Glastonbury's 5 muddiest festivals, according to The Independent

[Kashkin]

2016 was the worst mud I've experienced, but 2007 was the worst conditions all round - it was both muddy and raining solidly on your head. 2005 had its issues but (if you camped in a fortunate place) was not on the same level as these two. I wasn't there for 95/98 or earlier. Other medium-mudders were 2004, 2011, 2014, but these are in the lower leagues.

[Thunderstruck]

39 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 wasn't at 98. In 2016 it was the consistency of the mud that made it so hard. It's almost better if it's all flooded because it loosens it up!

[al_coholic]

39 minutes ago, LinvoyPrimus said:

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

There is a pattern.... was it muddy in 2002 as well? If so, we might be doomed!

[Breeze]

2007 > 1997 > 1998 > 2005 > 2004 where 'greater than' means 'more annoying mud'

 

[Pipine]

My first two festivals were 97/98.. I had a single skinned tent which leaked, I had to go buy some plastic sheeting from a stall to make it waterproof.  
We nearly went home it was so bad but chose to get more wasted and crack on, glad we did!
I remember watching the foo fighters stood in a hedge line to try and shelter from the torrential rain, thinking “it can’t rain any heavier” - cue the rain switching up a gear 😭 

What a joy the following year (99?) when it was hot and sunny.. such a revelation to be able to sit down! 

I remember the river running down through the tents (2005?) and the portaloo toilets all falling over into the lake of water.. people canoeing though the markets.. just lakes everywhere. Muddy years are epic. 
 

 

 

Edited June 12 by Pipine

[donthaveacoolname]

Of the ones listed I was at 3, '05, '07 & '16 of these 07 was just so hard work, there was no rest bite at all (also the last time I remember dancing at Joe Bananas) ..... I don't remember 16 being that bad on site, I know I got caught in the traffic ciaos on the way in and out, and we missed our ferry going home but I don't remember it having an effect on the festival itself, where as '11 i do remember the rain having an effect, especially Friday night, but then it cleared and I discovered the wheel of four tunes for the first time so not all bad hahaha

[-TLR-]

8 minutes ago, Pipine said:

 

What a joy the following year (99?) when it was hot and sunny.. such a revelation to be able to sit down! 

 

 

'99 is a festival that seems to be largely forgotten for some reason... but i remember it being a really wonderful year! or maybe it was simply because of the relief of no mud!

 

 

[mickthevoice]

2 minutes ago, -TLR- said:

 

'99 is a festival that seems to be largely forgotten for some reason... but i remember it being a really wonderful year! or maybe it was simply because of the relief of no mud!

 

 

Totally agree, 99 was great. 98 just about finished me off but managed to win a pair of tickets on Radio 1 the week before the festival and went last minute with my best mate. Such a great weekend and reinforced my love for the place. 

[Stu H]

I weirdly don't remember 2016 being *that* bad. Yes it was muddy.
Worst part of that festival was that I pitched a tent on a slope and spent all night sliding down my tent! Schoolboy error.

 

2011 Wed/Thurs/Fri I seem to remember being garbage. Torrential rain from 8am Wed setting up.

I couldn't get anywhere near Silver Hayes/John Peel and I had terrible blisters from the rubbing of my wellies. It dried up Sat/Sun.

[paulshane]

45 minutes ago, Pipine said:

My first two festivals were 97/98.. I had a single skinned tent which leaked, I had to go buy some plastic sheeting from a stall to make it waterproof.  
We nearly went home it was so bad but chose to get more wasted and crack on, glad we did!
I remember watching the foo fighters stood in a hedge line to try and shelter from the torrential rain, thinking “it can’t rain any heavier” - cue the rain switching up a gear 😭 

What a joy the following year (99?) when it was hot and sunny.. such a revelation to be able to sit down! 

I remember the river running down through the tents (2005?) and the portaloo toilets all falling over into the lake of water.. people canoeing though the markets.. just lakes everywhere. Muddy years are epic. 
 

 

 

 

 

Foo Fighters that year was the last time I ever wore wellies, as it rainded so hard, the water soaked through my clothes and drained down until the wellies literally started filling with water.

[soundofeverything]

2007 was the absolute worst for me. There were lakes of liquid mud in some of the fields. I remember watching Amy Winehouse on the Pyramid with mud nearly at the top of my wellies. Getting off site wasn't much fun either. Had to wait 11hrs in the car park with no food or water, until I could be pushed out by a tractor. 

 

2016 wasn't great, but an absolute breeze in comparison to 2007. It didn't actually rain that much during the festival, apart from the occasional, sometimes heavy, shower. 

 

2011 was fairly muddy until late on Saturday when the weather turned hot & sunny. By Sunday morning a lot the mud had dried up and you could wear trainers. The Weather on Sunday was absolutely glorious. I remember watching Kool & the Gang in t-shirt and shorts. 

[Spindles]

35 minutes ago, -TLR- said:

 

'99 is a festival that seems to be largely forgotten for some reason... but i remember it being a really wonderful year! or maybe it was simply because of the relief of no mud!

99 was one for the ages to be honest, some amazing performances.  Underworld in particular was immense, just a pulsing sea of bodies that it was a joy to be part of.

[rwhitehouse13]

My first Glastonbury was ‘97 and all the mud. Thought there was no way it could happen two years in a row…but ‘98 was probably worse as there was more rain. Didn’t even bother with the Foo Fighters as it was raining so much.

