Jump to content

!Taking kids to Glastonbury 2011!


Guest bigbilly
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi there

Going with kids for the first time this year and thought it would be nice to speak to other people either taking kids for the first time or long time vets!

Will be going with my partner and my 1 year old and our friends with a 9 month old.

Been loads of time on our own but never with kids.

Thinking of camping in Cockmill meadow, arriviving tuesday evening , mums and kids joining us weds afternoon.

First questions...

Is gate b the best gate to get into this field?

Best place to camp in this field??

cheers

Lee

Edited by bigbilly
Link to comment
Share on other sites

all of these are defo worth a read:-

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/glastonbury/info-TakingKids.shtml

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/womad/2001/review-kids.shtml

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/guilfest/2001/review-kids.shtml

Only the first is specifically Glastonbury (and that's the best part of ten years old now) - but I reckon they'll all have snippets within them that will be useful. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

all of these are defo worth a read:-

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/glastonbury/info-TakingKids.shtml

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/womad/2001/review-kids.shtml

http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/guilfest/2001/review-kids.shtml

Only the first is specifically Glastonbury (and that's the best part of ten years old now) - but I reckon they'll all have snippets within them that will be useful. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For Cockmill Meadow, ped gate B is closest although gate C isn't too far either.... but it's uphill to Cockmill meadow once you're in. I've used both gate B and C, gate C seems to have more even crowd flow, there are a couple of nasty bottlenecks (narrow gates through hedgerows) on the way to gate b.

I don't think this really applied too much last year, but you may experience resistance from campsite stewards if you're trying to set up in Cockmill Meadow without kids. We camped in Wicket ground last year (with kids) and friends camping with us who arrived on Thursday were challenged when trying to get in to the field.

Anyone else had any experience of this in Cockmill Meadow?

Edited by vinylvictim
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For Cockmill Meadow, ped gate B is closest although gate C isn't too far either.... but it's uphill to Cockmill meadow once you're in. I've used both gate B and C, gate C seems to have more even crowd flow, there are a couple of nasty bottlenecks (narrow gates through hedgerows) on the way to gate b.

I don't think this really applied too much last year, but you may experience resistance from campsite stewards if you're trying to set up in Cockmill Meadow without kids. We camped in Wicket ground last year (with kids) and friends camping with us who arrived on Thursday were challenged when trying to get in to the field.

Anyone else had any experience of this in Cockmill Meadow?

Edited by bigbilly
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you think the kids will get much out of the festival at that age? Genuine question.

I'm going with a friend whose daughter will be 18 months in june but he's leaving it until she is 3 or 4 before taking her, reckoning it's pointless any younger. I pondered whether the sights and sounds would be stimulating for a baby. I reckon they would, so long as you stay away from the main stages.

He probably just wants an excuse to get ratted

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the reply. I have heard we may have problems sos plan to take some pictures with the family to show the stewards. We will have prams etc as well so hopefully that will help. Saying this I also heard that people were camping in there without kids as well?

Wickets is a little out the way for us really and we have camped there in the past before it was the kids field. Can you see the pyramid from Cockmill?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you think the kids will get much out of the festival at that age? Genuine question.

I'm going with a friend whose daughter will be 18 months in june but he's leaving it until she is 3 or 4 before taking her, reckoning it's pointless any younger. I pondered whether the sights and sounds would be stimulating for a baby. I reckon they would, so long as you stay away from the main stages.

He probably just wants an excuse to get ratted

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I understand what you are saying and we did have to think hard about going. At the end of the day its a week holiday for us and the kids will get to spend the time listening to music (with headphones when appropriate) hopefully playing with other kids and meeting new people etc.

It will be a totally different glasto for us then previus ones and I imagine its gonna be hard but we have a good group going and we can take it in turn geting a break when we need one so all good

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well as you say the crucial thing is going with a group. Just you, the missus and the kids has nightmare written all over it. I reckon the times when you do get away from the kids and go and see your favourite band will make you enjoy it all the more - I bet you get your best "glasto moments" ever this year.

Plus, the kidz field looks utterly wonderful - you'll enjoy it more than they will!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cockmill Meadow filled up quickly last year. As previous posters have said, it's situated mainly on a hill which can be hard work at the end of a busy day. The top of the field (Gate B end) is flat though. It's quiet at night so you should get a good nights sleep. The campsite crews are fantastic and very helpful. Cutting across the field are high voltage electrical cables which make a crackling noise - particularly if it's damp so we try to keep away from those. There's plenty of portaloos and taps and the Kids Field is close by at the bottom of the hill. There's a 24 hour cafe selling food and hot drinks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cockmill Meadow is absolutely fantastic and I would reccomend it to anyone with a family. We camp there every year we go and are planning on doing the same next year too. It's great for first timers as it's very out of the way and when you get in the campsite all you can see is the tip of the Acoustic tent and nothing else, however if you camp further up the hill you can see the whole site waiting for you. It's really quiet but the atmosphere is still great as the people around are very friendly. The stewards as stated before are fantastic and very helpfull but they can also have a good joke and a laugh when they want to.

Also stated before, it's right near the kidz field and a CHEAP 24 hour cafe so whenever you feel peckish for a bit of bacon or maybe a burger you have the convenience of getting food when you need it. The pyramid stage is to the right of the main T-Junction of the campsite which is incredibly convenient and if you go further down past the acoustic stage it hits the main drag which means you don't have to walk to far to get to any of the main entertainment places which is really handy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the advice everybody.

Next question (I have searched and checked!)

What would be the best type of push chair etc for 1 year old? We have seen some bike trailers that look pretty good. Any bargains to be had on ebay??

Edited by bigbilly
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would say pneumatic wheels are a must - the bigger the better. The tracks around the site are very stony. Get one with a decent cover to shield from the blazing sun.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

stayed at Cockmill in 2009, we were just to the right of the stewards caravan, halfway up the slope, was perfect for us.. you can't see the pyramid stage though.

there were a number of young teens in groups, but no problems at all from them, their parents were camped elsewhere on site.

last year, we arrived early, only to find the field full, and to be honest, hardly a kid in sight, so we ended up on wicket instead, which was virtually empty.

will be aiming to get on Cockmills again this year, but if not Wickets isn't too bad an alternative..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quite a few of those are seen around festival sites.

Make sure you cover it with fairy lights, so people don't fall over it in the dark. And if you can find some way to get the lights to go as far as the front of the front wheel - and at the same height as the 'cab' - that'll make all of it much easier to see. That front wheel protrudes quite a bit!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

quite a few of those are seen around festival sites.

Make sure you cover it with fairy lights, so people don't fall over it in the dark. And if you can find some way to get the lights to go as far as the front of the front wheel - and at the same height as the 'cab' - that'll make all of it much easier to see. That front wheel protrudes quite a bit!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Son and my fellow glastonaut has a Daughter, out of prams - thankfully - but still quite young. We were talking about taking them to Glasto one year. We decided to trial things at Bearded Theory next year as we live in Sheffield so could abort if needs be. TBH I'm looking forward to it. Some good tips on here. A couple of nice thick blankets for the gardening trolley sounds like a great idea!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.


×
×
  • Create New...