Mud.  Music.  Minimal Sleep. And More Mud.  My first experience of the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was so far beyond what I expected, from the incredible range of musicians, dancers, artists and performers, to the physically huge size of the site itself.  Arriving late at night on the Thursday, I was stunned by lights shining and music throbbing – it sent tingles down my spine.  After finding my friends Nicole and Mike we set off into the night, but it wasn’t until the next day that I really began to gain a real appreciation for what I had gotten myself into.

Many festival-goers had already been there for a couple of days by the time my coach turned up, but I was lucky to have had awesome friends set up my tent.  As a result I was fresh as a daisy on Friday and ready to go when the bands started playing.  Our first stop was the Others Stage, where a mystery band were opening the Festival.  We figured it was bound to be someone good, and were rewarded by an epic spot from which to watch The Kaiser Chiefs and then Blondie.

Nicole, Lauren, Blair, Mike and I enjoying the sun while it lasted

Last year’s Glastonbury was a fairly dry affair, and it became clear early on that we were not going to have the same experience.  These skies looked awesome, but cut proceedings short for Rudimental when they turned into a full-blown thunderstorm.  I quickly fell in love with my wellies (gumboots for my NZers), a sentiment which was to last the entire weekend as they kept my feet warm and dry.  When the storm passed I ventured out again for a dance to Lily Allen and then seeing one of my favourite bands live for the first time, Arcade Fire.

Arcade Fire = amazing

Towards the end of the night I visited Shangri-La for a taste of heaven and hell.  Shangri-La is an incredible world within the world of Glastonbury – a complete experience with art, performances, and more great music.  To describe the weirdness and the creativity is almost beyond me – it was a sensory overload of fun.

Saturday dawned bright, the sky scrubbed clean by the storms.  We decided to wander the grounds in search of different bands and random sights, rather than aiming for too many bands.  This was a great way to spend the day – rather than stressing about making the trek between stages, we simply enjoyed what we found in front of us!

The Riptide Movement in the Acoustic Tent

Given I found it hard enough not to bail on my own two feet, I couldn’t believe the skills of the stilt-walkers!

Spotted: rare natives of the area, Glastonbury Gorillas

Two Feet Wellies and that beast, Glastonbury Mud

Enjoying the sun coming out again – while it lasts!

While the boys stayed by the Pyramid stage to rock out to Metallica, Nicole and I headed to the Sonic stage for Annie Mac and Fatboy Slim – two insanely good sets.  We met up with Mike again to experience the craziness that is Arcadia, a mechanical playground with a flame-throwing spider that doubles as a DJ stage as its centre.

From hard house, we headed up the Park hill for a completely different experience – the Silent Disco.  For those who haven’t tried one of these before, everyone gets a set of headphones, on which you can choose from two or more different musical channels and switch between them.  Everyone sings and dances, and if you remove your headphones for a second, the effect is hilarious – two groups of people harmonising to two radically different songs!

Despite it being 4am by this point, Nicole and I still weren’t done – we were determined to climb the 17 metre Ribbon Tower for a sunrise view over the Festival.

Dawn breaking… unfortunately while we were queuing for the tower

Glastonbury (almost) as far as the eye can see!

Now that you’ve seen the scale of it, a little history for those of you who are curious.  Glastonbury Festival is the brainchild of Michael Eavis who hosted the first one in 1970 on his own land of Worthy Farm in Somerset, England.  It has taken place almost every year since then, apart from breaks every five years or so to allow the farm to recover.  From an initial attendance of about 1,500 people (who paid £1) it has now grown to selling over 175,000 tickets.  These tickets sell out at lightning-fast speed every year – we were very lucky that Nicole managed to get through for our group.  While it’s so much more than just a music festival, Glastonbury is well-known for its incredible range of headliners, from The Rolling Stones to Coldplay to Beyonce to Paul McCartney to Metallica – just in the last few years!

Those that do attend mostly camp – there are different levels from luxury tipis to basic byo-tent and find-a-spot camping.  There are hundreds of food and drink options, chill-out-areas, and more to experience than any person reasonably could in just five days.

Unsurprisingly after such an amazing long night, I opted for a slower start on the Sunday – my 2am Monday coach-ride back to London was already looming in my head!  The Healing Fields was the perfect spot to people-watch, with everything from hula-hopping to a wedding blessing to every kind of massage and spiritual treatment you could desire.

We found ourselves a spot on the hill in front of the Pyramid stage for the last hurrah.  Dolly Parton was utterly brilliant – say what you like about her, that woman is a born performer!  Then came another personal highlight as The Black Keys rocked the stage.

As I was the only one of our group crazy enough lacking enough leave who had booked the 2am coach, I chose to wind down for my last act of the night with London Grammar.  I love Hannah Reid’s haunting vocals and their laid-back vibe was the perfect end for my first Glastonbury Festival

A Few Tips

Yes, it was my first time, but I learnt a lot – here’s some of my top tips (some learnt the hard way!)

• Bring a bucket.  Yes, really.  Not only will it serve as extremely handy for carrying those weirdly-shaped objects (beer bottles) that didn’t quite fit in your bag, you will feel massively clean compared to most other campers when you’ve been able to enjoy a bikini and bucket shower in the morning!
• Don’t try to see everything.  You might manage it, but you’d be a sleep-deprived, mud-covered, shell of yourself by the end.  Go see a band you’ve never heard of.  Check out an aura reading in the Healing Fields.  Watch a circus performance.  Simply people-watch… it could be the most entertainment you’ll have the entire time!
• Be prepared for rain. And mud.  Looooots of mud.  It’s not a real Glastonbury unless at some point you’re soaked and covered in mud, everyone knows that!
• Look after yourself and your friends.  Glastonbury is a big place, with lots of people doing both serious and silly things.  Be safe kids.
• And most of all enjoy yourself!  After all the stress of tickets, begging a tent, finding transport – soak up the atmosphere.  Glastonbury will be over for another year before you know it!

For more information on the Festival, check out the official website here.

Thank you for all your lovely comments last week – my first week co-hosting Travel Tuesday was a lot of fun!  With so many great posts it was hard to choose, but my favourite was Cynthia’s on Kraków, the beginning of her Polish Odyssey.  Thank you to everyone who shared their story – I’m looking forward to reading many more this week!  If you’d like to add yours to the link-up, please do so below.

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I am writing this in a state of total excitement, as in just a few short hours I’ll be off to the legendary Glastonbury music festival!!  My wellies are out, my poncho is packed – the forecast is for rain almost the entire time so it will undoubtedly be the authentic Glasto Mud experience 🙂

The sunny Glasto I am hoping for (Image copyright Mojo Baron)

What is likely to be my reality (Image copyright Neal Whitehouse Piper)

I’ll be on an old-school Alcatel over the weekend – texts and calls only! – so won’t be updating before Tuesday, but I’ll be back then with loads of great festival stories I’m sure.  Until then, have a lovely weekend!

Have you been to a camping music festival before, or experienced Glastonbury for yourself?  Any last-minute tips for this newbie?