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Bestival - Any good?


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To me, no it's not. 

 

I quite like the festival itself but I think Glasto works so well because you can camp in the festival....Bestival is just like Reading and Leeds - you've got to camp away from it. 

 

The people that go as well aren't my cup of tea. I'm only 24 but I feel Bestival is just a massive party for students. They are there to get drunk. 

 

I've haven't been to Latitude or End of the Road but from what I've seen I feel they may be more like Glasto in terms of vibe - keen to see if this is true from people that have been. 

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To me, no it's not. 

 

I quite like the festival itself but I think Glasto works so well because you can camp in the festival....Bestival is just like Reading and Leeds - you've got to camp away from it. 

 

The people that go as well aren't my cup of tea. I'm only 24 but I feel Bestival is just a massive party for students. They are there to get drunk. 

 

I've haven't been to Latitude or End of the Road but from what I've seen I feel they may be more like Glasto in terms of vibe - keen to see if this is true from people that have been. 

 

 

To be fair, I haven't really researched into it too much yet and didn't realise it is more of a student thing!

 

Are there any Glastonbury-type festivals without those arenas?

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To be fair, I haven't really researched into it too much yet and didn't realise it is more of a student thing!

 

Are there any Glastonbury-type festivals without those arenas?

 

I'm not sure if it is more of a student thing but the two times I've been (last year and the year before) it just seems to be filled with them. I'm not saying it's like going to a Beach Break (shudder) but definitely more students than Glasto. 

 

Getting there is a pain as well. I live in Bournemouth yet I still found it annoying!

 

I'm not saying I had a bad time, it was enjoyable. I just don't think calling it a smaller Glasto is a true representation of Bestival - wouldn't want you to be disappointed.

 

As a side note - I swear Muse said they were headlining Bestival yet they've announced all their headliners? 

 

EDIT - Here it is - http://www.nme.com/news/muse/85130

Edited by endswithMJ
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To me, no it's not.

I quite like the festival itself but I think Glasto works so well because you can camp in the festival....Bestival is just like Reading and Leeds - you've got to camp away from it.

The people that go as well aren't my cup of tea. I'm only 24 but I feel Bestival is just a massive party for students. They are there to get drunk.

I've haven't been to Latitude or End of the Road but from what I've seen I feel they may be more like Glasto in terms of vibe - keen to see if this is true from people that have been.

This is completely different to my experience of Bestival.

First of all it's a family friendly event with a very mixed audience located on a beautiful site & the organisers clearly put a lot of effort into making it unique- yes there are a lot of students but no more so than at Glastonbury.

Also whilst the mainstages are inside the 'arena' the searches to get in are minimal, I've never had an issue taking my own drinks inside. There are also several stages/areas in amongst the campsites so to say it's similar to R&L is doing Bestival a disservice.

Overall I actually prefer Bestival to Glastonbury, but each to their own.

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As a side note - I swear Muse said they were headlining Bestival yet they've announced all their headliners? 

 

EDIT - Here it is - http://www.nme.com/news/muse/85130

 

people over on the Bestival board seem to think that something fell through with Muse headlining and so they are now the 'Very Special Guest' that appears on the lineup poster

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I have done Bestival a fare few times, its not Glastonbury (nothing is) but for me the crowd is dependent on the headliners....Stevie Wonder year the crowd was a little bit older and happy to chat yet the year with the prodigy it was a much younger aggressive crowd.....having said that have only ever seen one small fight there and that was two fully grown should of known better drunk men.....I would say if you haven't been to bestival then do it....the ferry journey gives you the feel of a proper holiday haha...

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I've been to Bestival a few times, comparisons to Reading are massively wide of the mark. There are similarities to Glastonbury, you get the feeling Rob Da Bank draws a lot of inspiration from it and there is definitely a feel that it isn't run purely for profit. The stages etc all look like extra effort has been made. There is a younger crowd simply because you can get a ticket easily and the Dance lineup is always very good, that will always attract a young crowd IMO. It's no Glasto, nothing is, but it definitely has a feel of being a Glasto area of that makes sense. There are positives to it not being Glasto, it would take about 10 minutes max to get from anywhere to anywhere once you are in the arena so easy to hop from act to act.

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I went in 11 and 12 when there was headliners appealing to the older crowd. In 13 the crowd was noticeably younger, the non DJ stuff was cut back and the crowd just didn't seem that interested in the acts I.e. Lots of flitting between stages when acts were on, half-full field for Flaming Lips as sub headliners.

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To me, no it's not.

I quite like the festival itself but I think Glasto works so well because you can camp in the festival....Bestival is just like Reading and Leeds - you've got to camp away from it.

The people that go as well aren't my cup of tea. I'm only 24 but I feel Bestival is just a massive party for students. They are there to get drunk.

