First Glastonbury in 10 years - what's new?!

[incident]

Just now, Crazyfool01 said:

Can’t quite remember when the onsite portaloos dissapeared might have been a fair bit earlier

 

In terms of public areas inside the fence, about 17-20 years ago.

 

Though obviously they still exist outside the fence, and in some non-public areas where low volume provision is needed.

[Crazyfool01]

Just now, incident said:

 

In terms of public areas inside the fence, about 17-20 years ago.

 

Though obviously they still exist outside the fence, and in some non-public areas where low volume provision is needed.

Wow is it really that long … however my point does stand about the toilets generally wateraid do a really decent job along with the introduction of the composters 

[Long Drop]

28 minutes ago, Memory Man said:

You cant go to a festival without a power bank! Invest in a decent one

 

if you have any must see acts just get there plenty of time before and you will get a good spot.

 

people complain about being locked out of certain acts or being right at the back but arrived 5/10 mins before they came on 🤷🏻‍♂️

Totally agree, allow plenty of time to get to a stage, you really can't zip around anymore.

Nearly everyone is on site by the end of Wednesday and by Thursday people are desperate for music, therefore everything is rammed, including the park hill. Try not to make plans for Thursday, just hit up some bars and go for a bimble and you'll find something fun.

[Avalon_Fields]

The Acoustic stage is exactly the same. With exactly the same acts! 😆

[CantWaitForGlasto22]

We had a 10 year gap too from 2009 to 2019. Loads of fun having a weekend away from the kids now (but yes need to be reachable!!). Definitely get a power bank for your tent and a smaller portable charger to carry around. Queuing for the Vodafone charging tent always seems pointless to me. We didn’t find a huge amount had changed - it’s busier so takes longer to hop between stages, but facilities better - more bars, food outlets and toilets etc. I don’t think I used cash at all as everywhere took cards. Still so much fun - you’ll have a blast. 

[al_coholic]

Vodafone has taken over from EE, an INIU 20000mah power bank is relatively cheap and should see you through the weekend unless you hammer your phone. 

 

Pyramid and Other stage both have barriers at the front.

 

Avalon Inn has changed layout and is not as good as 10 years ago. The upper deck seating area is always rammed. 

 

IICON and The Temple are amazing stages if you consider they are in a field in the middle of Somerset. Same goes for the pier. 

 

A lot has changed, and a lot is basically the same.  

[stuartbert two hats]

1 hour ago, danssol said:

the Glade stage has moved a bit and is less gladey. Sadly there was a diseased tree that needed felling. William's green has gone and has been replaced by Carhenge. Carhenge has a lot of love.

But in the place where the stage called "The Glade" was, we have Glade Dome, which is way more gladey than the stage called Glade has been for years.

[stuartbert two hats]

57 minutes ago, LSTx said:

If you're into your dance, the new levels stage at silver hayes is certainly worth checking out. 😃

Agreed. In fact all of Silver Hayes is good now.  New management took over in the last couple of years and they really made a big improvement in 2023.

[stuartbert two hats]

33 minutes ago, incident said:

 

In terms of public areas inside the fence, about 17-20 years ago.

 

Though obviously they still exist outside the fence, and in some non-public areas where low volume provision is needed.

I remember it being announced in 2014 as the year they removed the portaloos in-site.  I wasn't there 2011-2013, but they were defs there in 2010.

[Physical_graffiti]

1 hour ago, prestonmanc said:

I was lucky enough to snag a ticket in the resale on Sunday, and am now in obsessive planning mode and all round over excitement for my first Glastonbury in 10 years (hooray!).

 

It will be my 11th Glastonbury all told, so I feel like I know the set up pretty well, but after a decade away (young kids, ticket sale failures), there's probably quite a bit that's changed that might be worth knowing.  So, what should I know?

 

I assume that everywhere on site takes contactless payment, so less need to arrive with loads of cash??

Much as I'd love to be off grid for 5 days, I'll need to be reachable for parents doing childcare - are there still the odd charge points on site?

Anything else worth knowing?

 

Cheers!

 

Everywhere does contactless but bring cash (or prepare to withdraw some for like a £3 charge) - the contactless system went down for half the bars/shops in 2022, and a single round of beer/food for a few people is a fair whack on the old wallet!

