The Beginner's Guide To Glastonbury Festival?

[gigpusher]

8 hours ago, blutarsky said:

Don’t overplan! Expect to do 1/3 of your initial clash finder. 

See I love the over planning but I do know I won't get to do most of it. I have plans for hot weather, rainy weather, if I'm tired etc and a lot of those plans go by the wayside but planning before hand gets me excited and keeps me happy. So if they like planning I'd say absolutely do it but be realistic with yourself what you think you can do and what you actually can do are usually 2 very different things. 

[BambooShanks]

20 minutes ago, Quark said:

V. good advice that.  I've realised a couple of times, usually after the fact, that I've come away feeling a little deflated because it hadn't met the absolutely unreasonable expectations I'd set myself.

 

16 minutes ago, stuie said:

Still now, after every Glasto, I get the feeling I’ve made wrong choices, could have done this or that instead… even though it was brilliant and I done loads. 

Every year I'll have made a massive glasto clanger at some point in the weekend - whether its making the wrong choice with a headliner (Most notably when I chose Ed Sheeran over Justice however it did result in an awkward convo with Ed Sheeran in the toilets by the hell stage after I spent my time in the queue saying I had massive regrets in my decision) or wasting hours of valuable party time accidentally getting the group lost.  

It took me a good few years to accept that a) these things will happen no matter how much you'll try and prevent them and b) It is literally impossible to do and see everything that you want to.  You could do the same festival multiple times and you'll never be able to have the 'perfect' festival, so there's no point in getting annoyed or frustrated over it.

 

As for advice for the first timer - Once they get comfortable and familiar with the layout, send them off and let the festival consume them

[fred quimby]

Now I am generally nice, however, there is a part if me that likes a bit of mischief.

You could make up things beforehand that don't really exist.

"You have to watch out for the ghost on the railway line,  of a victorian boy that got hit by a train"

"The petting zoo is very odd if you get chance"

"Michael Eavis loves a little gig when he meets you so make sure you start one"

[fred quimby]

3 minutes ago, Kinkyinuit said:

- whether its making the wrong choice with a headliner (Most notably when I chose Ed Sheeran over Justice however it did result in an awkward convo with Ed Sheeran in the toilets by the hell stage after I spent my time in the queue saying I had made the wrong decision 

See there is a Glastonbury moment right there that will be re-told for years.

What did he say?

[SecretFish]

My tip. Walk everywhere. See everything.  I wasn't interested in a lot of the music but enjoyed just soaking it all in.

 

(a cider helps)

[Gnomicide]

9 hours ago, gfa said:

I've read all the guides and stuff over the internet and kind of regret it now (my first time this year too) + being on here etc. Would just let them explore a bit and give them a good tour so they want to return then make their own way next year

I don't think this is a bad thing at all to be honest. I did the same in my first year and ended up taking one person who had been loads of times to things they had never seen before.

By comparison, people who have done no research can end up missing a shed load of stuff, it doesn't mean they won't have a wonderful time but also don't want to leave with regrets. As an example, if you read Turn Left At the Womble (written by the sadly departed Rick Leach) our protagonist basically wanders between the Pyramid and Other Stage drinking coffee all day from when he got there late on Thursday. It's infuriating but was enough for him to fall in love with the place and go on to attend every year after that (including working one year) and write another 4 books. 

As said elsewhere, there's no right or wrong way to do Glastonbury, in 2011 I camped next to a gang of young lads and each morning we discussed what we'd done the day before. Other than that daily conversation they had a 100% different festival to me, often looking at me like I was talking a foreign language when I told them which acts I'd seen.

[blutarsky]

19 minutes ago, Kinkyinuit said:

whether its making the wrong choice with a headliner (Most notably when I chose Ed Sheeran over Justice however it did result in an awkward convo with Ed Sheeran in the toilets by the hell stage after I spent my time in the queue saying I had massive regrets in my decision) 

14 minutes ago, fred quimby said:

See there is a Glastonbury moment right there that will be re-told for years.

What did he say?

Would love to hear more about the conversation and how it happened. 

[Quark]

44 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

Is this a story that needs penning next ? 🙂 

Becoming Shitfaced

[The Nal]

Dont do the "Don't look back" up to the Glastonbury sign thing. Every year you see people doing it and the poor fuckers have to play along. 

Nothing worse than overly organised "fun".

Point them in the right direction of a few bars. Go up to the Stone Circle. Dont try to do everything on the first day. Let them breathe a bit.

[Quark]

8 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

often looking at me like I was talking a foreign language when I told them which acts I'd seen.

We still do that

[Avalon_Fields]

A walk around the site before it is too busy would be a good orientation; there's a balance to be had between planning and just letting things happen so maybe advise a small number of 'unmissables' for them (6?) so they don't leave with big regrets, beyond that when you stumble upon some wonderful act or place then don't rush off just because you've a plan to be somewhere else; take some time out to watch the festival go by (up by the sign or Strummerville or wherever); explore some of the smaller stages not just the Pyramid; don't try and cover everywhere because it's just impossible to do properly so be selective; which leaves you wanting more, and that's the magic because you always want to return.... 

[fred quimby]

8 minutes ago, The Nal said:

Dont do the "Don't look back" up to the Glastonbury sign thing. Every year you see people doing it and the poor fuckers have to play along. 

