Questions from a Glasto newbie

[budvar]

9 hours ago, Spindles said:

You'll have a cracking time, Leeds isn't half the festival that Glastonbury is and once you've tasted the freedom that Glastonbury offers it makes other festivals seem like a poor alternative.

On the spending money front, I've managed on just under £250 the last couple of years (plus booze and party essentials purchased before the festival) but in the past I've gone as high as £650.  I'd always say take as much as you can claw together and if you don't spend it all the better, but running low at the festival can bring down the spirits.

£650! I'm honestly not sure I've spent that much across 11 festivals (though I bring my own booze)

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

8 minutes ago, budvar said:

£650! I'm honestly not sure I've spent that much across 11 festivals (though I bring my own booze)

I once bought one of my brothers a Glastonbury ticket as well as my own and told him not to worry about cash. That cost me something just shy of £2K. I still twitch like someone with Parkinson's disease when I think about it,.

[Richi1988]

1 hour ago, guypjfreak said:

1. Any idea on coach times from Liverpool? (I'm coming from the Isle of Man so need to plan well in advance)...no idea

2. How easy/hard is it to get from stage to stage to catch bands?......sit down check out who you want to see the most and work around that you will NOT be able to see everything and dont try cos youll miss more than youll see ........dont miss out on things like circus ect..

3. Arriving at gate A on the coach, where would be the best place to camp as to not be a mission from the stages?......as said take your pick..if you want to sleep go for one of the fields away from the stages ....check out maps..

4.what do I NOT want to miss out on experiencing?...........popping by my camp for a cider..lol..top of pyramid field canadian flag

5.how much spending money do you need from wed-sun?......too fucking much

6. Is the venue like Leeds fest,...........fuck NO

..i.e. You go into the arena or can you just wander round with your own booze?.......bring your own drink BUT DONT BRING A FLAG..please

7 have a great time

Cheers for the tips. Just one thing, you said please don't bring a flag but stated you have a Canadian flag, what are these shifty rules!? 

Joking. Im assuming you meant one to wave around whilst watching bands, and safe to say my hands will be full with beer regardless! Cannot fathom for the life in me how people can be arsed carrying one of them things round all day/night.

[glasto-worker]

16 hours ago, stuartbert two hats said:

1. As above, the times will be mailed out nearer the time, by the end of May.

2. It can take a while.  The chart posted by @Nobody Interesting gives a good indication, although this will be increased in mud (like this year) and when planning before the festival, bear in mind that there can be plenty of happy distractions along the way.

3. It really depends on which stages you're interested in.  As you'll see on the maps above, the camping is all over the site, as are the stages. Ultimately, you're there for 5 days, if you're really interested in a particular area of the site, then camp nearby. I wouldn't factor in the walk from the gate too much, as you'll make it up over the festival.

4. Tricky question.  There are things that are really good -a Pyramid headliner, going up the Ribbon Tower at night, spending time in the SE corner after hours, sitting around in The Park, having a pint from the Cider Bus, the eFests meetup - but I've had brilliant Glastonburys without doing any of these things.  There are no hard rules.

5. Need is a strong word.  £100 a day is very comfortable, but you can get that way, way down depending on how much stuff you bring with you.

6. There are no arena perimeters.  You can take as much booze in as you can carry and you can take it anywhere.  I've heard of some bars frowning on people taking their own booze in, but I've never actually seen it.

 

 

Hi Mate - re your comments about the bars - each bar is independent of each other { with regards the rules } although it would be wise that if a person brings in their own drink then they should take into account that the seats and tables are for Paying Customers only so if its busy its not a wise move to take over a table - I certainly have pulled up people in the past and have explained why we have certain rules - I have to say that most people do understand and they will agree to them - best way to look at it is this - most people would not bring in their own drink to a pub or food to a restaurant - the same rule applies at Glastonbury - a person who is sitting with a bunch of Customers may get away with it but if its a bunch of people all drinking their own drink then I certainly would not hesitate to ask them to leave.I know that some Bar Security may even prevent a person from walking into a bar if they are seen trying to walk in with their own drink. its all commonsense at the end - there has been lots of times over the years where Customers will complain that they cant get a seat as a table is full of people drinking their own drink and on those occasions bar staff will take action.

[mattrik3]

7 hours ago, Richi1988 said:

Cheers for the tips. Just one thing, you said please don't bring a flag but stated you have a Canadian flag, what are these shifty rules!? 

Joking. Im assuming you meant one to wave around whilst watching bands, and safe to say my hands will be full with beer regardless! Cannot fathom for the life in me how people can be arsed carrying one of them things round all day/night.