I've haven't been to Latitude or End of the Road but from what I've seen I feel they may be more like Glasto in terms of vibe - keen to see if this is true from people that have been.

Well as someone who has actually been to all three, Bestival is closest by far. There is a separation from camping but quite a few of the stages are in the camp area. And when you go in it's barely noticeable as no one searches you and you rarely have to queue. It's the closest to Glasto by far, as in there is a lot of random extra stuff to explore (Arcadia, disco inside a tree, etc). As for age, I'm. 39 and I have never noticed tbh.

Big drawback is pain in the arse to get to/back.

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If you're looking for something to fill the Glastonbury hole, Bestival isn't it. They're very different. Having been a few times, I can echo a comment above on the lineup having a large influence on the crowd. (The only influence this year will be that it's tiny :lol: )

There's a LOT of us yoofs - definitely a higher proportion than at G (sorry FMS..) and a lot of them like getting fucked up on whatever they can find. Not passing judgment - just my experience of it. The port and the new EDM-y direction hasn't helped that but if you just stay in Bollywood you'll be fine :-)

It's a good festival but nothing like Glastonbury. Good party, nightmare to get home. I really rate the layout of the site too, and the woods are loooovely. Getting booze into the arena is trivial. Sound is usually decent. Vibe is normally chilled out, often a bit sloppy.

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Years ago we used to say there should be another glastonbury at the end of the summer and to my mind bestival is a reasonable attempt to do that. Don't get me wrong it's NOT glastonbury - as if there could be another - but RDB is a glasto fan and has built a festival that clearly takes a lot of inspiration from the big G.

 

Not sure I would agree that it's a particularly family-friendly festival though - in the early years maybe, but as the festival has grown that ship sailed (to Camp Bestival).

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I don't see why it's any less family friendly than Glastonbury? It has a specific kids area, a big playground & a very chilled atmosphere.

If you want to avoid the 'youths on drugs' then avoid the Port area, just like how you'd avoid the South East Corner at Glastonbury if that's not your thing.

 

 

Well yes they've always tried to cater (and I'm not saying it's a no-go for families - so long as you know what to expect) but the demograph has changed to a younger party crowd and I think even the Da Banks would acknowledge the family-friendly 'promise' of the early years has been overtaken somewhat - hence why they set up Camp Bestival.

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Nothing is like Glastonbury, nothing can be. But certain festivals can deliver aspects that you like of Glastonbury in their own way. Go to Bestival if it appeals to you, but you'll be disappointed if you just want to go to Glastonbury again.

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I have done Bestival a fare few times, its not Glastonbury (nothing is) but for me the crowd is dependent on the headliners....Stevie Wonder year the crowd was a little bit older and happy to chat yet the year with the prodigy it was a much younger aggressive crowd.....having said that have only ever seen one small fight there and that was two fully grown should of known better drunk men.....I would say if you haven't been to bestival then do it....the ferry journey gives you the feel of a proper holiday haha...

You are thatcrazypenguin's dad and I claim my £5.

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It's my 2nd favourite festival after Glastonbury.

 

Lineup is pretty diverse, you can have as nuts or as a chilled festival as you like. (Walking into the Ambient Forest from The Port shows that)

 

Food is pretty good, and as has been mentioned the searches going into the arena aren't that bad, although I thought it was stricter last year.

 

Cons are the security with sniffer dogs and the gate, and the journey home on Monday...

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The missus wouldn't let me go on my own in 2013 as there would be "too many fit girls in short shorts" which is completely correct until fancy dress day on Saturday.

 

It's a great laugh, tends to have a crowd between 18 to 28, never felt old, always a party vibe, no checks at the arena entrance.

 

Ask LondonTom for his experience, his first last year.

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We went the year the Cure played,thought it was an ok festival but an absolute ball ache to get to and expensive.We drove down from London and left the car and got the ferry as to take a car over for just two people was extortionate,spent all day trying to get there/queueing up for the ferry etc and then the same on the way home.

Just wasn't worth the agro and extra ferry money.

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We went the year the Cure played,thought it was an ok festival but an absolute ball ache to get to and expensive.We drove down from London and left the car and got the ferry as to take a car over for just two people was extortionate,spent all day trying to get there/queueing up for the ferry etc and then the same on the way home.

Just wasn't worth the agro and extra ferry money.

Why didn't you just do Waterloo to Ryde Esp on the train, it's £30/35 I think?

 

Edit: no offence but there's a lot of people who think they have to pre-book a ferry, which ups the price, so let's keep this on the downlow, they are idiots.

Edited by Couchy
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Why didn't you just do Waterloo to Ryde Esp on the train, it's £30/35 I think?

 

Can't remember the reasons,just thought it was easier to drive down there,none of our lot have ever taken a coach to a festival so probably didn't even think about it as an option.

How long does the coach take ie from door to door?

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