First Timer Advice Needed

[kelw]

Brill thanks

[grumpyhack]

I don't plan on taking food really. Maybe cup a soups or noodles. I want to experience as much as I can so will most definitely eat out and about.

[G1T]

Yep, I always take a big bag of apples, so I can be sure of getting some vitamin c in me every day. They help clean your teeth and deal with post drinking death breath too if you're too hungover to brush your teeth straight away.

I also take loads of tins of mackerel in tomato sauce, but that's just cos i love them as munchie food. Salty, flavoursome and good for you too.

Otherwise, it's eating out all the way, even though I get crew meal tickets. The food on site is just too good to miss!

[rabid]

Generally agree but take something for late night muchies while you chat around the tent/camp fire and something for breakfast. Life slows down at Glasto and you may not want to move out of your tent first thing to go in search of food. So coffee and something to eat to start the day is useful.

[lucyginger]

Ooh and a couple of bags of lollies, or other sweets. Great for a quick sugar hit and helps keep you going during meals! Also helps you make friends if you hand out sweets ;-)

[AdamSheff]

Hey, firstly congratualtions on getting tickets. At 10:30am on that sunday i was starting to panic like mad. All turned out ok in the end thou.

Im from Sheffield so we drive down tuesday and stay somewhere nearer eg weston super mare etc.

I think we got into the que for the carpark at roughly 8am on wednesday morning. it was pretty rammed but what do u expect.

I wouldnt get there tuesday night and sleep in the car park though, there is an enormous amount of space for camping so theres no worries like at leeds etc. as long as you get there wednesday morning/dinner time youll get a cracking pitch. we got in at approx 11am and pennard hill was half empty. by 11pm that night it was chocker block.

id take as many tents as you can. think about waking up sunday morning after 5 days on the lash with no shower next to your 3 sweaty, farty mates. lol. 2 per tent is plenty really.

We take a small pop up tent just for storage. we keep our clothes, beer etc in there so were not sleeping like sardines.

Be prepared to have to do 2 runs thou.

We usually just take our bags and tents while we que. Get in, get pitched (put a few cans in ur bag for if you get thirsty)then your set. Then we all head back and fetch our chairs, beer, stove etc. Its good because you dont have to que the second time either. We once tried to do it in a 1er. its was aweful.

Have a great time, roll on June.

[cejx]

Generally agree but take something for late night muchies while you chat around the tent/camp fire and something for breakfast. Life slows down at Glasto and you may not want to move out of your tent first thing to go in search of food. So coffee and something to eat to start the day is useful.

[Lucanesque]

Firstly - You're gonna have the time of your life!

Biggest tip I'd give is pack everything a month or so in advance. Pick it all up, put your pack on, and (assuming you have em) walk down the stairs and back up again. If you think "f**k me that's heavy" then you will really suffer when it comes to the walk to and from the car park to site. If you want or need to bring loads of stuff then think about a really robust sack barrow (B&Q - ones with inflatable wheels best). Depending on when you arrive you could be carrying all of this for a good hour, and as it is a dairy farm the ground isn't that even so even with a sack barrow / truck it can be hard work.

Try not to take too much "just in case", you'll probably be out and about most of the time. Clean socks, underwear, and T every day make you feel good, something fleecy for the evening, and something waterproof. And a daily trip to the tent spa (aka a wet wipe bath) will see you right for the day.

Combat shorts / trousers for carrying odds and sods and reducing trips back to the tent.

Get a wallet with a chain or failing that loop of cord / big zip and then use a carabiner to attach to the belt loops on your combats.

Lucozade powder stick and a resolve, followed by a good cup of coffee is a great start to the day. Lucozade glucose tabs as a bit of a boost whist out and about (keep em dry tho, store in a ziplock in your tent).

Dry bags are essential for keeping your clothes un-moist. Even a hot year like 2010 is damp in the morning.

Unless you are on a medical diet (and even those can quite often be catered for), or you particularly want to cook, only bring snacks... there's food from every corner of the world there.

If you're a drinker, spirits have a good weight to drunk ratio! Mixers (coke / lemonade etc) are easily bought on site. If you're a smoker, unless you aren't fussy about what you smoke then bring them with you. Last year on site prices were around £7 for 20.