He means he has a Canadian flag for himself and others to identify his tent where's camped but his flag will stay there and won't be on a flag pole in the middle of the crowd at the Pyramid stage blocking the view of the crowd (personally I quite like all the flags and find it useful for finding friends in the crowd)

[guypjfreak]

10 hours ago, Richi1988 said:

Cheers for the tips. Just one thing, you said please don't bring a flag but stated you have a Canadian flag, what are these shifty rules!? 

Joking. Im assuming you meant one to wave around whilst watching bands, and safe to say my hands will be full with beer regardless! Cannot fathom for the life in me how people can be arsed carrying one of them things round all day/night.

lol yea we have flags at camp but cant understand people walking around with them ....

[Charm]

15 hours ago, Quark said:

Natty three piece suit? Fuck me Spindles we were probably sat within about 10 feet of each other!

 

It would be nice if there was a way of identifying each other during the festival, makes me sad to think I could be missing the opportunity to say hello, maybe we need efests badges. 
Charm x

[Brave Sir Robin]

1 hour ago, Charm said:

It would be nice if there was a way of identifying each other during the festival, makes me sad to think I could be missing the opportunity to say hello, maybe we need efests badges. 
Charm x

Come to the eFests meet on the Wednesday and you get a free sticker with your username on it!

[Charm]

3 minutes ago, Brave Sir Robin said:

Come to the eFests meet on the Wednesday and you get a free sticker with your username on it!

Would love a sticker, but I just know I won't be able to convince Mr Charm to come along, he thinks its weird I spend so much time on here anyway so trying to get him to come and meet you all is sadly not going to happen. 
Charm x

[Brave Sir Robin]

55 minutes ago, Charm said:

Would love a sticker, but I just know I won't be able to convince Mr Charm to come along, he thinks its weird I spend so much time on here anyway so trying to get him to come and meet you all is sadly not going to happen. 
Charm x

He doesn't have to come!

[Penrhos]

I got asked the same questions by someone at work who is attempting to get tickets Sunday (we've pooled numbers to double our chances).

As for setting up tents - anywhere well away from the toilets & food outlets (for obvious reasons). If it's a going to be a wet one (it will be if I get tickets - it'll be sunny if I don't) you want to be higher up the hill.

Make a shortlist of a couple of acts you need to see then bimble around the rest of the day discovering stuff - Glasto isn't just about headliners.

You can take as much alcohol as you can carry (NO GLASS BOTTLES) - decant spirits into plastic bottles at home, they're lighter and won't get taken off you by security. 

Take a good pair of hiking boots and wellies - nothing worse than walking miles with sore feet. I've got away with just £100 for the weekend, but took all my booze & "extras" in with me.

[Charm]

43 minutes ago, Brave Sir Robin said:

He doesn't have to come!

Not sure if I'm allowed to go and meet strangers from the internet on my own, I tell my daughter this all the time. 
Charm x

[Charm]

8 minutes ago, Scruffylovemonster said:

As charm has said time and time again!

Naughty 
Charm x 

[Brave Sir Robin]

20 minutes ago, Scruffylovemonster said:

As charm has said time and time again!

Does anyone have contact details for the Cabaret tent?  I think I've found them a headliner ;-)

[stuartbert two hats]

23 minutes ago, Charm said:

Not sure if I'm allowed to go and meet strangers from the internet on my own, I tell my daughter this all the time. 
Charm x

You have 643 posts, we're not strangers. Strange, yes, but not strangers.

[Zoo Music Girl]

On 07/10/2016 at 2:48 PM, Quark said:

Snigger

I'll just answer the ones I can comment on...

1. I'm a southerner

2. Depends entirely on you.  The file gives a good estimate of timings if you're just doing a straight walk when sober, but if you're the type or choose to get easily distracted by interesting sights and sounds and wonderful stuff then it changes. @bennyhana22 is yer man if you want to know now much ground can actually be covered over 5 days, but it's pretty full-on and not for everyone! Me on the other hand...I lost a good half hour between stages this year because I stopped to sit on a wall and listen to a 60-something crooner stood on a box

3. I've camped in the same spot every year so have no idea!

4. If I was going to make one suggestion I'd say the walk up to the Glastonbury sign on Wednesday or Thursday afternoon to catch the late afternoon sun and the view over the site.  Other than that just open up your eyes and ears, or you could miss something absolutely amazing because you're so focused on ticking off a list.

5.  I normally allow around £300, and I don't think I've been caught short yet.  Try to avoid using the cash machines unless you like queuing.

6. Booze booze booze!!  Over the years I've found that the best option for me is to decant about 2 litres of rum into a plastic bottle before I go and either take mixers with me (I take ginger beer because it's a bugger to get good fiery stuff on site) or buy them when you need them if you prefer ice-cold / can't be arsed to carry.  Spend the day buying cold pints as I want them, then use a spare bottle to make up rum & ginger to take out with me for the evening / night.  I stopped taking cider because it just gets warm.

