Guide > Glastonbury Festival

Glastonbury has a long and detailed history, too much for this simple guide to delve too deeply into. As can be imagined it started small - in 1970 only 1500 people attended the first ever Pilton Festival. The next year it became Glastonbury Fayre and attracted increased numbers, initially travelers and hippies, then a broader mix of music fans. Strangely it then disappeared, at least officially, until 1978 when it was held as the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, and has been held ever since, though there have been several gap years when no festival has taken place, most recently of course 2006. The name synonymous with the festival is Michael Eavis, the owner of Worthy Farm who put on the very first bash in 1970 and handed everyone a free bottle of milk as a thank you for attending. Now in his 70s, Eavis still runs the festival, though much of the organising is now in the hands of daughter Emily. Nowadays the festival is big business though remarkably it still retains an air of mysticism - ley lines cross here, and close by Glastonbury Tor is the epicentre of Arthurian Legend, the Holy Grail is reputed to be buried there.

It is probably easier to list the things that do not happen at Glastonbury. The organisers call it the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. Over the course of a week or so you can see music of all descriptions, comedy, cinema, circus, mime, debate, cabaret, puppets, theatre, dance, visit a casino, worship at a stone circle, dine in a silver service restaurant and even get married at the on site chapel. Add into the mix a massive market, kids area, the legendary green fields, Glade and Avalon areas, Teepee field, the Lost Vagueness surreal zone and of course a mass of tents and parking areas and you have a festival that takes up an area the size of a small city. To walk right round the perimeter fence would take 3 hours. Over the years the attendance has steadily increased, though at the end of the 90s this was due to huge numbers entering illegally as the fence was continually breached. It was estimated there were as many non ticket holders inside as those in honest possession of entry. Naturally the local Mendip Council threatened to pull the plug on the whole thing, so since 2002 a massive 'Superfence' has successfully kept non ticket holders out (Kate Moss excepted). The official attendance in 2005 was around 130000.

The other main talking point of the festival has always been the weather. As the site is a working dairy farm built largely on clay in a river valley, a combination of wet weather plus thousands of feet equals a heady mix of cow dung and mud. Hence we get what are affectionately called the 'Mud Years'. 1997 was possibly the wettest Glastonbury on record, but 2005 hit the headlines when a violent storm washed away some tents and threatened the festival amid several power cuts. Happily things were sorted out. Generally the weather is hot with a lot of sunshine but seeing as it clashes with Wimbledon, some rain can usually be expected during the course of the week. The festival acts perform on Friday through to Sunday, though the site actually opens on Wednesday and closes late on the Monday, so offers almost a week of entertainment for the hardy festival goer.

Unlike most festivals, music does not play such a dominant part in the overall festival. Sure it attracts the biggest crowds and some big acts, but it is quite possible to spend the whole weekend there without seeing one band and still having the time of your life. In the same vein, the music that it does put on differs slightly from other festivals too. There is a definite attempt to spread musical genres out across the main stages and this can result in some strange acts appearing on the main stage. This centre stage is known as the pyramid, with its striking design it becomes the focal point of the whole festival. The stage now in its 4th or 5th incarnation is left up all year and doubles as a cow shed for the rest of the time. Acts as diverse as Rod Stewart, Sister Sledge, Rolf Harris, Tony Bennett, the late James Brown and Brian Wilson have all trod its boards. That is not to say the biggest acts don't get their chance, as Oasis, Radiohead, Coldplay, Sir Paul Mc Cartney and REM have all put on career defining shows.

Kaiser Chiefs - Wow the Pyramid Stage in 2005

Away from the main stage there are around 20 other stages, most putting on some form of musical entertainment. The John Peel tent showcases the best new bands and the Other Stage puts on acts that have recently broke through. Whilst these stages don't quite have the cutting edge of say the Carling Weekend, some excellent fayre is served up. Recent years have seen performances from the as then little heard of Kings of Leon, The Killers, Futureheads, Razorlight and Kasabian. More specialist stages include the Acoustic, The One World, Avalon, and Ballroom. However wander through the site and its not unusual to find impromptu musical performance almost anywhere, from the Greenfields, to the purpose built bandstand in the market area. Dance music fans are very well catered for, there are several venues, the purpose built Dance East and West tents, the Radio One stage and the Glade, a secluded area under trees where select tunes are pumped out 24 hours. There are always plenty of raves springing up across the site too.

