ok at room temp, and you'll be allowed it in (unlike beer bottles etc).

Settlers tums, or indegestion tablets, plasters for your feet, ibuprofen, pen knife, torch, string, gaffer tape & unscented babywipes (as above). And for the longer haired types (and ladies ofc) you can get a can of dry hair wash stuff, spray it in and comb it through and your hair's not too rank. Condoms are always a good idea as well.

I always take a spare charged battery for my mobile too, good to have for backup. For snacks, high protein stuff, so nuts and chocolate cereal bars are handy for an energy hit.

As for wellies, yep a good plan, but I took some snow boots to Leeds last year, water proof, comfortable & decent grip - without murdering my feet for once.

And plenty of pants and socks

lynzpower

We're interested in what you can get there - he was looking at little fold up chairs today but they looked too bulky too carry on trains from Manchester all the bl00dy way down there, and I thought maybe that sort of thing would be available there.

joebananas.co.uk have laods of stalls there ,along with iirc blacks or millets. All gear is available there, the shopping opportunities are literally endless with clothing - waterproofs/ stools/ sleeping bags wellies/ mess tins the lot. Some things are more expensive tohugh.

Are they getting a coach there? It is a lot more convenient as it drops you within the site. The train drops you in Shepton mallet where you can get a shuttle bus, or go ia bristol that apparently have buses that take you onto the site.

We drove the last 2 times, and will drive again, last time we went to a tescos in Yeovil for the last few bits, but on foot I wouldn't say its convenient as there are no shops around for miles or certainly seemed that way.TBH. Other more local peeps should be able to offer more on this.

polgara

Its my 6th (I think) Glastonbury and personally I'm a bigger fan of walking boots than wellies - though this is a hot topic for discussion....speaking of which http://www.efestivals.co.uk/forums/index.php?showforum=33 is a good source of information.

Packing light is a must - baby wipes, toilet roll, sanitiser, jumper for at night (it gets VERY cold at night).

swampduck

My mate reckons that using the 'family' camping area is better as the facilities tend to be better looked after - usually by the parents!!
Also reckons that its easier to get a thermal camping mug with a top and carry that everywhere clipped to a belt for drinks which are best bought wherever you go. Carrying water can be problematic!!
My mate also washed her hair under the standpipe when things got too bad - bit chilly but ok!
As with scouts always aim to have a complete change of clothes that is kept dry and wrap everything in plastic bags - nowt worse than being cold, wet and miserable. Can cope with cold but if you're wet - you can never get warm!! If you can bear to wear really old gear - bin it when you have worn it - be lighter travelling home!!
Powdered milk, sweeteners (a lot smaller and lighter!) and try one pot cooking where possible. e.g. Frying pan for bacon + eggs
As for money take plenty - cos you always get hungry when you walk past a stall. They allowed £100 per day for 4 adults and only cooked breakfast.

Have fun!