I saw a friend once tweet that the only people he envied visiting Glastonbury were those doing it for the very first time, and as a festival goer this year paying their 6th visit to the hallowed farm, I can very much understand where he is coming from.
Festival purists may have you believe that Glastonbury is over commercialised, and I'll admit that the festival does sometimes emit the Coachellaesque, bourgeois symptoms that VIP packages and BBC coverage can bring. But by allowing yourself to fully immerse in the festival, you will still find that there is a deep rooted spirit that I've personally never felt in another festival environment. The modern day festival is the success of a unique social experiment based upon the same hippy values it was founded upon 49 years ago; an inclusive and social utopia which celebrates contemporary arts and ideas across the broadest of spectrums.
Whether you recently paid the balance of your ticket off or are anxiously awaiting the upcoming resale (horrible), if you've never been the festival before then here are a few tips which might help to make your time a little easier.
Flags – A commonly held misconception is that people take flags to Glastonbury to get on TV, which I would admit would be a bit sad. As well as providing fleeting moments of amusement between acts (Gary Lineker shags crisps and Kim Kardashian's sex tape face have been personal highlights) most people take flags simply to find each other in the swathes of people when it gets busy. Camping in a huge group it is near impossible to stay together, but by knowing rough ideas of where people will be at what time, running the flag up at meeting times makes things a lot easier.
Time planning – The festival is huge, and under estimating walking times to different areas is very common for everyone. When you factor in bottlenecks around headline acts, mud, getting lost etc, sometimes it is better to cut your losses and stay in one area rather than try and cram two acts in.
Showers – Personally, the shower situation is just a fact of life when at the festival and wet wipes and deodorant suffice. However, if you are someone who requires more of a freshen up, there are showers available at certain points of the site at the cost of a hefty queue. If you'd prefer to save your time, then a reusable solar shower might be a good idea. You can get them for around £5 - £10 and they heat up the water you fill them with over the course of a day. To promote the festival ethos, just take an ecologically friendly soap and you're set.
Take a trolley – Whether you're getting the coach, driving or travelling to the festival via any other method, if you can fit a trolley to carry your stuff in you will thank yourself. It gets very hot going in and when you have a ton of stuff to carry over a long distance from the parks, you will massively thank yourself. Fishing trolleys are best, just make sure they have a hefty set of wheels. As a working dairy farm, you can imagine the state of the ground.
Sun cream and water – This sounds obvious, but its a must. It gets sweltering at the festival and throw that in with any dehydrating activities that you may wish to indulge in, you'll end up in a bad way if you don't take heed. A walk past the welfare tent will wake you up to whats possible if you don't stay hydrated and sensible in the sun.
South East corner – Containing some of the most out-there stuff at the festival, this area is capable of sending your head West even in the most sober state of mind. From paint fights to S&M sideshows, its definitely worth a visit for your first time but it does get very, very busy. Thursday night is a quieter time to go, or alternatively you can beat the queues at the sacrifice of a couple of later acts.
As twisted as it gets in the SE corner, there are plenty of other equally good places to go after hours. Places like the Beat Hotel, The Park (now open later than previously) offer places to dance pretty much until the sun comes up as well as Arcadia. Or just get yourself up by the big letters or stone circle and look out out over the festival. You'll meet plenty of colourful characters as you decide where you want to go.
Check the BBC Introducing board – Primarily the area showcasing up and coming talent, the BBC Introducing tent is always worth a visit to potentially discovering your next favourite act. Another bonus is that spontaneous sets from larger acts often get announced here at very short notice such as George Ezra, Bombay Bicycle Club, Slaves as well. Just keep an eye on the black board outside.
Don't piss on the land and take your stuff home – This is self explanatory and is something that will be drilled into you from the moment you step foot through the gates. Toilets are in abundance and are not as bad as people might make out (look out for ones being cleaned), and the ammonia from urine is toxic to the aquatic life in the streams that is inevitably runs into. Taking your stuff home should just be a given. There is definitely a culture born from our wasteful society to buy tents/airbeds/sleeping bags etc for one use, then simply leave at festivals. Admittedly I've been at fault of this in the past, but in a generation so aware of the damage that consumer culture and wastefulness is doing to the planet, this kind of behaviour is pretty abhorrent.
Above all just enjoy yourself and make sure you take time to explore. You'll never see it all in the time you have as there is so much, so find what takes your fancy and go with it.
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