Somerset is a beautiful part of the country. It is also a long way from most places. The festival is located not at Glastonbury town but just south of the village of Pilton about 6 miles east of Glastonbury. As there are no motorways nearby most of the traffic comes in on one or two A roads which obviously get really busy at peak times. However a bit of advanced map reading should enable you to take more minor routes towards the festival which do tend to work as most folk stay on the main roads. Coming from the capital the A.303 is the preferred route, especially as it skirts Stonehenge on the way, but it also takes holiday traffic and there will definitely be delays en route. From the north either the journey down the M5 to Weston then approach from the west, or down the centre of the country through Oxford, Swindon, and Devizes are good options. When you get near, there are 2 main parking areas, red and blue (blue has the most room but biggest exit queues) so make your mind up and choose one and follow the signs which should see you in ok. Just remember to bring your car park ticket which you should have purchased when you bought your festival ticket. For Rail travelers, a train service runs to Castle Carey 10 miles away, then a shuttle bus provides an efficient transfer system onto the site. Or you could take advantage of the many offers and travel by coach. You can't do anything about the traffic jams though and also be prepared for some strange smells on the way back as it will be six days or so since some people were last familiar with soap.

Security at the entrance is tight and you must watch out for suspicious characters out to try to get your ticket off you. Best bet is to stay in a group. It is not a huge problem though and I have never personally had any worries. In recent years efforts have been made to stop touting and you must bring some pre arranged ID with you which you will have sorted out when buying the tickets. The checking in procedure is efficient and friendly and before you know it you are in and ready to go exploring.

Firstly it helps to be fit and to like walking. You can of course bring a chair down to the Pyramid Stage and sit there all day, but this won't help you get the most out of the festival. Distances across the site are vast and it can take the best part of an hour to get from the Lost Vagueness to the John Peel Stage. Trying to describe it all here is impossible so I will outline a few general points and you can discover the rest for yourselves. The roads around the site are largely earth and are quite wide. This is fine if it is dry but throw in some liquid mud and the going becomes somewhat taxing. There are also a constant stream of maintenance vehicles passing so don't expect to be able to walk freely down the middle. Bring some form of boots, wellies are waterproof but cold and uncomfy for walking. Much better get some good quality hiking boots they are worth their weight in gore tex. Allow about 20 minutes to traverse between adjoining main stage areas, but increase this if a popular band is on. On site there are several bottleneck points, you will soon discover these, and with practice most can be avoided. Running almost east to west is an old railway line which can be a great route for quickly getting across site. The other main thing to note is that crowds in general will be bigger than the average festival so have a bit of patience, allow more time and walk slower.

On Site - Wellies are a must

Crowds can form for the more popular acts. The general rule is that if you are getting in a large crowd and are not enjoying the event simply move on, there is bound to be something interesting just around the corner. Indeed trying to plan your day with military precision just will not work as cancellations, rescheduling and no shows all play havoc with the line up. Better to go with the intention to just have a few 'must sees' and go elsewhere on spec.

 

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Unlike other major festivals the campsite is inside the main arena. This means that there is free gangway between the stages and the tents so you can drink the beer you bring in freely around the site. The down side is that is a bloody long way to bring in your beer, over a mile to walk in summer heat across terrain that is anything but flat. A good idea is to get some form of sturdy trolley to take the burden. Alternatively travel light, you can buy all you need inside.

Room for a small one? - "I think I can see a space up there dear"

To get a decent pitch you really need to arrive on the Wednesday preferably before teatime. The campsite seems to fill up faster each year, though there is always space on some of the outlying ones. The sheer size of the camping area is a sight to behold and is perhaps best seen from one of the aerial views. Most sites do get really crowded and groups do not want to leave too much of a gap in their circle as some late comer will almost inevitably pitch in it. Dotted around the sites are little cafe areas as well as toilets and fresh water but for most facilities you need to head down to the market areas. The atmosphere on the site is friendly with excellent banter and now that the Superfence has gone up the incidence of tent crime has dropped sharply but as always do not leave anything you can't afford to lose lying around.

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A small army of cleaners do their best to keep the Portaloos in good shape. And they do an excellent job, the toilets are nowhere near as bad as the stories make out. As well as Portaloos which make up the majority of toilet facilities there are also the Long Drop open air loos. These obviously benefit from being in fresh air but there are no locks on the door and you don't want to drop anything (other than the necessary) in the pit below. For the ladies the she pees offer you the chance to relieve yourself standing up with the aid of a strategically placed funnel. Happy aiming. Though the toilets can get busy at peak times there do seem to be more individual units here than at most other festivals.

Glastonbury frowns on the practice of weeing in the hedgerows and ditches. Do this and you may well get a tap on your shoulder as the Green Police move in on you. They are as you may have guessed not real police but volunteers who will educate you on the need not to poison the local wildlife and use the loos instead.

