Glastonbury Help

lynzpower

bambinaUK wrote: »

Don't padlock tents, you might as well have a sign that says PLEASE ROB ME on your tent.
There are free lockups available all over the festival site. Take a small rucksack and put extra cash, keys, etc in it and hand it in and go back each day for a cash top-up.

Agreed, I would NEVER padlock my tent.

TUS

Mrs_Imp wrote: »

Toilet advice:

We always used to camp in the field behind the cinema field, about half way up. it was much quieter.

Agree with this, close to the entry/exit points too. If not here, somewhere at the TOP of a hill. Can't stress this enough. And in a corner where less people are constantly walking past.

My tips, as someone who was born & bred in Glastonbury and went every year between 14-25, are as follows:

* Take enough money to buy food/drink in there. If you are going Weds-Mon its just too long to take food with you. The ONLY food I took were packets of biscuits/nutri grain bars for quick morning snacks.
* Take toilet rolls. SO essential.
* Take minimal clothes - one pair of jeans, one thick jumper, a handful of t-shirts and plenty of underwear/socks. Two pairs of footwear also highly recommended.
* Gaffer tape, as previously mentioned.
* Baby wipes, as previously mentioned. Incredibly handy.
* Sun cream if hot weather is expected. And a cheap cap/shades. Nothing expensive.

Nothing else! Seriously - forgot about washing/showering. Its a festival and you will NOT be alone in roughing it for a few days. You will get dirty/wet/smelly/cold/sweaty/drunk which means the more 'minimal' you are, the better.

If you normally sport a decent phone, buy a MEGA cheap handset - older the better - and a PAYG SIM just for the weekend. Don't risk losing or having your proper phone stolen.

Take TWO wallets, one in each pocket. Split your cash between them, so if you lose one (or get mugged - VERY rare I must say) you still have funds.

They should store their return train tickets in a site safe - well worth the security of being able to get home should the worst happen.

23rdspiral

louise3965 wrote: »

How do they steal your stuff if its down the bottom inside your sleeping bag?

They slash your sleeping bag with a knife. hopefully they dont get your toes.

gingercordial wrote: »

Tell him do NOT leave anything of any value in the tent when he's not there. One year our tent was broken into twice. We had padlocked up the zips so the theives just cut their way in through the sides with a pen knife.

Never use a padlock as it says 'ive something valuable here'.

i go each year and love it, it's not as scary as it could sound here, but forwarned is forarmed. oh, and do check out the other stuff - it's the biggest performing arts festival around - comedy, theatre and circus are awesome - and often dry!!:rotfl:

louise3965

Am really looking forward to this and have taken everything you all say on board. But is it possible to take one of those old lady shopping trolleys with my gear in plus a rucksack with my light stuff. I'm worried about being able to carry it all on the train, then across London then to the coach in a massive, heavy rucksack. I'm old, you see and a trolley would make it much easier. What do you Glasto regulars think?

Savvy_Sue

I'm not a Glasto regular, in any sense, but I've seen the TV coverage and I'd say it depends on the weather!

If it's fine, it'll be fine. If it's not, you'll be carrying not just the old lady trolley but the accumulated mud on its wheels when it gets stuck.

Mind you, you could always take it, flutter your eyelashes and look piteously at all the young hunks who've read this thread and are travelling very light. :rotfl:

louise3965

It won't rain...it won't rain.....it won't rain. Please god don't let it rain on me and my old lady trolley

23rdspiral

louise3965 wrote: »

Am really looking forward to this and have taken everything you all say on board. But is it possible to take one of those old lady shopping trolleys with my gear in plus a rucksack with my light stuff. I'm worried about being able to carry it all on the train, then across London then to the coach in a massive, heavy rucksack. I'm old, you see and a trolley would make it much easier. What do you Glasto regulars think?

i go each year and for over a week so carrying my tat is always an issue!

since you're going accross london and using the train i'd definately say yes to using an old lady trolley... if only to get you there.

even if it's wet when you arrive you should be fine with one - its the leaving when all the mud is churned up to a foot deep that it would fail and youd have to carry it all. how about packing one of those very light and cheap holdalls? even packing your stuff in it then inside the trolley to fend off any rain from above when arriving. then if necessasary you could ditch the trolley and still be able to carry your stuff... with help if needed!

re trolley - get the biggest less spokey wheels you can find and check the ground clearance between the front foot plate thing and the floor - if you can bump it up a curb you'll be ok with the dry rutted country paths. good luck!

sal

i've only just found this thread and would love to hear how everyone went on this year.

i've been again and had the most fabulous time, despite the incredible heat and dust. i had to miss out on some of my favourite haunts in the tents due to the heat but it was just an opportunity to do different stuff.

i just love it there and feel a little bit lost now.

by the way, 45 is not old for glastonbury...it's a completely ageless place! from newborn babes to naked grannies, it's all there and completely safe and lovely.

sal

debidoodle

My 1st year at Glastonbury and I am totally hooked we had a great time helped somewhat by the beautiful weather. I will be 50 soon and hubby is 53, my only regret is that I did not attend sooner but I will be back next year.

Totally agree with Sal that it is an ageless place, we had a great time although hubby did struggle with the crowds. We felt very safe, the atmosphere was great and it is a lovely place to be.

Our camping neighbours were great all youngsters, but in no way did they make us feel out of place or that we shouldn't have been there. We shared many a drink & food with them and they were all lovely young people.

The trek from the car to the camping pitch was hard, took about an hour, we did take boxes of booze and with help from DD on what to pack we were okay.

Didn't bother with the showers just used baby wipes & the dry hair shampoo, I found this okay although hubby struggled as he said he never felt clean.

The toilets were quite an experience but armed with toilet wipes, anti-gel & wipes it was okay, just don't look down!

The selection of food was geat and varied, hubby loved his bacon baguettes in the morning.

The Glastonbury experience was not for hubby, he enjoyed the bands but would not go again.

I will be going next year with DD & cannot wait am already registered.

Debbie

MarzipanFish

I loved glastonbury
I'll leave some practical advice incase someone digs this up next year!

useful things i took
- wipes (obviously but just to emphasise )
- spare phone battery (ebay for about £2) There's a charging tent but the queue on sunday morning when i walked past was over 100m long (at 8.30am!)
- a thin scarf (primark £1) - was useful as a mat to sit on, a belt, hairband, shade, stopping my shoulders burning (as much) and keeping slightly warmer in the evening before i'd had time to fetch a jumper.
- A cooker (tkmaxx about £10) - we had a small meths cooker which saved a lot of money. The food is amazing if you can afford it though.

things i'll consider next time
- wheels to get from the car park to the camping
- loo roll. The free stuff is a bit thin.


Favourite food
- Square pies. Probably the best steak and ale pie i've ever had but not cheap
- Dorset smokery. Really nice huge wraps

Had a full english in a yorkshire pud with a cuppa which was cheap by glastonbury standards (£5) and tasty too but not up to the 'this is one of the tastiest things ever' standards of the other 2

Arriving/leaving
Managed to avoid queues pretty much entirely.
Arrived at 3am on weds and slept a couple of hours in the car. about an hours queue in the morning to get in. getting there early meant we were on one of the nearest car parks too.
Got up at 4am on monday (ugh) to leave about 5 and were in birmingham by rush hour.