If this is your first Glastonbury, we are so incredibly envious of you- you have it all to discover. What a weekend this is going to be. At Glastonbury, as in life, there are things we can control, and things we can’t control. At Glastonbury, as in life, it really is better to try not to worry about the things you can’t control. The difference is, this really isn’t life as you know it and it’s not over stating the fact to say that with a little bit of luck and a lot of letting go this place can nourish you, transform you, bring you revelation. If it rains, embrace it. If your favourite act gets a stomach bug and can’t play, get over it. These glorious weekends don’t come around that often
We have put together a few tips to help you on your way, but do remember that our main reception is open 24 hours a day throughout the festival if you need any advice. There’s also a hotel full of Glastonbury veterans and fellow virgins. The bar is the perfect place to chew the fat, shoot the breeze and pick-up pearls of wisdom from fellow hotel residents.
Mindset is everything
It might sound like a funny place to start, but let’s start at the end. If you haven’t done so already, have a good old think about what it is you want to be going home with. Is it the knowledge you have traversed the entire site and seen every single area the festival has to offer, left no stone unturned (albeit with sore feet)?; enough stories of bizarre folk and unreal happenings to dine out on for the next ten years (perhaps with a sore head)?; a heart full of deep connection with family and friends new and old; a phone full of snippets of every single act on your list? What exactly is it that a successful Glastonbury looks like to you? Do you need to plan like this is a military operation, or are you planning to have no plan? If you are dead set on seeing every area or every act on your list, that’s totally fine, and many a fabulous Glastonbury has rolled out in this way – but it’s worth noting that if you focus on that, you’re less likely to encounter the magic that can unfold when you allow things to be a bit (or a lot) more free. Depending on your personal perspective, you’ll want to cherry-pick which of the following tips apply.
Communicate and consider splitting up
There’s every possibility that your festival partner or team-mates have a different take on what they want to get out of the festival. Even if your hopes and dreams for a weekend are well aligned, there are likely to be moments where one of you is too cold and needs to go back to camp and change, while the other is desperate to see an act starting in five minutes, or someone needs to sit down and eat while the rest of the group want to listen to a talk you’ve just stumbled across, or perhaps it’s simply that half of the group want to see the act on The Other Stage, while the rest are desperate to head to The Park. Splitting up for long or short periods does not represent failure and does not need to create conflict if you acknowledge from the outset that this will almost inevitably happen. Tips on how to successfully meet back up are coming up.
If you discover you have a fundamentally different approach to those you are with, this might present more of a challenge but it’s best to recognise this and work through it than getting frustrated and ending up having a barney. Perhaps you could split the day or the weekends into sections where different people are in charge, or allow each person to select a certain number of things they 100% want to do and relax about the rest. Compromise is key!
Meeting up after time apart
Choose a very specific landmark to head for in a location where it’s unlikely to be too busy to access (remember that arenas do occasionally get closed off when they reach capacity.) It’s also nice to meet somewhere where there is something going on while you wait for each other. You could choose a small stage, talks venue or installation ie. ‘at the Punch and Judy show on the Glastonbury-on-Sea pier ‘or ‘sat at the back of The Lizard Stage’ etc. Give yourselves a window of say half an hour to meet rather than a specific time to allow for delays en route and make the whole thing more relaxed. You can use what3words but this sometimes doesn’t work if the signal goes down.
What to do if you lose each other
Obviously phones are your friend here, but bear in mind that signal is often bad. Try both internet messaging and old fashioned text message as well as calls- different services will work at different times so try all three. Memorise or write down your friend’s numbers in case of last phones or dead batteries (you’ll be able to find a stranger who will happily let you borrow.)
To avoid losing each other in the first place, use flags (other people’s if you don’t have your own), landmarks and what3words to create rendezvous points in the area you are in when you arrive, especially if it’s really busy.
Footwear & clothing
OK, this is slightly boring and you’ll have heard it before, but it bears repeating. The step count will be epic (20-30k a day is quite normal)- so do yourself a favour and consider what you stride out in carefully. If it’s welly weather, that’s obvious, but if not, bear in mind that you’ll be traversing many different terrains in a day including steel roads, sodden ground near taps, packed dance floors, the stony railway line path and the floors in and around portaloos and long drops. In short, open toes are a no-no and your favourite suede boots are unlikely to survive unscathed even in the best weather. Choose your weapon carefully, it could make or break your experience.
Load the hump
A good breakfast before you head out will be your best friend. As we mentioned, the step count really will be massive on an average Glastonbury day. Fuel up for success. Our pick of food on site includes the following:
-Henry’s Beard Cafe in Greenfutures where you can sit down at a proper (shared) table with tremendous portions of super healthy fare
-Le Grande Bouffe serve some of the best festival food around. Their speciality is tartiflette with delicious sausages.
– Anna Mae’s Mac and Cheese is so popular they have multiple stalls around site. Quality mac and cheese with tonnes of topping options
– Barnaby Sykes Pies serve, you’ve guessed it, really great pie and mash
If in doubt or with a large group who all fancy something different, we recommend heading to West Holts which usually has one of the best all round selections of food traders. There are a couple of other top tips in the ‘Hidden Gems’ article and locations can be found on the festival’s website
Plan for the temperature drop
Factor in a pit-stop back at the hotel, especially if the weather is hot (our fingers and toes are crossed) or rainy. It always feels good to reset, freshen up, have some fabulous food, a few sundowners and, most crucially, get changed for the evening ahead. It gets really cold in the evenings from around 7 or 8pm.
Be realistic about transit times/ plan routes
This is for the planners- be aware that the site is huge and many of the routes get very busy. Leave yourself plenty of time to move around and consider leaving sets early/ arriving late to avoid the worst of the ‘traffic.’ Also consider that a longer route may actually be quicker if it’s further towards the edge of the site- cutting through the Green Fields is often quicker than going along the railway lines at busy times for instance.
Consider the whole experience
Curate your own experience based on more than just the acts. You’ll take home amazing memories (not to mention photos) by engaging with a variety of experiences in a variety of spaces. Consider visiting a mix of venues both large and small; indoor and outdoor; live and DJ led as well as talks, craft workshops, wellbeing experiences and even shopping as part of the experience. Go and see or do at least one thing that pushes you out of your comfort zone.
Talk to people, take opportunities & smile
In a sense, you get out of Glastonbury what you put in. Make it your mission to bring all the good vibes, and you’ll get them back ten-fold here. It’s an obvious thing to say but it’s really true. If you get the opportunity to take part in something a bit off-the-wall, take it. One of our team remembers being invited to a three course sit down dinner behind The Rabbit Hole in one of the first years of the venue. She didn’t go as it clashed with an act she wanted to see. She can’t remember the act, but she’ll always regret not having been at the dinner. Another team member struck up a conversation with someone he felt drawn to in a crowd at The Park Stage. They ended up chatting for hours and he got his festival crew to perform a flash mob dance for her and her friends. She was a member of the Pop-Up Hotel team and now he is too. You never know who you’ll meet and how it might change your life.
