Recommendations for an American...

[gearbm95]

Glasto will be my first international festival, having previously attended only fests in North America (Bonnaroo 7x, Coachella, Lollapalooza). For people that have attended both I have a couple questions I'm hoping you all can help me with...

- What is average price for food/beer?

- Is liquor available inside the fest? A lot of US fests only sell beer/wine in the venue. Is it better to bring your own?

- Is Glasto LGBT-friendly?

- Realistically how long of a walk is it from the coach drop-off to the SW corner near Arcadia?

- Any specific places you would recommend for a first timer to camp? Looking for a spot that will be lively all day/night.

[kazbop]

Hi! 

Congratulations on getting your ticket, it's an incredible festival. 

Sure a few people will have answers for you but here's mine... 

 

Food ranges from £7-10 on average for a meal. A burger or similar around £5. 

Beer is about £5, there are some variations bar to bar, but as a general guide. 

All types of alcohol including spirits are available, but if you have a favourite it's definitely cheaper to bring your own. Just make sure you decant it into a plastic bottle or it will be confiscated by security. No glass on the farm! 

Glasto is definitely LGBT friendly, the NYC Downlow venue in the Block 9 area is modelled on a New York gay nightclub. No moustache no entry! You shouldn't have any trouble (although it's basically a huge city for the weekend so there will always be some arse holes). I have never seen or heard any homophobia. 

Walking times depend on the weather and ground conditions. If it's dry I'd manage that walk in about 40 minutes during the festival with lots of people about. In the wet/mud it could easily take me an hour. It's a big place. 

 

I've never camped there cos I like it to be quiet ish when I get home but Pennards Hill is meant to be the place for partying. Busy, as near as you can get to the action camp wise. But you'll need to be through the gates quickly, that field fills fast on Wednesday! 

http://www.glastoearth.com/the-faq

Check out this site, all you could possibly need to know is there! 

Have a great festival. 

[balti-pie]

Mate, it’s going to be a very different experience to a North American festival: firstly, the booze. You’ll not be corralled into a strange little holding pen to drink, well away from the rest of the festival. You can drink anywhere, and there’s bars everywhere. You can buy beer, (hard) cider and wine freely, there’s also cocktail bars and all sorts of other goodies for sale. You can also bring your own booze in, and sit right in front of the main stages drinking your own cans if you see fit. It’s a very different experience to most festivals! 

There’s no separate camping section away from the ‘arena’, the whole thing is inside a humongous fence. 

LGBT friendly: very. It’s friendly for just about everyone. That famed British reserve gets dropped pretty quickly when you’re on a dairy farm with a beer in your hand . . . 

Have a great time, and by all means pop a review of your experiences here afterwards: it’s fascinating to see people’s experiences! 

[Beerqueen]

What Kazbop and Balti have said - but just wanted to say, your mind is going to be blown!  And read Tort's guide!

[herzzreh]

Quote

- What is average price for food/beer?

Number-wise, think prices here but in GBP.

Quote

- Is liquor available inside the fest? A lot of US fests only sell beer/wine in the venue. Is it better to bring your own?

Yes, stop by a store beforehand and buy liquor there. It's cheaper. Also, carry in more liquor than beer/cider. It's better weight-wise. If you need a lighter booster, there's always stuff sold on site.

Quote

- Is Glasto LGBT-friendly?

Yup.

Quote

- Realistically how long of a walk is it from the coach drop-off to the SW corner near Arcadia?

Not quite there but it took us an hour fully loaded and about 30 min with a nice stroll. This is on a sunny day though. With mud, it'll be longer. Either way, depending on how many there are of you, I'd just rent a car. For wife and I it's way more cost-effective than buying train/bus tickets. Especially considering all of the shopping (=booze) we have to do beforehand.

Quote

- Any specific places you would recommend for a first timer to camp? Looking for a spot that will be lively all day/night

Park, Pennards are the usual suspects.

 

Google "Tort's Glastonbury FAQ"

[Meatball]

19 hours ago, gearbm95 said:

Glasto will be my first international festival, having previously attended only fests in North America (Bonnaroo 7x, Coachella, Lollapalooza). For people that have attended both I have a couple questions I'm hoping you all can help me with...

- What is average price for food/beer?

- Is liquor available inside the fest? A lot of US fests only sell beer/wine in the venue. Is it better to bring your own?

- Is Glasto LGBT-friendly?

- Realistically how long of a walk is it from the coach drop-off to the SW corner near Arcadia?

- Any specific places you would recommend for a first timer to camp? Looking for a spot that will be lively all day/night.

When I didn’t get a ticket this year I started to frequent the threads started/designed for the unluck many.. where I seen a lot of negative talk about first timers getting tickets over the veterans....

reading posts like this... where we have someone traveling across the pond to revel in what we know is going to be a life changing experience, truly takes the edge off for me.. I’m still hoping to get onto that farm but if I gave “my ticket” to you then so be it.., I’m still happy for you and actually feel a bit of excitement for the wonders you are due to experience.., the amazingly naive (but perfectly acceptable questions) only make me happier for you.. “is Glasto LGBT friendly?” ... im so happy that you’re going to be blown away in the most amazing way possible.. even if it means you’re going up against me and all the other Glastonbury disciples every year from now on 

Enjoy... use this place to get all the info you need... and please come back to share your stories afterwards 

[Meatball]

Also... Check this link out for some really good info 

http://www.glastoearth.com/the-faq

[herzzreh]

Oh, to give you some perspective... trek from Gate D to our usual spot in Pennards (area by the vendors at the bottom, across the hedge from Arcadia) is roughly like a trek from far end of Pod 10 to What stage and maybe some back.