Liquid refreshments first. As this is the west country there is quite a strong emphasis on cider. By this I mean proper cider with bits in. There is a well appointed Cider Bus (a converted old double decker) just off the main market area and its situation at a crossroads and just off the back of the main arena make it something of a landmark and meeting point. Indeed we are often found hanging around suspiciously. The brand is Burrowhill, an excellent local product and at round 6% does the job nicely. On a blazing hot Thursday it is easy to lie around drinking the stuff to the point where you can't actually get up again. A short walk away in the One World field is the Piece de Resistance of Glastonbury drinking, the Brothers Bar. They sell the famous pear cider, lemon cider and strawberry grog. Trust me you don't need much of this stuff, but its completely delicious. Rumour has it the company can survive a whole year just on the profits of the festival but in fact it can be bought on Mail Order (after the plug how's about a free sample?!). Elsewhere there are loads of official bars run by the Workers Beer Co. an excellent organisation comprising volunteers. The service is always quick and there do not seem to be the queues at other festivals. Bars can be found all over the site and a trip through the green fields and lost vagueness will always yield a decent place or two to consume a beverage or three at your leisure.

Brothers Bar - Get some cider inside yer

As you would expect there isn't much food wise you can't get hold of. All the main types of festival food are available. There are a few more unique offerings on the site as well. The Welsh Oggie stall sells huge pasties for £3 which are a complete meal and a half. In a similar vein there are always big queues at the Square Pie Company, but the wait is worth it to get your hands on the pie and mash (loads of flavours, your favourite will be there). In the One World field there is a Lebanese Cafe which is worth checking out. A different kind of burger can be found made from the finest ostrich (very healthy apparently). If you can find it the stall selling breakfast burritos is great first thing in the day, and most of the stalls do bacon rolls and pints of fresh orange to kick start your system after a heavy night. If cakes and pastries tickle your fancy a stall in the green fields (where else?) features delicacies made with hemp (the sterilised legal variety). Finally a big mention to the 24 hour reggae cafe who do some of the best smoothies on planet earth.

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Glastonbury grew up with a reputation as a green festival. This theme is very much evident on site. Various and plentiful rubbish bins encourage recycling, the Green Police force are on hand to 'arrest' anyone they see pissing in a ditch, and Greenpeace is one of the main charities in partnership with the festival (the others are Oxfam and Wateraid). However the centre of this theme is the amazing Greenfields area, found to the south of the site straddling the main road up the hill to the Stone Circle. Here can be found stall after stall showcasing green food, traditional crafts, stunning practical designs (a boat powered by water springs to mind) and even a solar powered cinema. The people up here are friendly, helpful, informative and downright weird. There is enough stuff to see here to take well over a day of your time and it really is a festival within a festival. Oh and you will definitely leave the area feeling guilty about leaving that light on and not recycling your glass.

Whilst we are on with the weird and wonderful let's visit the Lost Vagueness area. This area is crammed full of off the wall stuff that comes into its own in the small hours. There is a ballroom, casino (you hire a tux or ballgown to obtain entry), church, silent disco where you put on headphones and bop to your own personal soundtrack, and several strange clubs and bars. This area has to be visited there is nothing like it at any other festival in the world. Another must visit area at the other end of the scale is the Leftfield. This is an area for those who like a little bit of politics with their entertainment. Politically charged music, debate, public speaking and comedy can all be found in this independently run arena, and some very big guest stars have been known to drop in. Watch out for all star jams too.

There are loads of other things to do too. An open air cinema shows the biggest films throughout the night, the circus tent and cabaret area throw up some surprises and there is a huge kids area complete with child minders and a full programme of entertainment. Mind you the little blighters should be at school. For a more leisurly pursuit an amble through the teepee field will throw up some strange characters and possibly a bit of nudity. One big focal point of the site is the stone circle which attracts big crowds in the early hours to light flares, sing and dance, and watch the sun rise. Though the place seems to extrude a mythical and prehistoric element, the circle was only constructed in 1990. There's bound to be a lot of things I have missed like the Miniscule of Sound, a nightclub with room only for 3 people, but the attraction of the place is finding out things for yourself. Happy hunting.

Finally at some point all the fun stops and we must leave. This tends to be all at the same time, Monday from 10am onwards. This official site page shows in graph form just how long this can take at different times. The solution if you want a fast getaway is to leave out of hours, otherwise get in the queue, chill out, listen to Radio Avalon, the festival's own radio station and look forward to the next year.

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