What should every first timer do?

[gfa]

16 minutes ago, Mark E. Spliff said:

 

Couldn't agree more.  I absolutely despair at people who're doing exhaustive research and making intricate plans for their first Glastonbury or, worse still, are doing everything they can to get their Glasto-virgin mates hyped-up about it.  My first one happened by accident when I got a very last-minute work offer from a mate.  I'd never previously thought about going to Glastonbury and walked through the gates with pretty low expectations.  It turns out this was the perfect mindset - I spent my time having a blast with whatever was in front of me at any one time: no FOMO, and no carrying around 'baggage' in terms of expectations of what amazing experiences I was supposed to be having.

 

My first one was pre-YouTube and smartphones, and I guess these days there's not much chance of someone being able to walk in as unprepared/naive as I was.   But whenever I recruit someone to their first Glastonbury, I still try and convince them beforehand that it's just a few overcrowded stages and expensive burger vans, so they've got a fighting chance of being genuinely blown away by it when they get there.

out of upvotes (although i will do the bold lol, good to hype people up 🙂 )

 

Try to keep the rest quiet - but will share the rumours etc, generally try make people excited without giving heaps away.

[Johndenis]

Might be helpful.  Although I don't think exhaustively reading guides is good, you should have some idea of what you're getting into - particularly the idea of doing Glastonbury Day or Glastonbury Night.. https://onemoretunedjs.co.uk/1580/

[Ricci's Special Kebabs]

19 hours ago, JayA5 said:

Yep, definitely going to be getting there on the Wednesday. Probably mid afternoon which is later than we’d like but it’s a long travel down from Newcastle😂

I'm from Newcastle too, it will be my 11th time 2025. The journey back on Monday doesn't get any easier 😄

[Monty Pythagoras]

22 hours ago, grumpyhack said:

Camp close to where you are most likely to be at the end of the night.  It can be a long walk home in the dark when you are tired and emotional.

We do the opposite! The long walk back and the characters and side quests in the early morning are very much part of our festival

[Dark Star]

18 hours ago, CardiffWanderer said:

If there are a couple of acts you want to see at opposite ends of the site, and less than an hour between set times, pick one and don't worry about the other. One of my rookie errors in 2007 was trying to traverse the site too quickly. On the flipside, start walking to your must-see act way before you think you need to, so you can lap up the atmosphere and take the inevitable detours along the way. 

I've always found, with a really bad clash, the best option to be to find something completely different. If it's two acts you love and you know you'll regret not seeing either of them, discover something new!  

[rawrsomesauce]

Pick 3 or 4 absolute must sees and float around the rest of the time. Nothing wrong with coming up with a plan for the day, but deviate wherever the vibes take you outside of those must sees. Spend some time in the circus field too. 

[Talcroft]

3 hours ago, Monty Pythagoras said:

We do the opposite! The long walk back and the characters and side quests in the early morning are very much part of our festival

 

Out of reactions for the day but yes this.

[The Nal]

If you've been before, don't make newbies do the "dont turn around" Glasto sign thing.

 

Every Wednesday you see some poor c**t being marched up the hill by their "mate" forcing them to have "fun".

 

If you are a newbie and you are with someone who makes you do that bullshit on day one, tell them to f**k off and avoid them for the rest of the festival. 

[Skip997]

13 minutes ago, rawrsomesauce said:

Nothing wrong with coming up with a plan for the day, but deviate wherever the vibes take you outside of those must sees. 

100%
 

I have a mantra, when I find a vibe I’m loving I tell myself “it’s not going to get better than this, stay where you are”. 
 

I often end up spending hours at the same venue, especially after midnight 

[CantWaitForGlasto22]

For me a big part of the excitement is spending the weeks leading up to the festival listening to new bands announced on the smaller stages, or performing early on the bigger stages, and working out which ones I want to catch. Often find them through recommendations on here. I don’t get to as many gigs as I’d like (young kids!) so love discovering a few new bands I really like every year. Involves a bit of planning, but end up loving most things I watch!

[mandana]

4 hours ago, Monty Pythagoras said:

We do the opposite! The long walk back and the characters and side quests in the early morning are very much part of our festival

ahh I almost went mad at my friends and my husband one glastonbury for this reason - I was in agony with back pain and needed to get back, they were taking it so painfully slow, i was such a grump

[mandana]

Make sure you go see Arcadia!  I loved the experience of seeing people dangle from the spiders legs or crawl across the night sky..

I havent witnessed the new dragonfly though, do they still have the experience/story?

[SPW]

Echo what others have said and said similar to someone asking re their first time next year, repeated below. I did prob over plan this yr but more in being prep'd to go than what I'd do there if that makes sense:

- Max the time there, Wed/Thu are brilliant imo plus a great opp to see lots of the site

- Pick a small no. of absolute must sees but be willing to flex a bit aside from those

-....by extension be willing to miss some stuff if enjoying yourself. Fri's line up this yr was dreamland for me but on the Sat I just mosly went with what my wife wanted and we ended in Bread and Roses (bar) in between stuff and were having such a laugh we just stayed way longer than planned...mates not there were incredulous that I missed Kasabian and The Streets while drinking cider with some burlesque show on having the craic with folk I'll prob never see again. But that spontaneous afternoon is one of my favourite memories of the week

- Don't compromise in a group, go separate ways for spells...it is easy to regroup later and not a disaster if don't meet up for a few hours. Indeed talking to and meeting others is a great part of it all

- Just randomly wander around, just stumbling upon stuff was prob my favourite aspect

- The final boring one is to remember the drive home. We had a relatively heavy one on the Sun as were gigged out by tea time so ended up in our favourite spots for the final night - The Park and then Strummerville....driving home Mon lunchtime tiredness really kicked in and I was really struggling. Luckily 2 of us to swap over but.....

Edited 1 hour ago by SPW

[William Mann]

I’ve heard about this so called restaurant at Glastonbury where you have to book a table. What is it called? 

[Chris_R]

1 minute ago, William Mann said:

I’ve heard about this so called restaurant at Glastonbury where you have to book a table. What is it called? 

https://www.deluxediner.co.uk/restaurant.html

 

Deluxe Diner