[Skoo]

I wouldn’t worry too much about being in Pennards though. It’s overhyped in my opinion. If you want to be in the thick of it just avoid the campsites at the very north edges of the site. Oxlyers is very central if that’s what you’re after but wherever you’re camped you probably won’t spend a huge amount of time at your tent. 

You’re going to have such a great time, other festivals are so restrictive compared to Glasto, you will be amazed at what you can get away with here. As long as you’re not pissing on the land and chucking litter everywhere you’re pretty much ok. 

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

On 10/17/2018 at 8:35 PM, gearbm95 said:

Glasto will be my first international festival, having previously attended only fests in North America (Bonnaroo 7x, Coachella, Lollapalooza). For people that have attended both I have a couple questions I'm hoping you all can help me with...

- What is average price for food/beer?

- Is liquor available inside the fest? A lot of US fests only sell beer/wine in the venue. Is it better to bring your own?

- Is Glasto LGBT-friendly?

- Realistically how long of a walk is it from the coach drop-off to the SW corner near Arcadia?

- Any specific places you would recommend for a first timer to camp? Looking for a spot that will be lively all day/night.

Use the free lock ups to store your passports, excess money, valuables etc. Not doing so is a bizarre thing to do. Imagine the grief if your passports and money got stolen. No need to take the gamble. Enjoy the festival.

[Meatball]

15 hours ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

Use the free lock ups to store your passports, excess money, valuables etc. Not doing so is a bizarre thing to do. Imagine the grief if your passports and money got stolen. No need to take the gamble. Enjoy the festival.

The lockups are your friend .... make sure to use them and donate what you can spare 

[JacquelineS]

In 2017 I came from Canada to attend the Festival. I am female, 65 years old and came on my own. I did a lot of research mostly from the kind people on this board and had no issues whatsoever. Arriving by a fairly early bus on thee Wednesday worked out well as it was a hot day and many attendees that came later had a long wait. I was lost quite a bit at first but brought a camera and spent my time taking photos and checking things out. (The Gutenberg press is impressive!) Be prepared to walk a lot! Be prepared to find yourself in a crowd crush at least once. Be prepared to make random friends in the crowd. (Thank you Flaming Lips fans for being so awesome!) And just read the forum here. You will find all kinds of advice on things you may not even thought of. 

[Penrhos]

Glasto is more like "Burning man" than "Coachella".

Seriously, if you are flying in from the USA - pickup some of your favorite liquor from tax free shopping at the airport, same goes for cigarettes as the duty/tax in the UK on them is a lot higher than in the USA, 20 cigarettes are about $25 (and are called Fags).

Whatever you do "USE THE FREE LOCKUPS" - stick everything you do not need in the free lockups, being robbed is a real bummer and although 95%.of the people at Glasto are honest if you have 200,000 people in an area there are bound to be some crooks in the mix.

All forms of weed are illegal in the UK so if you are flying in from a state with MMJ or recreational use laws don't bring any with you.

If you have time to go to a supermarket (Asda = Wallmart) then you can take as many tins of beer/cider/larger in as you can carry, same for liquor/spirits. The only hard rule is NO GLASS allowed on site - so if what you buy is in glass bottles, buy some cheap soft drinks in plastic bottles, tip them away and decant the liquor into the plastic bottles.

Pace yourself - Glasto isn't just the main stages, there's miles and miles of stuff to explore - I clocked up 75 miles in four days wandering round the site, entertainment goes on long after the main stages close, Arcadia is typically open until 3AM and South East Corner is open all night.

You shouldn't have any issues with homophobia - but you may get people taking the mickey if you have a really distinct american accent or you look like Donald Trump!

 

[Jduncan51]

I will be attending solo for the first time as a Woodstock 69 alumni when I was 18! Been planning this and scored a ticket 5 min into when they went on sale. Booked my coach to arrive Wed afternoon so now just looking at all the camping possibilities. Was thinking about Worth View but someone referred me to https://www.cosycamper.co.uk/?post_type=festival&p=23  which seems to be a great alternative and much less expensive. Any feedback or suggestions from Glasto veterans always appreciated! Cheers!

[Beerqueen]

You realise that Worthy View is pre - erected and this is just providing you with equipment that you will have to collect, lug across to where you want to camp and put up yourself so it's not really comparing like with like? But if you're flying in I can see why you want to avoid carrying camping gear. 

I can't see that it says where you have to collect from but it may be from one of the stands.  It would be worth checking what the hydrostatic head is for the tent to make sure it's properly waterproof. And reading reviews if you can - both of the company and the tent. 

If you do go for it I would recommend putting the luggage you've brought with you in the lock ups before collecting the camping stuff, pitching the tent and then go back to get your stuff out of the store. Saves lugging it all at the same time. 

[Jduncan51]

HH rating says 3000 which from my research is good. They have a stand. Not the best photo but I spoke with them on the phone. They’re at Silver Hayes so not to bad a hike from the coach stop and I’m thinking of camping in Darnley or Pylon so not to far back. Seems to be a lockup in Darrel according to the map. Thanks for the info! 

[Beerqueen]

1 hour ago, Jduncan51 said:

HH rating says 3000 which from my research is good. They have a stand. Not the best photo but I spoke with them on the phone. They’re at Silver Hayes so not to bad a hike from the coach stop and I’m thinking of camping in Darnley or Pylon so not to far back. Seems to be a lockup in Darrel according to the map. Thanks for the info! 

There's a lock up immediately inside Gate A where the coach will drop you off.  So you can leave your stuff there, go and collect your camping stuff and as you say, a shortish walk back.  You can check out available spots on the way to Silver Hayes!  Sounds good really.