Glasto with a 1yr old

[Carpyrob]

I’ve done a search but maybe I was not using the right key words so information was lacking. 
 

how many here have done the festival with young baby’s. 
 

we missed last year as we were unsuccessful for tickets. But have done every one since 2016 so we know what to expect festival wise. 
 

I’d be interested to know:

•what you won’t leave home without  

•valuable lessons learnt over the years 

•what tent you have 

•sleeping arrangements 

•recommendations on trolleys

 

we are very fortunate that we have been offered to work the festival this year which means we have some additional comforts. 
We will have power, cooking facilities, private pitch behind the stall etc etc. we also get a temporary car pass so we can drive everything, literally, to where we are camped so taking too much stuff is not an issue. 

Are there any other traders on here with families they bring? 

does anyone have any pictures of their set up from previous years? 

We are looking at a 4m bell tent with porch which we think will be ample. 
 

 

[Bods670]

We took my little one when he was ickle too. Wasn’t a trader but only live in Glastonbury so it was fine for the travel, and we could go in two trips/ had the option to go home if we had to….. we didn’t go back once! A real god send is the area in the Kidzfield for nappy change/ feeding in a bit of peace and quiet with nice ladies to chat with. And staying in the Family Camping was decent too. There’s a late night cafe (Divers) if you are up late at night with little one and need a wander, and there are plenty of parents in the same boat around you. We brought a kids wagon cart thing, but only used it to carry our stuff on site in the end. Couldn’t be arsed with dragging it around everywhere. Instead, my partner and I take shifts in going out with friends/ partying and my boy tends to stay around Kidzfield/ T and C/ Pyramid. Much more space, more enjoyable for him, we’re less annoying for general public. We just stayed in a 4 Berth tent. Nothing special. 
I hope this helps! 

[Bods670]

We’d also been going since around ‘99. Having a little one certainly makes you feel like you’re doing less, but more faff. However, you do get to see the festival in a completely different way. Walking around slowly, stopping a lot… but seeing his amazement in circus acts, walkabouts, colours, music. It’s actually rather lovely to be so present. You’ll have a blast! ☺️

[watsonjm]

This is a useful thread

 

 

 

[Carpyrob]

Amazing thanks illl have a read! 

1 hour ago, watsonjm said:

This is a useful thread

 

 

 

 

[watsonjm]

2 hours ago, Carpyrob said:

Amazing thanks illl have a read! 

 

Also this site. https://www.festivalkidz.com/

[clarkete]

Read scores of posts about taking kids...can't recall ever seeing one planning to work as well.  Seems like quite an undertaking, assuming the work isn't just a token couple of hours. 

 

[Skip997]

4 minutes ago, clarkete said:

Read scores of posts about taking kids...can't recall ever seeing one planning to work as well.  Seems like quite an undertaking, assuming the work isn't just a token couple of hours. 

 

There are loads of crew with kids, many of them work relatively long hours, including during the event in some cases.

[Crazyfool01]

@Sawdusty surfer might have some pearls of wisdom 

[clarkete]

21 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

There are loads of crew with kids, many of them work relatively long hours, including during the event in some cases.

Really?  As young as this? 

Or are some of those folks who work on the build before and can then do kidz field etc during? 

I had this vision of a couple alternating ten hour shifts, but in their off time instead of resting it doing nice stuff having to parent until their partner returns. 

[Skip997]

3 minutes ago, clarkete said:

Really?  As young as this? 

Or are some of those folks who work on the build before and can then do kidz field etc during? 

I had this vision of a couple alternating ten hour shifts, but in their off time instead of resting it doing nice stuff having to parent until their partner returns. 

Yes.

I know teenagers who have been to Glastonbury every year of their lives (excluding covid years) whose parents are crew as does @Sawdusty surfer

[incident]

22 minutes ago, clarkete said:

Really?  As young as this? 

Or are some of those folks who work on the build before and can then do kidz field etc during? 

I had this vision of a couple alternating ten hour shifts, but in their off time instead of resting it doing nice stuff having to parent until their partner returns. 

People certainly do it with Oxfam. It doesn't make sense to me, but I've seen it.

Basically they structure it as you've assumed - they require 2 responsible adults to be on offset shifts. So for example one of them on Shift pattern A and the other on C. Which means not only does their time off not match, but also their sleep patterns etc are totally different.

However I'd imagine that in this specific case working with a stall, it probably won't be quite as severe as the Oxfam approach and depending on the nature and location of the stall it could even be possible that the kids can be around during the work.

[Miathedog]

We used a 4m bell tent when ours was little too, it was the perfect tent for a kid to crawl around with enough space for everyone else. But we never got on with trolleys, we found our three-wheeler all-terrain buggy to be a lifesaver. Lightweight, easy to push, great for carrying stuff on as well - still miss it now and it hasn’t been needed for years.  All a while ago now so can’t really remember other tips, but it’s a lovely thing to share with a baby, hope you all enjoy it 

[Sawdusty surfer]

On 10/1/2023 at 10:28 AM, Carpyrob said:

I’ve done a search but maybe I was not using the right key words so information was lacking. 
 

how many here have done the festival with young baby’s. 
I have

we missed last year as we were unsuccessful for tickets. But have done every one since 2016 so we know what to expect festival wise. 
 

I’d be interested to know:

•what you won’t leave home without  

Bit of a cheat, but we took our entire home. 

•valuable lessons learnt over the years 

It'll be fine and your children will thank you for it. Ours used to say that they'd rathe that Christmas was cancelled than Glastonbury. 

•what tent you have 

n/a

•sleeping arrangements 

The usual. 