 

The downpour during Primal Scream in 2011 was ridiculous, but nobody seemed to care. And 2016 was a slog, but that was because I was older and the mud was so sticky and thick.

 

No rain or mud this year please.

[Andeeroo]

I found 2016 to be pretty breezy. I remember the mud being sloppy rather than sticky which is always preferable. It did start with a 12 hour coach trip from Plymouth on the Wednesday though.

 

2011 was the worst for me - mudwise -  and I was only there from Friday evening. Torrential rain on the Friday and I remember the mud being hellish on the Saturday. The walk up to the Park for Graham Coxon on the Saturday afternoon was as miserable a walk as I can remember. Every step felt like torture. 

[rwhitehouse13]

1 minute ago, Andeeroo said:

I found 2016 to be pretty breezy. I remember the mud being sloppy rather than sticky which is always preferable. It did start with a 12 hour coach trip from Plymouth on the Wednesday though.

 

2011 was the worst for me - mudwise -  and I was only there from Friday evening. Torrential rain on the Friday and I remember the mud being hellish on the Saturday. The walk up to the Park for Graham Coxon on the Saturday afternoon was as miserable a walk as I can remember. Every step felt like torture. 

I had forgotten my trek up to the Park for Graham Coxon that year….it was more memorable that once I got there I had to dash to the toilets unexpectedly!

[goldfishboy]

2 hours ago, Thunderstruck said:

 

I wasn't at 98. In 2016 it was the consistency of the mud that made it so hard. It's almost better if it's all flooded because it loosens it up!

I disagree with this, watching bands in a lake of mud as it was in 97/98 is the actual worst

[Thunderstruck]

1 hour ago, goldfishboy said:

I disagree with this, watching bands in a lake of mud as it was in 97/98 is the actual worst

I just remember the watery bits having a sense of relief getting out of the sticky mud.

 

And also spending my entire festival amazed at how many different types of mud there are. I thought it was just dry ground....and mud.

 

Blew my mind.

[Crazyfool01]

1 minute ago, Thunderstruck said:

I just remember the watery bits having a sense of relief getting out of the sticky mud.

 

And also spending my entire festival amazed at how many different types of mud there are. I thought it was just dry ground....and mud.

 

Blew my mind.

Definately not as energy sapping … the gluey stuff is damn hard work 

[Pipine]

Later on there’s the springy stage when it’s nearly dry but it’s still soft underfoot.. definitely back in trainers at that point!  The Glastonbury mud has a hilarious range of textures! 

[tomf3]

I think 2014 is quite overlooked as a muddy year. Whilst it was no 2007 and 2016, it's definitely in a league with 2011. Albeit not a muddy year, one of my least favourite moments at Glastonbury was in 2009 probably around midnight on the Sunday being at Arcadia and out of nowhere a torrential downpour ensued and carried on all night,  completely ruining the last night vibe. 
 

[DeanoL]

4 hours ago, Physical_graffiti said:

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. 

 

Yeah 2016 was one more big downpour away from being cancelled. I can see why from the Eavis' perspective that was easily the worst year. (Not to mention the constant rain throughout the entire build would have made that entire period miserable even without the threat of cancellation).

[doogie]

I don't mind the mud that much when it's not actually raining.  In '97 I didn't get on site until Friday evening, and although there had obviously been a lot of rain before I arrived, there wasn't a drop of rain the whole time I was there.  Traipsing around in 2 feet of sticky mud was tiring on the legs especially as there's nowhere to sit down, but it had its funny side and I loved every minute.

 

In contrast, when it's pissing with rain and everything's getting wet, it's grim.

[Johnnyseven]

17 minutes ago, doogie said:

I don't mind the mud that much when it's not actually raining.  In '97 I didn't get on site until Friday evening, and although there had obviously been a lot of rain before I arrived, there wasn't a drop of rain the whole time I was there.  Traipsing around in 2 feet of sticky mud was tiring on the legs especially as there's nowhere to sit down, but it had its funny side and I loved every minute.

 

In contrast, when it's pissing with rain and everything's getting wet, it's grim.

 

Yeah agree with this, rain is just depressing. Mud on it's own is fine though.

[Johnnyseven]

2 hours ago, goldfishboy said:

I disagree with this, watching bands in a lake of mud as it was in 97/98 is the actual worst

 

I remember when watching bands in 98 I had to constantly be pulling one foot out of the mud otherwise i'd get stuck there and wouldn't be able to move at the end of the set.

[Dark Star]

1 hour ago, Thunderstruck said:

I just remember the watery bits having a sense of relief getting out of the sticky mud.

 

And also spending my entire festival amazed at how many different types of mud there are. I thought it was just dry ground....and mud.

 

Blew my mind.

From the pools of water on the Other Stage field during the Friday to the deep and glue-like stuff of the Sunday in the Pyramid field... 98 was an experience! It was my first festival, remember we didn't do much on the Saturday afternoon but drink tea at the tent while considering going home. We eventually ventured out for Monaco, St Etienne, food, and that utterly magnificent Blur set in that night. The Sunday evening lineup on the Pyramid, for me, remains unbeaten. Cave, Pulp, Sonic Youth, Dylan... totally worth it.

Edited June 12 by Dark Star