Rain.

[j-j-j-j-joe!]

I know that this year was sun all round, but it seems to me that it hasn't rained horrendously for several years now.

What has the weather been like in previous years? (Nothing past 2004 please)

[Mr.Tickle]

What do you mean nothing past 2004? It rained horrendously in 2005, 2007, 2008 on Thursday night and 2009 on Friday I think.

There's been a downpour every year I've been apart from this one.

[_danny_]

What do you mean nothing past 2004?

[Mr.Tickle]

Don't want to put anyone off... seriously ... but ... anyone watching this years Fest and thinking "Wow, look at the sun and the dry ground, looks great I want to go" you MUST remember that this year was an exception and that there's not been many years in the last 8 that haven't had some pretty serious rain.

I'm only saying this as a warning that if you do go you HAVE to prepare for the worse. To be fair for me that just means bringing wellies and a waterproof poncho but those two items of clothing are an ABSOLUTE MINIMUM for even one nights torrential rain.

[mikeb]

Yup, Glasto 2010 is the ONLY festival of any name, at any place, any where in the world at any time that I've been to ... where I haven't got a soaking at least once during the fest It's most certainly the ONLY festival or trip EVER where Ye Olde Tent never saw even the merest hint of precipitation and actually came home completely dry !

Was totally weird having to set the poor old thing up when I got home this year just so that I could hose it down in an attempt to get at least some of the dust (AKA dehydrated GalstoMud !) off it so that it's reasonably presentable for it's next outing which is coming up very shortly

Edited July 5, 2010 by mikeb

[TheNewUnion]

2009 it chucked it down from Thursday evening and was still a bit rainy on Friday morning, stopped about when Bjorn Again took to the Pyramid!

2008 Heavy rain on Thursday night, got soaked trying to get in to see Levellers. Think it had stopped by Friday morning

2007 This was the non-stop rain of doom, mud everywhere year.

2005 This was the biblical rain leading to flash flooding but dry enough to sit on the grass by Sunday one.

Edited July 5, 2010 by TheNewUnion

[johnmcga]

Basically, what everyone else said. In my short Glastonbury-going history:

2007: horrendous, torrential conditions culminating in the wettest day of the wettest June on record (if I recall correctly). My photos from that year still make me shiver a bit.

2008: it hammered down on the Thursday night and Friday afternoon and everything started turning to mud. Just as I was fearing another 2007, the sun came out and everything dried out surprisingly quickly, even if there wasn't any grass left by that stage. Felt like a lucky escape.

2009: it definitely rained a bit on the Thursday and Friday, though nothing too severe. I don't recall any serious mud at any point and my memory is of a largely dry festival.

2010: no rain, blazing hot sunshine. Seriously, it was really exceptional stuff for Glastonbury.

I don't quite know how to express what a different festival it is in the mud either. Looking at my photos from back in 2007, I can barely believe we were in the same place that saw five days of blazing sunshine last week.

Edited July 5, 2010 by johnmcga

[THEBOILERMAN]

LETS GET THIS STARTED NOW

NO RAIN NO COMPROMISE 2011

[incident]

2009 it also started chucking it down heavily shortly after bands finished on Sunday night.

2004-2009 were all annoyingly wet, with 2005 and 2007 being biblically bad and 2008 being the best.

[j-j-j-j-joe!]

Trust me, i'm not expecting a repeat of this year, but I don't want to go if it's gonna be like 07 or 05 again. I can handle camping in the rain, as i've done it many times before, but i just won't enjoy the festival if it's practically flooded.

[Mr.Tickle]

I don't think 2005 will happen again, wrt to floods, they've spent thousands on drainage so that even if it does rain like that again it won't flood.

BUT

You HAVE to be prepared to wear wellies / waterproofs! Thing is, even one night of rainfall can turn the site into a mudbath, the sheer number of people walking about sees to that, it's just how quickly it dries up when the sun comes out.

[j-j-j-j-joe!]

I don't think 2005 will happen again, wrt to floods, they've spent thousands on drainage so that even if it does rain like that again it won't flood.

BUT

You HAVE to be prepared to wear wellies / waterproofs! Thing is, even one night of rainfall can turn the site into a mudbath, the sheer number of people walking about sees to that, it's just how quickly it dries up when the sun comes out.

[moho79]

2009 it also started chucking it down heavily shortly after bands finished on Sunday night.

[pezzypops]

the ones i've been to:

'02 was ok, not particularly rainy or sunny.

'03 was mega hot - it was the summer we had that heatwave when people died and records were set for heat - but i do remember sitting in a tent for a few hours waiting for it to stop raining at one point, and i remember my raincoat pockets filling up with water during sigur ros (was that '03? they were on the other stage).

'05 i didn't go.

'07 was pretty manky the whole time and i was recovering from a broken knee (slipping in the mud and landing heavily on my bad knee was a low point) but had a great time regardless

'08 hot and sunny (i'd just shaved my head and it got burnt ) but there was a downpour on thursday and showers the rest of the time.

'09 hot and sunny the whole time except a downpour on thursday (beginning to see a trend there).

'10 i didn't go.

[pezzypops]

2009 it also started chucking it down heavily shortly after bands finished on Sunday night.

[HurrahBrother]

Apparently 2006 was dry on the site, but it was a fallow year. :angry:

While you hear about the floods of 2005, 2007 was near constant drizzle punctuated with more rain.

The others, 1 heavy shower in the first couple of days.

[rubenz]

The rain last year on the Thursday was quite dramatic with thunderstorms punctuated by the sounds of East 17 and amid circulating rumours of Michael Jacksons death it was pretty surreal. Likewise on the Sunday night last year one minute chilled out at stone circle the next battling a torrential downpour!

I thought at one point a little rain might be nice this year then remembered how my feet nearly burst after standing in wellies watching Springsteen for 3 hours!!!(was so nice to be able to leave the wellies in the boot this time)

[j-j-j-j-joe!]

Hm, maybe i should bring my wellies in case of heavy, heavy rain, and my trusty ol' hiking boots in case of just heavy rain

[rubenz]

Hm, maybe i should bring my wellies in case of heavy, heavy rain, and my trusty ol' hiking boots in case of just heavy rain

[j-j-j-j-joe!]

Don't woory, i'd never leave out the wellies!

And it seems to me that there's only been two really bad years this decade. Evry other year has had only one or two heavy bits of rain.

Not bad odds really.

[rubenz]

I think you are right 2005 and 2007 were I think unusually damp. New drainage etc has been installed since so hopefully scenes of peoples tents floating about the campsite should be a thing of the past.

[The Pink Peril]

Don't want to put anyone off... seriously ... but ... anyone watching this years Fest and thinking "Wow, look at the sun and the dry ground, looks great I want to go" you MUST remember that this year was an exception and that there's not been many years in the last 8 that haven't had some pretty serious rain.

I'm only saying this as a warning that if you do go you HAVE to prepare for the worse. To be fair for me that just means bringing wellies and a waterproof poncho but those two items of clothing are an ABSOLUTE MINIMUM for even one nights torrential rain.

[rubenz]

This was my first fest (ever, I started with a good one!), and your first paragraph is exactly what I've been thinking. I had a brilliant time, don't get me wrong, but I'm wondering whether to leave it at that, I mean it'll never be like that again, will it? I don't know if I could not sit down for a week

[j-j-j-j-joe!]

Maybe we could put a restraining order on the clouds.

[HurrahBrother]

it can rain as much as it likes in 2012 , next year, rain, please stay away.