Glastonbury's 5 muddiest festivals, according to The Independent

[Ayrshire Chris]

4 minutes ago, Andy0808 v5 said:

There must be someone, somewhere..who has only attended Glastonbury during these years; and they’re currently toying with the idea of returning hoping to see the sun.

[devonhammer]

For me 97 and 98 were worse. Mostly because they didn't have any solid pathways or woodchip. It was all just mud. Also, my first two years, so I didn't know my way around. The situation wasn't helped when a sewage lorry tried to suck the mud out of the dance tent, but put it on blow rather than suck and shut the tent for the weekend.

 

2007, 2011, 2016 were all manageable because I just avoided the muddiest bits. Remember watching ELO in 2016 in the pouring rain and Jeff Lynne singing Mr Blue Sky without any sense of irony.

[Johnnyseven]

28 minutes ago, Chip Batch said:

2007 was the worst I've been to. The Sunday was terrible and overnight into Monday topped it off.

 

2005 my tent got flooded and wrecked but still not as bad as 2007.

 

2004 pretty muddy too.

 

2016 was muddy but not too bad apart from the Sunday and I'd probably had enough by then. I seem to remember 2011 being a bit crap too?

 

I don't even remember 2011 being muddy so it can't have been that bad.

[mickthevoice]

97 was my first year and it was muddy, but I was much younger back then and still had a great time.

98 was far worse though IMO. We went from it being boiling hot on Wednesday afternoon to a total mud bath on Friday. We went home on Saturday as our stuff was ruined.

 

I didn’t go in 05 or 07, but 2016 was fine in comparison to 97 & 98.

 

Hoping for none of these conditions this year!

[Twiggy553]

2016 is the only muddy one i’ve done. Came by coach and it took hours getting on site but I don’t remember the festival being particularly ruined by it.

 

We spent a lot of the daytime in theatre and circus tents (because you could sit down) and saw a completely different side of the festival tha year.

 

oh and we were camped in Worthy View for the first time which gave a bit of a break from the mud at the end of the day…

[Punksnotdead]

1 hour ago, Johnnyseven said:

What do you reckon? IMO 1998 was much worse than 2016.

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-6entertainment/music/news/glastonbury-weather-forecast-mud-rain-b2560396.html

98 was definitely worse than 2016. Biblical rain for 2 days. I remember you couldn't get in to one of the bars because it was waist-deep with standing water. 2016 was probably more of a slog though because the mud was so sticky.

[Soggy_feet]

Agree with the comments re '97 & '98. Looking back on old photos, there was so much mud everywhere but it didn't seem to bother us too much, I guess youthful enthusiasm amongst other things. 

 

I think it would finish me off now 

[glimmers_of_hope]

3 minutes ago, Johnnyseven said:

 

I don't even remember 2011 being muddy so it can't have been that bad.

I don't think 2011 was really muddy but there were definitely downpours on the friday.  I remember U2 being really wet and before that waiting for the Radiohead King of Limbs set in the Park and it being thoroughly miserable.

Think the rest was mixed showers and sun though and the ground was okay.

[kemosabe]

If everyone on this thread is correct and other years were worse, I'm not sure why Mr Eavis' reckoned 2016 was the most mud. Surely he'd know! 

[paulshane]

1998:

 

 

 

[Trunks1993]

1 minute ago, kemosabe said:

If everyone on this thread is correct and other years were worse, I'm not sure why Mr Eavis' reckoned 2016 was the most mud. Surely he'd know! 

 

Recency bias

[mickthevoice]

1 minute ago, paulshane said:

1998:

 

 

 

 

Brings back some memories that! My memory isn’t amazing but I’m pretty sure Thursday morning it was bone dry. 

[Soggy_feet]

 

 

 

From 97 or 98

[al_coholic]

Which was the year that one of the big tents (I think Dance) flooded? That year was (and the associated story) was grim

[LinvoyPrimus]

Not having the '2011 wasn't muddy' revisionist history.

 

It was plenty muddy. I remember queuing in the rain on Wednesday, walking through tonnes of mud just to get to where I was camped, and the hill in South Park being a total mess that whole weekend. 

 

Maybe people don't remember it being too bad because, by Sunday, the sun had come out and it was actively scorching. But it was shite for the first 3 days at least.

 

Anyway, it fits the recent Coldplay = mud pattern (2005... 2011... 2016...).

[mickthevoice]

A couple from 97...

 

 

[Punksnotdead]

10 minutes ago, mickthevoice said:

 

Brings back some memories that! My memory isn’t amazing but I’m pretty sure Thursday morning it was bone dry. 

You are quite right. I remember playing football on the Other Stage field with about 100 people - 24 hours later that field was like a lake!

[paulshane]

14 minutes ago, Soggy_feet said:

 

 

 

From 97 or 98

 

I'd say that was 98, this is from 97 and the speaker stacks are different:

 

[Johnnyseven]

11 minutes ago, al_coholic said:

Which was the year that one of the big tents (I think Dance) flooded? That year was (and the associated story) was grim

 

That was 1998.

[Johnnyseven]

24 minutes ago, paulshane said:

1998:

 

 

 

 

I remember it like this in the market areas in 1998, you had to walk on the metal trackways otherwise it was ankle high mud at best and knee high at worst. The trackways consequently were just constant queues, 1 each way either side. 

[Physical_graffiti]

27 minutes ago, kemosabe said:

If everyone on this thread is correct and other years were worse, I'm not sure why Mr Eavis' reckoned 2016 was the most mud. Surely he'd know! 

I think logistically 2016 was worse for them, the pre-fest downpours caused all sorts of problems, think there were periods where he was genuinely worried it might have to be cancelled. 

 

I suppose as a punter you can interpret either way depending on what type of muddiness you prefer - constant pissing rain and wet mud, or dry clay mud that makes walking hard?

[lazyred]

97 and 98 were bad but in 2007 we had a small child with us. It was awful, the only time I've thought of not going back.

[Walter Sobchak]

2011 was muddy until Sunday from what I remember.  Definitely couldn't sit down on Saturday after Fridays rain but it was ok by Sunday afternoon.

[balti-pie]

I think 2016 was much worse than 2005 - 2005 had the spectacular storm and the tents under three feet of water yeah, but it dried up enough so that sunday we could be lying on the mud again 😁 2016 was such a physical feat, it was almost obscene. Getting out was almost as difficult as getting in, and getting in was a right bastard. Now i work it, i think it could be a bit easier physically, as i'd have no choice but to prioritise resting after a shift, instead of charging around trying to do all of the things. 

 

That said, neither's weather and conditions, please 👍

[Toilet Duck]

51 minutes ago, Andy0808 v5 said:

There must be someone, somewhere..who has only attended Glastonbury during these years; and they’re currently toying with the idea of returning hoping to see the sun.

On of my mates came with us in '07, '11 and '16...until last year he'd never been to a dry one! He's not coming this year, but not sure if that is enough to counterbalance coldplay=mud...