And (nearly) finally, the toilets aren't half as bad as people make out. Even the portaloo style were OK despite the sun last year. All were cleaned regularly. The Long Drops were quite pleasant, use a wet wipe over the seat... just don't look down! If you are of a sensitive disposition you could always chuck a dab of tiger balm under your nose (but then be very careful where you stick your fingers).

And (really) finally, whatever you take in, plan to carry it out again - Love the farm, leave no trace

[bluegel1980]

Ive been going for 7 years now...regarding driving, the earlier the better really. It will be busy anyway when the gates open and you will have to queue for several hours.

Re camping, depends what kind of scene you are into. Pennards Hill is a very popular site and will normally be full up by Wednesday lunch time. You can camp near to most of the stages, so look at the line ups from previous years and that might help you decide. Regarding packing up...if you want to leave early alot of people pack up and leave on Sunday night after the last band. You have to be off site by a certain time on Monday anyway. The queues are just as bad leaving as they are coming in. The worst time to leave is between 9am and 4pm on Monday

What to take - clothes for sun, clothes for rain. Wellies is a must. Booze. Money. re the walk, that also depends on where you camp. I work as crew and to walk from one side of the site to the other when it is full of people takes between 1 to 2 hours, so prepared for a long hard walk.

Make sure your trolley is sturdy. We see so many people whose trolley's break and then have to carry all their stuff.

Toilets - Im a girl and I have no problems with the toilets. Some people prefer the portaloo's some prefer the long drops. Brave it would be best option, Many people use a bandana to cover their mouth and nose when going to the toilets....dont look down, and dont climb onto the toilet and squat - you will understand when u open the door to a portaloo and there is a mound of poo on the seat!

There is plenty of food on site, if you take food with you then you wont need much money...unless you want to buy clothes etc. Food can be quite expensive but if you look around away from the stages you can get some good bargains.

[coma girl]

Then we all head back and fetch our chairs, beer, stove etc. Its good because you dont have to que the second time either. We once tried to do it in a 1er. its was aweful.

[hotwaterbottle]

Hello. I am attending for my first time this year and have a few questions I hope everyone can give me some advice on.

I know it's ages yet but obviously I'm looking forward to it and have wanted to go for years, and like to be uber prepared!!! I could never get it organised, so this year I decided to go on my own. Luckily 7 of my pals all chose to join me! There are a few questions so any bit advice from you would be great. We are all in our twenties if that makes a difference to you answers. I realise there is a 'suck it and see' element about doing something like this but we just want an idea really.

Firstly I would like some advice on tents. Would you recommend 2 six man tents (4 in each), or 4 three man tents (2 in each). We have a few tents between us and also don't mind buying another if we need. Obviously would like to be as comfortable and convenient as possible.

We live in Bristol but two live in the big smoke so are coming to us first. We were looking to drive down on Wednesday morning as early as poss. Is this a good idea? is it heaving? (I realise it is busy most of the time).

Where is a decent camping spot if we are there fairly early on in the setting up stage? I have heard the site is absolutely massive and don't really know the whereabouts but there are web sites with guides and directions. When would you recommend packing up? Time is not a worry for us so we can go whenever. Is it best to wait until a lot have people have packed up and left? Or get strait on it?

How much do people recommend we take with us. We have read the checklist etc on this forum. But would you say - take more than we might need to be sure, or try to tavel as light as possible. We have got a festival trolley so can put heavier items like booze on that. How far is the walk to camping fields, half an hour?

What are the toilets like? I have heard some very disturbing stories about them!!! A mate from football said he takes a single sent with a makeshift loo from a deck chair and then disposes of the black bags. This sounds a little over the top but is that a better option, or shall we just brave it?

I think that just about covers it for us. Hopefully you can give us some good advice. We are massively looking forward to it and I have never heard a single person say, well, it's alright. Everybody comes back having absolutely loved it. Thanks everyone

[HurrahBrother]

And don't forget the festival milk to go in the coffee

Decanted into plastic of course.

[HurrahBrother]

As a coach traveller I can't say re travel but

Tents: the 4 3 man tents would be the way to go.

If your lucky with space, you have your own little tent circle, if not, you can still pitch near each others. The larger the tents, the more likely you will have to split up, and the further away from each other you will be.

The earliest I have arrived it midday on a wednesday, already space is tricky to find in the popular fields (the ones near the action).

