Cream Creamfields 2004

Glastonbury Festival does provide disabled facilities onsite. Please be aware that because of the nature of the farm - being a fairly hilly dairy farm - even though there are tracks, both permanent and temporary, it doesn't lend itself to easy travel for those with mobility problems.

Below are some personal experiences from people who've experienced the Festival as a disabled person.

What's below was written by Leftfield (no, not the band!) of experiences in 2002, especially for eFestivals - thanks!:
I have been attending the festival since 1997 and have had to avail myself of the facilities provided for disabled festival goers.

In that time there have been a number of improvements to the site, but there have been some problems actually getting to the site. As the most recent festival, 2002, is freshest in my mind I will give a description of how things went for us last year.

The new security set up for 2002 made getting onto the site something of a misery. As in previous years we arrived on site at 5.45am and asked for the procedures for taking our car on site to unload.

As per usual, we entered by the 'Red' Gate and were soon referred to an office at the edge of the closest parking area. We obtained what we thought were all the necessary permits and proceeded to the site, only to be told that no vehicles are allowed on before 8.00am. With the new security system being tried out for the first time we accepted this and put our feet up to wait. Come 8.00am we tootled off to the site only to find we hadn't got the correct permits. We went back to the office and was told that we had all the necessary permits and so we tried again.

It wasn't until we eventually spoke to some in charge that it was obvious that we didn't have the correct permits. However, this gentleman from the security provided by Mean Fiddler, and he really was, took the time to explain what was needed, but even after a further visit to the parking office we still didn't receive any other permits as they had none. We were fortunate enough to see the same chap when we got back to the site gate and after contacting someone else in authority, he kindly let us on site to unload, only if we took a secruity guard with us who would ensure that I came off site immediately. We passed through the first gate, travelled 10 feet and was stopped by a different security guard, this time from Oxfam I believe. He wasn't going to let us on site even with a security guard in the car! Thanks to the chap who let us on to the first 10 feet of the site putting his size 12's down we made it onto the site. Or rather I did, but my wife had to walk in through the normal entrance. I took the car to the disabled site, unload as much as possible in the very short time allowed and got off the site. This was a pretty trying time, but the moral is make sure that you get a permit that allows you to take your car fully onto the site to unload. They were available it was just that the person staffing the permit office at that time didn't know about them. I expect things to be somewhat easier in 2003 as the security should be more aware of these issues. But what of the disabled facilities themselves?

The disabled facilities in 2002 had the best set up in all the times I had used them and was again run by the ADD group. The site was cordened of by fencing and whilst this might not be in the spirit of the rest of the festival, there had been a number of thefts in 2000, particularly of essential items for the disabled person. It was very similar to the fencing used to surround the bar-staff camping area.

The whole camping area was divided into areas for camping and, for the first time, there were specific routes left open for easier access for wheelchair users. The number of disabled toilets had increased with double the number large enough to allow access for wheelchairs. There was a crude shower facility, but it did offer privacy and other washing facilities. Another improvement was in the number of volunteers available to provide general help from putting up tents to specific help in locating specialist aid. Furthermore, there were at least four volunteers available at all times of the day and night. There are of course recharging facilities for motorised wheelchairs.

Another service more evident in 2002 was a mini-bus to help ferry people around the site and to the pyramid stage viewing platforms. This could also be used to take people to their cars to collect anything that might have been left and it was also available at the end of the festival to ferry people and equipment to their cars.

All in all a monumental improvement on the facilities provided at my first Glastonbury in 1997. I accept that not everything his catered for, most notably hot running water and whilst the site is hilly and not the easiest to negotiate for wheelchair users, the camping and other additional facilities should make the festival a fairly enjoyable experience for the disabled festival goer.

I hope to see you there!

What's below was written by Dr.Bob a short while before the '98 Festival, and is used here verbatim with his permission.

"The Glastonbury Festival site is a large, hilly dairy farm, with rough tracks and the distinct possibility of slippery mud".

That's what I said on this page last year. It did turn out to be a little muddy, as you may have heard, which made life difficult for everybody but particularly for wheelchair users. The Glastonbury organisers provide fairly good facilities given the location; a reserved parking area, transport from there to the site, a dedicated camping area, and disabled toilets. Only a few people took advantage of them last year, more from one of those later.

Here's the information provided to me last year by Andy Faulkner, who decided not to go due to the weather. As far as I know, the arrangements are the same for this year.

You'll be pleased to know there are no major problems to encounter. I am 100% dependent on my wheelchair for my mobility and I went to the 1995 festival. I found that getting around the site was OK, and also getting to places like the middle of the main spectator field didn't present any problems. Obviously it is not wise to try to cross the spectator areas while there are bands playing onstage, but inbetween sets it is easy to weave your way through the people.

I found that I could get to all areas independently, but this of course depends on how well you are able to push. The ramps to the loos were quite steep but I always managed to get in on my own. Once inside there is loads of space and even a wash basin (but no water!).

A few wheelchair users did brave the conditions. Billy Bragg dedicated a song to one of them, who managed to get around pretty well with the help of three friends and a couple of lengths of rope. Also present was John Upstone, aka Juppy, who posted his experiences at the festival to the newsgroup uk.music.rave. I've edited slightly, mainly to remove a "thanks to" list longer than the average Oscar winner.

I will remember Glastonbury 1997 for rest of my life, there's no doubt of that.

If you saw the mud on the news... believe me, it was worse on site. Imagine a wheelchair trying to get through deep mud the consistency of runny clay. The gap between the hand rim and the wheel fills up with slime and every single time you push the chair you sink your fingers into a substance not unlike potters' slip with bits of gravel added in. That's about every 2-3 seconds - now just imagine how many times you do it trying to cross the site. Furthermore, the small front wheels sink into the swamp and it's almost impossible to get any forward momentum going. Even when it's not raining, the muddy puddles splatter you with muck. It's cold, and windy, and generally quite horrible, for bipeds and quadrorbs alike.

So you can take it from the above that Glastonbury was *not* a wheelchair friendly site this year. ;)

Having been in a chair all my life I've fought hard for my independence, and it's especially difficult to cope with being cooped up, unable to move around outside without assistance, and almost totally reliant on other people for five frustrating days. Cold, muddy and wet, unable to get about the site except by Land Rover for most of the festival, I should have been in hell.

So why did I have an absolutely wicked, wonderful time?! :)

Because of all of you that were there. From meeting John G and Ian on Wednesday night, appearing out of nowhere to rescue us and whisk us off to a nice, clean, dry caravan, through to Mels, Eric and Doug, whose tent we invaded for several nights, and including all the lovely, wonderful UMR people, there were few moments when I was without the company of friends whose comfort and encouragement made the whole thing bearable and even great fun. I missed most of the various performers, but a steady stream of visitors brought the festival to our tent - and we finally made it to the dance tent on Sunday afternoon & evening.

From the party in front of John G's caravan, to the fluffy pile of loved-up people in the impromptu chill-out tent on Saturday night, from taking joyrides to the loo in a Land Rover, to *finally* managing to see some artists on Sunday night, I quite simply had a great Glastonbury. :)

Finally thanks to (Welsh) Doug for being a brother in arms, or should I say "in wheels" - we faced the adversarial mud side by side, and I took some comfort in the fact that there was someone else around who really understood just how *frustrating* the experience could sometimes be...

And does anyone know a good way of getting dried mud off a wheelchair? It's a bit difficult trying to hose it down when you're sitting on it. ;)