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First time in camper van and at Glastonbury


marknemo
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Hi Everyone.

 

Myself and 3 friends have tickets for Glastonbury and have also managed to get ticket in the east camper van area. None of us have ever been in a camper van (unsure if the correct term is actually motor home?) and we've never been to Glastonbury either! I know this is quite an open question but does anyone have any good advice regarding the camper van in relation to Glastobury? I'm thinking of "to do's'" and "not to do's"? I am sure there are going to be things that we wont give any thought to which might make our stay better so just wanted to through it out here for some general advice which I am sure will lead to more questions for myself - apologies!

 

Thanks - Mark

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See if the company have a pop up gazebo for you. Really handy to have it set up outside the door.

Don't buy too much food with the intention of cooking. You won't and its a pain in the arse to clean, get water etc and takes up valuable time that you should be using within the festival itself. 

Try get into E20, E21 or E23. Tell them you have either a bad leg, a baby and mum arriving tomorrow or that you have contracted AIDS.

If they put you in E15, E16 or E17, kill yourself immediately.  

 

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If you can, arrive on the Tuesday - there's no rush, but we tend to get there about 5ish (unless it's 2016, when that'll be 7:30am the following morning).... Set up, go to the hill with a drink and watch the sun set on the most amazing view - especially if this is your first time. No glassware, all booze in plastic bottles.

Wednesday - get wristbanded at 1ish - the crowds will have gone and it's a stroll in.

Water - get that first thing (like really early) or last thing.

Loos - the portaloos are amazingly clean - so tbh  we used them rather than the CV and cassette emptying malarkey.

A small gazebo if you don't have an awning would be a good idea - when you park up, let them know you have an "awning" and they'll give you space for an erection! Also good if you've got people camping with you. The stewards are lovely, just ask and they will help.

Agree re: cooking - do as little as possible - just get yourself something for Tuesday eve, the rest of the time wait until inside the festival - it's cheap and wonderful.

Chat will all your neighbours, they're all lovely.

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When you have set up make a mental note of where your van is in relation to others/pathways etc. East is big!

Bring a torch or head light to help you find your way back late at night. East is quite dark. Buy some solar lights and put them somewhere on the van to help.

If it's a motorhome know where your tow thingy (very technical!) is. A few years ago we had to be towed in by a tractor through a very muddy bit from one field to another!

 

 

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if you're hiring one, make sure you know how to unlock and open ALL the little gas cupboards and storage areas - last year the poor people in front of us held up the queue for ages as security wanted to check their van over, but they didn't know how to open the external storage bins.

 

East camping is outside of Gate C, up a hill, that gets steeper and steeper as the festival goes on. Try and pack for the day when you go onto site, it's not a case of just 'popping back to the van' - I worked out using the google maps distance tool that in E16 where I normally end up, it's 1.45 miles to the main stage, so a three mile round trip to pop back for a coat etc :)

 

also, you will be leaving the site to get to the caravan bit so LOOK AFTER YOUR TICKET as well as your wristband. When you leave the site, you will have your band checked, your ticket check checked, AND get given a passout ticket, you will need ALL THREE to get back in. Use a good plastic pouch like the ones the Guide comes in, to store it all.

last one, CHECK and CHECK AGAIN you have your ticket when you set off for the site in the morning. nothing more soul destroying then getting almost to the gate and realising your passout is still hanging up on a coat hook in the 'van.

 

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Make sure you know how everything works, fill up the water before you go, make sure you know where the towing eye is, make sure you have plenty of gas.

don't empty your grey waste( anything that goes down the sink) onto the fields

don't empty your toilet cassette onto the fields, there are proper places for both

make sure you have more than one key to get into the van, if you don't all go back together you don't want to be first back and not have a key.

only use the lights you need, your leisure battery will thank you.

 

Edited by Smeble
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All of the above, particularly remembering to hold on to your ticket as you'll need it each day to go in and out.

Other than that it's make friends with your neighbours - offer them a cup of coffee when you arrive.  They'll keep an eye on your camper/motorhome and may be able to help if you can't get things working.  Try to get the hire firm to take you through all the switching on and off of gas/water etc before you set off and pay attention.

If there is a group if you ask the firm you are hiring from about spare keys.  If you have only one key agree a hiding place for it with your group so if someone wants to go back early they can.

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8 minutes ago, briddj said:

Rule No.1: No solids.

Yep I'd echo that, in fact we tried to make it a rule to avoid using the toilet where possible full stop (as we are only a minute from the impeccable portaloos) Obviously it won't be an issue this year, but trying to get your toilet cassette through the mud, and then the general area around the waste tank when you got it there was grim to say the least last year.

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In the east cv fields, I've found putting handy random stuff in the free lockups by PGC is a bonus, saves walking back up the hill of death and you don't have to leave the actual festival vibe which is always a plus. Slab of beer, coat, wellies, clothes, trolley, flag, kids, cash, phone, food.

Edited by Cooter
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Wow, thank you for all the replies.  There's some information that I had picked up on from reading other posts on the forum but certainly some things I hadn't. I'll use this page as a reference tool and ask any further questions near the time. Good to know about food, I think we had planned on bringing food to cook but sounds like that's a bad idea!!

Looking forward to the whole thing done a few festivals in the UK before Creamfields, Lost Village and then went to Sziget two years ago which was great. I am hoping Glastonbury is on another level although Sziget will take a bit of beating!

Feel free to post any more useful info.

 

Mark

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Only bring bacon for a morning sarnie and milk, tea and coffee. Its way too far to go back to cook and the food on site is fab. ( see thread ). Take every thing you need for the day when you go off in the morning, including a warm jacket for the evenings. Don't bring any booze in glass bottles.

Sorry if I'm repeating some of the above comments.

Have a wonderful time.

 

Edited by baggienick68
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Glasto will be the first festival for us in our van.

Been away in it loads since getting it last August but always on electric hook up. Considering getting solar panels fitted.

Looking forward to not having to lug a trolley across site and also being able to make a coffee / bacon butty* each morning. As others have said though, so much great food on site we won't really be properly cooking. Maybe Tuesday eve.

An awning makes a huge difference especially if the weather isn't great.

*Don't cook it in the van. It will reek for days.

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It was our first time in a motor home last year and I don't think we'd go back to camping now. I personally think that sleeping in a proper bed with a proper duvet helps lessen the hangover every morning! 

I'm convinced you won't need it but if it's muddy, I suggest buying yourself a big broadsheet newspaper on the Sunday before and covering the floor of the motor home in it. That way you'll keep the floor of the home clean, otherwise trying to get mud out of carpet will be a right  ballache. 

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9 minutes ago, Cvjonny17 said:

Its also our first time at the festival in our vw camper!

 

Are the fields quite flat or do we really need levelling blocks?

Going on the tuesdnight......hopefully arrive before 9pm..

 

flat-ish. you won't slide out of bed, but it's not perfectly level.

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