You are likely to want to camp closer to the action, to give you a sense of scale, stone circle to the kids field/queens head, walking as the crowd permits, about 40 minutes.

http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/data/image/Fineguide-10-map-may-update.jpg

The toilets are not that bad. The toilets at the top of the Big Ground are proper flushing types. The long drops are not so bad, it is only really the portaloos/turdises seem to suffer and do have a 'fragrance' about them!

[kelw]

What's the story with camp fires?? Do we need to take anything with us to keep it off the grass??

[Milbert]

What's the story with camp fires?? Do we need to take anything with us to keep it off the grass??

[coma girl]

What's the story with camp fires?? Do we need to take anything with us to keep it off the grass??

[kelw]

we wont fancy camping too near the action. Don't really wanna be on top of each other...so where is best to camp and be able to have a fire??

[Chrisbristol]

Hey thanks all. There is some great info and experience on here. Is it wrong that I can't sleep where I'm so excited?

[Fingle]

we wont fancy camping too near the action. Don't really wanna be on top of each other...so where is best to camp and be able to have a fire??

[grumpyhack]

Another thought. If you've bought a new tent practice putting it up at home first. You can then a) find out how to do it and make sure all the bits are there with nothing broken.

If in doubt always take a roll of gaffer tape which will fix and hold most things together in an emergency.

[Spindles]

Please don't do the toilet tent thing, it is beyond disgusting and I can assure you it will smell MUCH, MUCH worse than the toilets within a couple of days (last year there were wide diameter sh*t-stinks around each one, not exactly neighbourly behaviour).

Packing light is great advice, I pack light and STILL take too much.

You can never take too much money, every year I seem to have a tenner left walking out the gates, regardless of how much cash I take (lowest I have ever taken was £60 for thurs-sun, most was £360 for wed-mon).

Booze, take sprits/wine boxes rather than cases of lager/cider, imo, simply because it is easier to transport.

Befriend your neighbours as soon as you can, they may well become your bestest mates for the week and if they know you they will certainly notice someone else poking around your tent.

I'm all for being at the gate ahead of opening time wednesday, in order to grab a good camping location. I'd advise pennards/park/dairy for camping based on your age, ideal location for access to most areas and full of like minded people looking for a good week.

Use the lockups, a great service. Either drop them a quid each time you pick up/drop off or a more sizeable sum at the end of the week, but please try and support them financially.

If you are a victim of crime, report it. Every year we hear of reduced crime figures, however unless people report them we never get an accurate figure.

[swanbud]

Any where really as long as you have enough room and keep an eye on it. Dairy ground is pretty quiet and you can find a good bit of room there i have found. 

[drewsstrat]

theres loads of good advice here so i'm not going to add much. You just have to read torts faq on glasto earth.. I still enjoy reading it, although I've been a few times now!

Once you have done glasto once I think you learn so much more for the next trip;

I did have a little chuckle to myself at some newbies last year who obviously (unlike you) didn't do their homework before leaving home -

trudging the mile or so from car park to campsite in the heat with rucksacks, flimsy shopping type trolley (wheels almost off) - 18 pack of toliet rolls!!! (they hand them out free onsite)

four full size pillows , duvets (i kid you not), No sign of a kitchen sink thouugh.

Other sights over the last few festivals include the flip flops / unsuitable wear in the mud

The fly away tents (last year there was a draught that rolled up the valley and caught out some of the flimsy tents

I would pack light but pack wisely - use a sturdy truck trolley and load heavy stuff first,

pack for sun and rain, leave spare stuff that you don't need immediately covered in car (you can go back for supplies if necessary - easier when not fully laiden)

If taking drink consider the weight not only car park to camping, but the weight to lug around every dsy. Boxed wine or shorts maybe the way to go if your fully loaded or on a budget

Above all - have a great festival, enjoy every minute!

[shelllaiken]

try not to take jeans they dont dry to well.

take a full change of clothes towel and wash stuff leave them in the car and get a shower on the way home

combats with lots of pockets

pack light

take wipes, loo wipes, alcohol gel

money belt

have fun

[cornelio]

Bring one change of clothes (if you want) Make sure you have something to wear in the night to keep you a bit warm. Pack of wet wipes in your back pocket. Money. Trying to think of other things. That's it really. Well tent as well could be good. Yeah think that would be you. Nothing better than getting on site without your whole life and possessions with you.

Do not bring a lot of stuff. It's not going on a survival mission in the jungle.