 

As others have said, get a decent power bank, mine probably has about 7 or 8 full phone charges in it, gets me through the weekend (and also useful for future travelling!)

 

And yeah it got noticeably busier from 2022 onwards - especially aim to get there early for any bands you wanna see on Pyramid or Other, instead of rocking up 5 mins before, if you care about not being right at the back.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Contactless went down a bit last year as well.

[dirtysteve]

2 hours ago, prestonmanc said:

Anything else worth knowing?

 

Cheers!

There's a lot more cokeheads these days than I remember from the past, or at least there's a lot more people blatantly shovelling gear up their hooters... 

[Lucy92]

Arcadia isn’t by the other stage anymore, it’s up by the park in its own field. A lot of the great food stalls have gone, Ghandis flip flop was a personal fave but I couldn’t find it last time I went. The camping has changed a bit and some of the public camping is how hospitality and staff 

Edited April 23 by Lucy92

[fred quimby]

1 hour ago, Gnomicide said:

Glastonbury-on-Sea is a great way to while away an hour, I honestly don't know why people have such a downer on it. It's something very different from a lot of tge festival an well worth a visit. There's also a lovely little stage just over the track from it,  a good place to spend some of Thursday, away from the madness.

Yea, not sure why it gets a negative press. I know people may just want tents with bands, but I like it. Very unique to have a Pier in a field and no other festival as something like this. The little band area is great, love the feel of a pier with sticks of rock and nowt like being a little blasted and playing pinball.

[Dave_c]

The monorail is now fully operational

[Lucy92]

15 minutes ago, Dave_c said:

The monorail is now fully operational

Get some fabulous views of the site from it 

[prestonmanc]

49 minutes ago, Dave_c said:

The monorail is now fully operational

About 23 years in the making?! 😂

[gooner1990]

2 hours ago, incident said:

 

In terms of public areas inside the fence, about 17-20 years ago.

 

Though obviously they still exist outside the fence, and in some non-public areas where low volume provision is needed.

I camped in South Park 1 in 2011 and they had portaloos in that campsite that year. 

[MEGATRONICMEATWAGON]

The biggest difference I noticed since my last time in 2017 to 2023 was how busy it was. I remember being able to find a quiet moment walking back from SEC to my tent at 3am, but in 2023 there were just people everywhere all the time. Even in the "quiet" fields like Green Futures, Healing Field etc.

 

Other than that, it's pretty much the same, aside from some of the venues had made way for new ones. 

 

Oh, there's a Co-op now which is very handy if you can avoid the queues.

[MEGATRONICMEATWAGON]

Oh and the visuals behind the bands on the main stages have improved A LOT, lol.

[al_coholic]

8 minutes ago, MEGATRONICMEATWAGON said:

Oh and the visuals behind the bands on the main stages have improved A LOT, lol.

Agreed but sadly it is not up to the standard of even Reading/Leeds, let alone something truly brilliant like Afterlife. 

[Alex DeLarge]

Glastonbury on sea is lovely if you need a breather. Some cool merch there as well. 

 

Nice to have an area where you can't just hear constant dnb.

[shuttlep]

Bigger

better 

busier

 

[MEGATRONICMEATWAGON]

5 minutes ago, al_coholic said:

Agreed but sadly it is not up to the standard of even Reading/Leeds, let alone something truly brilliant like Afterlife. 

 

Blimey, the visuals at Afterlife do look awesome. 

[gooner1990]

43 minutes ago, MEGATRONICMEATWAGON said:

The biggest difference I noticed since my last time in 2017 to 2023 was how busy it was. I remember being able to find a quiet moment walking back from SEC to my tent at 3am, but in 2023 there were just people everywhere all the time. Even in the "quiet" fields like Green Futures, Healing Field etc.

 

Other than that, it's pretty much the same, aside from some of the venues had made way for new ones. 

 

Oh, there's a Co-op now which is very handy if you can avoid the queues.

 

Two of our group who came last year hadn't been since 2015....they said similar, we were slowly wandering back to our camp in Paines at around 3-3.30am on the Saturday night and it felt like it was 10pm with the amount of people moving around.