And top tip - use the security lockups!!!!

Oh, and because this is eFests...

7. Pablo Honey

Absolutely spot on there with the booze. I stopped trying to carry in cans of cider after 2010 when we had several cans left being the temperature of warm tea. I now do pretty much exactly what you describe above.

[Madyaker]

Warm cider is alright though? Well it's better than warm lager. I drank plenty of warm thatchers last year.

[Charm]

54 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

You have 643 posts, we're not strangers. Strange, yes, but not strangers.

Ha, very true, to tell the truth even though I'm normally very outgoing I think I would be a bit shy just rocking up on my own. 
Charm x

[wilson123]

17 hours ago, Richi1988 said:

Cheers for the tips. Just one thing, you said please don't bring a flag but stated you have a Canadian flag, what are these shifty rules!? 

Joking. Im assuming you meant one to wave around whilst watching bands, and safe to say my hands will be full with beer regardless! Cannot fathom for the life in me how people can be arsed carrying one of them things round all day/night.

To be fair, last year someone had a fiver sellotaped onto a flag pole and it made for an entertaining 10 minutes in between bands. 

[Quark]

2 hours ago, Madyaker said:

Warm cider is alright though? Well it's better than warm lager. I drank plenty of warm thatchers last year.

Getting punched in the face is better than getting kicked in the nuts, but it's still not a great option!!!

[Richi1988]

One final question if someone could help please?

How much can you take on the coach with you, do I have to pack super light as to not be told I've got to leave X,Y & Z behind?

just wondering as I'm planning on taking rather a lot of booze!

[stuartbert two hats]

5 minutes ago, Richi1988 said:

One final question if someone could help please?

How much can you take on the coach with you, do I have to pack super light as to not be told I've got to leave X,Y & Z behind?

just wondering as I'm planning on taking rather a lot of booze!

These threads will probably be of interest:

TLDR: You could take a trolley, but you might not get it on, although people have done.  Safe approach is make use of hand luggage and think about ways to reduce weight/volume.  E.g Spirits + bags of wine/cider rather than cans.

[Quark]

9 minutes ago, Richi1988 said:

One final question if someone could help please?

How much can you take on the coach with you, do I have to pack super light as to not be told I've got to leave X,Y & Z behind?

just wondering as I'm planning on taking rather a lot of booze!

Coach first timer as well buddy.  What I've picked up from those who have done it before is not to take the piss.  Pretty vague but I think it can depend on the driver and how much your fellow travellers are carrying. 

For me consideration is going to be the key.  I imagine how I'd feel if I got told I was going to have to sit for 4 hours with my bags wedged under my knees because some git has taken up all the space with 3 rucksacks and 4 crates of lager they won't drink, and then apply that packing rule to myself!

For what it's worth I went via train and bus this year, and I got away with 2 bags hanging front and back containing all my stuff including booze and mixers, and my 2 man tent.  Could carry the lot with hands free.  The temptation, especially early on, is to take waaaaaay more shit than you need!  

My baggage has decreased year on year, so at my current rate I reckon I can get in with a tesco carrier bag by 2025.

[not worthy]

26 minutes ago, Richi1988 said:

One final question if someone could help please?

How much can you take on the coach with you, do I have to pack super light as to not be told I've got to leave X,Y & Z behind?

just wondering as I'm planning on taking rather a lot of booze!

I've really enjoyed going by coach in previous years but, as you may have noticed, failed to get the tickets this time. Managed on Sunday thanks to a friend so now can look at National Express.

Anyway, each time I've gone by coach I've put a 70L rucksack and chair in the hold and taken a 20L bag onboard with me full of spirits/beer. It's not a huge amount but seemed a good balance of taking some with me without taking the pee on space used

[stuartbert two hats]

3 minutes ago, not worthy said:

I've really enjoyed going by coach in previous years but, as you may have noticed, failed to get the tickets this time. Managed on Sunday thanks to a friend so now can look at National Express.

Anyway, each time I've gone by coach I've put a 70L rucksack and chair in the hold and taken a 20L bag onboard with me full of spirits/beer. It's not a huge amount but seemed a good balance of taking some with me without taking the pee on space used

Purely anecdotally, my NX coach last year was far less packed than the times I've been on SeeCoaches. And it does make sense - National Express allow you to choose from a variety of departure times and can't guarantee that they're all going to fill up, whereas SeeCoaches know exactly how many seats they're going to be selling from each departure time and place.  So it makes sense that SeeCoaches are going to be full, whereas the NX coaches may or may not be full.