 

It is kinda fun to keep looking back. Still awestruck when you get to the top sit down and take it all in

[Tommy101]

I'd say try and make them aware that there is always more than one unmissable thing going on at any point over the weekend, there will always be bands on the highlights that looked like you should've been there, or stories about venues that you weren't in the right place in the right time for; so try and be present. If you're having a good time enjoy it without thinking what might be happening elsewhere. As soon as you feel like moving on, start walking. 

[Florian Saucer Attack]

Avoid booze, pills and powders until all of your group's tents have been erected

After that it's party time

[Hotchilidog]

The best parts of Glastonbury happen when you least expect it. I agree with those who have said let the newbies take the lead so they can build up their own experience rather than emulating someone else's. The one thing the newbies should do is use, the Wednesday and Thursday to explore the whole site before the line-up starts to occupy their mind. I am so envious of those going for the first time, it's just brilliant having all your pre-conceptions from the televised festival completely blown away as you discover a new world.

[BambooShanks]

30 minutes ago, fred quimby said:

See there is a Glastonbury moment right there that will be re-told for years.

What did he say?

It was about 4am, I was in the queue for the urinal at the Hell stage and chatting to the pilled up lads in the queue about what headliners we saw.  The lads were saying how good Justice was and I was full of regret as I'd stayed with my friends to watch Ed Sheeran - though a good night was had, you're always going to think about what you missed out on.

I took my place and mid stream at the urinal a guy looked over and asked "Had a good night?" 

It was only bloody Ed Sheeran.

I assured him it was fun, had a good ol' singalong with my friends and asked him how his night went.  He shrugged his shoulders, said it was alright and then left, leaving me rather confused.

Probably my favourite glasto urinal memory outside of my mate Dave completely stacking it by the urinals

 

 

Edited March 15, 2022 by Kinkyinuit
extra details

[Gnomicide]

18 minutes ago, Quark said:

We still do that

I said "young" lads.

[Quark]

8 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

I said "young" lads.

Arf

[BluePaul]

Make sure they go off and explore by themselves - not everything has to be done as a part of one big group.  If you don't want to be somewhere - go somewhere else and meet up later.

[Somto Unigwe Raphael]

13 hours ago, Quark said:

Tiny Tea Tent. Never ceases to amaze me that such a little oasis of calm exists there. It's the perfect place to stop, get a proper builders tea in a proper mug, and just sit and  gather thoughts for 10 minutes instead of rushing straight to the next thing.

Not the same tent you’re talking about but there’s one just down from the Park entrance (might be called Mr Tea’s or something) that is similar but on a smaller scale. Some of my favourite times at Glastonbury have been sat in there on a morning having a coffee and a toastie and picking each other’s brains about what went on last night before heading off to start watching the acts again.

[squirrelarmy]

49 minutes ago, SecretFish said:

My tip. Walk everywhere

So not a fan of the monorail?

[Quark]

1 minute ago, Somto Unigwe Raphael said:

Not the same tent you’re talking about but there’s one just down from the Park entrance (might be called Mr Tea’s or something) that is similar but on a smaller scale. Some of my favourite times at Glastonbury have been sat in there on a morning having a coffee and a toastie and picking each other’s brains about what went on last night before heading off to start watching the acts again.

Ooh I shall check that out. Although I would feel like I'm cheating on TTT...

With how manic the fest can be I think a lot of time people either don't expect something like that to be there, or don't give themselves permission to just sit down and take the weight off for bit because they feel like it's somehow wasting time or not the right thing to do. 

Cup of tea and piece of cake is 10 minutes of heaven for me.

[Sku]

59 minutes ago, gigpusher said:

See I love the over planning but I do know I won't get to do most of it. I have plans for hot weather, rainy weather, if I'm tired etc and a lot of those plans go by the wayside but planning before hand gets me excited and keeps me happy. So if they like planning I'd say absolutely do it but be realistic with yourself what you think you can do and what you actually can do are usually 2 very different things. 

I normally tend to do something like this. I massively over plan, in the knowledge I won't actually  do most of the plan. The idea of the plan is so that I can always refer to it when reaching a "so, what now?" moment. Otherwise just following the flow.

This thread is quite an interesting read. I am taking my Mum to Glastonbury this year, who has never been to any festival, let alone Glastonbury. It's her 60th that week. My mum is actually in extremely good shape (probably better than me) and won't mind all the walking, and also loves a drink. I can't believe she has never been to a festival before as it's right up her street.

I can't wait to experience the festival through her lens, and definitely want to let her lead the way on what we are doing. Not really sure how it's going to go, but I'm really looking forward to it. It'll be a truly different experience to all the times I have gone to festivals in large groups of mates, but in a good way I think.

[Somto Unigwe Raphael]

3 minutes ago, Quark said:

Ooh I shall check that out. Although I would feel like I'm cheating on TTT...

With how manic the fest can be I think a lot of time people either don't expect something like that to be there, or don't give themselves permission to just sit down and take the weight off for bit because they feel like it's somehow wasting time or not the right thing to do. 

Cup of tea and piece of cake is 10 minutes of heaven for me.

I’ve definitely started doing this more as time has gone on. When I first went to Glasto I treated it like Leeds Fest where there was nothing to do but watch the music so filled my day with it even if I wasn’t bothered about the act.

Nowadays I’d be perfectly happy to have a day where there’s only 3 or 4 acts I’m bothered about and can spend the rest of the time lazing around the festival in those little pockets of calm.

[fred quimby]

7 minutes ago, Sku said:

 

I can't wait to experience the festival through her lens, and definitely want to let her lead the way on what we are doing. 

Neck these kid and let's go

What Mum

Shut up and double drop.