•recommendations on trolleys

See pic below from '97

 

we are very fortunate that we have been offered to work the festival this year which means we have some additional comforts. 
We will have power, cooking facilities, private pitch behind the stall etc etc. we also get a temporary car pass so we can drive everything, literally, to where we are camped so taking too much stuff is not an issue. 

Are there any other traders on here with families they bring? 

There will be loads. 

does anyone have any pictures of their set up from previous years? 

We are looking at a 4m bell tent with porch which we think will be ample. 
 

 

^Expand to to see answers 

Edited October 3, 2023 by Sawdusty surfer

[Carpyrob]

On 10/2/2023 at 5:27 PM, clarkete said:

Read scores of posts about taking kids...can't recall ever seeing one planning to work as well.  Seems like quite an undertaking, assuming the work isn't just a token couple of hours. 

 

It’s a stall owned by two of our friends. 
They say we have to work 6hrs per day. 
 

I think there will be 3 of us running the stall at any one time incase our little one does throw a tantrum and one of us is out back having to comfort. I mean the finer details I’m sure will be arranged there. But being our friends. They know the score, and are very understanding. 
 

my logic behind the working being a good thing, is I can’t see us managing a whole day at Glasto with little one anyway so having a good ‘base’ to go back to will be a godsend and that time will be spent running the stall. I’d honestly just be happy being able to nip out for a few hours a day with him. Or take him to a particular band he may recognise.  
 

power, cooking facilities and being able to take as much equipment in as we need also swayed our response to a yes.

 

we are doing a warm up festival with our boy before glasto. Just to see how he gets on and maybe learn from some mistakes. 

[Carpyrob]

On 10/2/2023 at 8:43 PM, Miathedog said:

We used a 4m bell tent when ours was little too, it was the perfect tent for a kid to crawl around with enough space for everyone else. But we never got on with trolleys, we found our three-wheeler all-terrain buggy to be a lifesaver. Lightweight, easy to push, great for carrying stuff on as well - still miss it now and it hasn’t been needed for years.  All a while ago now so can’t really remember other tips, but it’s a lovely thing to share with a baby, hope you all enjoy it 

You’re the second person who didn’t recommend the trolly. It does seem an unnecessary burden, especially for us. It’s not like we are out for the whole day and he’ll be having naps in it etc.

 

we were recommended a pram ‘out ‘n’ about’ which we are going to try and find second hand.  
 

good to know tent is ample. Did you take rugs or carpet for the floor, or did you find the floor it comes with suitable? 

[Lostnotfound]

4 hours ago, Carpyrob said:

 

 

we were recommended a pram ‘out ‘n’ about’ which we are going to try and find second hand.  

 

We did 2022 with a < 1 year old and a 4 year old. When we booked the tickets we only had one.... Because of the two kids we borrowed a double out and about where we have a single one for everyday life. Definitely the best option imo as they are also a nice deep size for getting them tucked up in as well.

The only conundrum we had with our borrowed one is we were offered a choice of wheels, solid or pneumatic. Which you go for is a whole extra debate amongst sprog taking festival goers! Solid wheels would be really hard work if it was wet but buggering around with punctures in the middle of the festival could be less than ideal.

Can't comment on the working aspect, but we had a blast and made great memories. We'll keep trying for tickets each year and leave it to the fate of the seeticket gods as to if we go or not. There's a good glasto families facebook group that has loads and loads of info on it which would be worth a join. 

I second the NCT tent at the top of the kidz field. Absolutely amazing and run by great ladies and gents who really spoil you and the kids. Even if we get tickets next year ours will obviously be too old and I'll miss it!

 

[Lostnotfound]

On 10/3/2023 at 6:17 AM, Sawdusty surfer said:

^Expand to to see answers 

That's a great photo, what I love is some things don't change. 

As a parent awaiting the years ice cream prices is almost as nailbiting when it comes to your budget as the bar prices!

[Miathedog]

11 hours ago, Carpyrob said:

You’re the second person who didn’t recommend the trolly. It does seem an unnecessary burden, especially for us. It’s not like we are out for the whole day and he’ll be having naps in it etc.

 

we were recommended a pram ‘out ‘n’ about’ which we are going to try and find second hand.  
 

good to know tent is ample. Did you take rugs or carpet for the floor, or did you find the floor it comes with suitable? 

We took some rugs / blankets yes. I always like some insulation under our airbed anyway and it’s nicer for little ones to crawl. We were lucky with the weather so spent lots of time chilling in the grass outside the tent that year, I remember, but was fab to know we had the tent as an option in case of rain. But as others have said the little kids’ area top of kids’ field is great for chilling and letting them play. Also there are sand pits all over the site, we enjoyed stopping at as many as we could one year when he was small. We also had a baby backpack carrier with us that first year which came in handy. Nice memories 😊

[clarkete]

On 10/4/2023 at 9:35 AM, Carpyrob said:

It’s a stall owned by two of our friends. 
They say we have to work 6hrs per day. 
 

I think there will be 3 of us running the stall at any one time incase our little one does throw a tantrum and one of us is out back having to comfort. I mean the finer details I’m sure will be arranged there. But being our friends. They know the score, and are very understanding. 
 

my logic behind the working being a good thing, is I can’t see us managing a whole day at Glasto with little one anyway so having a good ‘base’ to go back to will be a godsend and that time will be spent running the stall. I’d honestly just be happy being able to nip out for a few hours a day with him. Or take him to a particular band he may recognise.  
 

power, cooking facilities and being able to take as much equipment in as we need also swayed our response to a yes.

 

we are doing a warm up festival with our boy before glasto. Just to see how he gets on and maybe learn from some mistakes. 

Thanks for coming back to reply, it's interesting to know the score and that does sound like a great arrangement 🙂