Looking for tips from the over 60's

[Elderflower]

Awesome post

[**claire**]

Perhaps he could carry a chair or folding stool with him, so he can rest as much as he needs to if his knee is painful, and a walking pole would be useful for him I'd also recommend he chats to his doctor about possibly using a knee support. Apart from that, he'll be great I betcha And he's a grown up man, I'm sure he can take care of himself

[bexj]

Don't worry - unless she is well over 60 you don't need to make any allowances or adjustments! Many of us who were at the original wave of festivals are pushing 60 or more - I had my 18th birthday at the Bath Festival that was the precursor to Glastonbury, do the sums. I can reliably report that I was all over the place this year seeing loads of bands and doing loads of amazing things. Glad I was on real ale rather than acid when I was in Shangri La late at night though. If she goes easy on the psychedelics in the more exciting areas she'll be fine. Just do your own thing and don't try to keep up with her or you'll wear yourself out...

[denwyn]

This has to be one of the best threads on here at the moment, its lifted me as i was thinking along the lines of next year ( should i get a ticket ) being 63 making it the last. As i have said before this year was great except for the long walk from the car to the camp area,even with a sack truck it was painful. besides campervans which are to expensive for one person to hire and trailer tents being no good as i can't store one at home,what options do others use,i am thinking of the ready pitched tents but i notice others staying off site, at my age this looks a very good option which may be for me, i'm not one for the late night areas in Glastonbury, have never really liked them, so what are the options to staying off site, and costs.

[amfy]

We were thinking of a campervan last year and one of the best suggestions I came across was to find someone who has one, and hire it off them. We saw 3 in streets surrounding our house, and we decided we were just going to knock on the door and ask if we could hire it off them for say £200 and then negotiate. (We looked into proper hiring them and the costs for that week are astronomical).

In the end we decided that the stress of driving someone else's vehicle and trying to keep it/get it clean if it was muddy outweighed the benefits for us as we are still only 40's and able to get on and off site ok. Also - we didn't fancy the walk in and out - our time will come, but even with mum with us this year, it isn't yet.

[rubberducky]

I've been taking my Dad for the last four years or so, he is now in his early 60's.

He joined the efestivals camp and has a great time, even though his first festival was in '07 when it was a bit wet, he keeps coming back.

We have quite different festivals as we have different taste in music, and I tend to be going home when he is getting up in the morning, but he really enjoys himself.

We normally have some food together and see one or two acts a day which we are both interested in. I don't need to look after him, he can get into quite enough trouble on his own, especially after discovering the cider bus....

He's probably reading this, so maybe he has some tips for your Mum.

/Mike

Edited July 14, 2010 by rubberducky

[Mackem]

This has to be one of the best threads on here at the moment, its lifted me as i was thinking along the lines of next year ( should i get a ticket ) being 63 making it the last. As i have said before this year was great except for the long walk from the car to the camp area,even with a sack truck it was painful. besides campervans which are to expensive for one person to hire and trailer tents being no good as i can't store one at home,what options do others use,i am thinking of the ready pitched tents but i notice others staying off site, at my age this looks a very good option which may be for me, i'm not one for the late night areas in Glastonbury, have never really liked them, so what are the options to staying off site, and costs.

[Someones Mum]

Hey mackem is that Primrose Hill you stayed at?

[Mackem]

Hey mackem is that Primrose Hill you stayed at?

Edited July 14, 2010 by Mackem

[anoldhippie@60]

Hi, I am 61 and went for the first time last year. Went again this and intend to go until I drop. I am fairly fit so did not have much problem with anything. If your Mum is a bit dodgy on the pins she might find it a problem with guy ropes (even tho he is a nice guy). As someone said maybe a camper van or a tow tent thingy. Also how would she be with all the crowds. I personally would recommend it to anybody. There were no problems with being that age there people just accept who you are Had lots of good chats with some of the younger types this year. Great time.

[grumpyhack]

It's not age but health and fitness that counts. I'm 60 (another one of those who's been going since Bath in 68 and Shepton Mallet in 69) but this year our group took a newbie mate aged 50 but who was pretty unfit. We warned him about the size of the site and the amount of walking but he didn't really heed our warnings and didn't cope very well.

It's also about pacing yourself, taking it steadily and, if need be, carrying a fold up chair so you can sit and have a rest and watch the world go by.

[roytheboy]

I've been taking my Dad for the last four years or so, he is now in his early 60's.

He joined the efestivals camp and has a great time, even though his first festival was in '07 when it was a bit wet, he keeps coming back.

We have quite different festivals as we have different taste in music, and I tend to be going home when he is getting up in the morning, but he really enjoys himself.

We normally have some food together and see one or two acts a day which we are both interested in. I don't need to look after him, he can get into quite enough trouble on his own, especially after discovering the cider bus....

He's probably reading this, so maybe he has some tips for your Mum.

/Mike

[Douzeper]

My Mum died in 2006 after years of ill health and my Father had wanted to go to a festival for years, so we persuaded him to come along in 2007, great choice eh? :-)

He was 66 then and although he enjoyed it he will not return no matter how much we explain to him the weather is not always that bad. He says it is the amount of walking he had to do, not helped by the mud! I think he just wanted to see so many bands and he left to do his own thing loads of times. We even took a campervan a few times and he stil wouldn't hear of it. I think as a previous poster said its not how old you are but how fit you are, my Father is a big strong man but suffers with knee problems and it took a lot out of him.

Word of advice to anyone considering MyHab next year to make life a bit easier, if you have ever done the so called "hill of death" to the campervan field well multiply that by 3! it is dreadfull and extremely steep, an older gentleman lost his grip this year and went from top to bottom, scraping his knee's elbows etc. The steepest hill is just gravel and large stones, very very easy to lose your grip on it. It wrecked us completely this year and no way will we be doing it again, it made us so tired (combined with the heat) that it did not make for an enjoyable Glasto. I am 41 and suffer with bad knee's, after the MYHab hill(s) I have been on crutches since Glasto and a hinged support on one knee, awaiting operation. Not Glastonbury or Myhabs fault but some sort of warning on how bad the hill's were up to it would of been beneficial.

[grumpyhack]

We took a trailer tent for the first time this year and were in Campervan East. I was worried in advance because of the comments about the Hill of Death but when I got there I couldn't understand what the fuss was about. Take it slowly and gently, and carefully and it's not a problem (though I admit it was dry and could be more of a problem in the wet).

The TT was the best move we've ever made, space, comfort, a fridge and decent cooker. Also because it's 'old fashoned' canvas it stayed cool throughout the heat of the day but was still OK at night.

[Mackem]

We took a trailer tent for the first time this year and were in Campervan East. I was worried in advance because of the comments about the Hill of Death but when I got there I couldn't understand what the fuss was about. Take it slowly and gently, and carefully and it's not a problem (though I admit it was dry and could be more of a problem in the wet).

The TT was the best move we've ever made, space, comfort, a fridge and decent cooker. Also because it's 'old fashoned' canvas it stayed cool throughout the heat of the day but was still OK at night.

[jameshunt]

Excuse my ignorance but ... what is a trailer tent?