Tips & Advice for 1st timers!

[rubenz]

Travel as light as you can, you can buy most things on sight and the food prices are not too bad if you shop around. 

If you ever feel yourself flagging, get over to the west Holts late afternoon and neck a couple of high powered brothers ciders.  It is pretty rancid but always perks me up and the west Holts has the best music and fun crowds with minimal bellends in the vicinity!

 

[Quark]

42 minutes ago, phillyfaddle said:

Me too, in 2016 by Acoustic. Pissing awful weather. But It. Was. Fab. ?

Aye, proper comfort food. Bit tricky to dance afterwards as it sits in your stomach like a concrete bowling ball  but who cares

Edited October 9, 2018 by Quark

[Beerqueen]

3 hours ago, zico martin said:

The decanting of the red wine into a water bottle at the tent every afternoon is an integral part of the festival though.

Oh my god still can't believe we got a ticket

Oh I've certainly done that before but not in 2017 - maybe it was the hot weather made me want to stick to beer?  My problem with red wine is that I sometimes forget it's not beer and neck it at a similar speed!

[zico martin]

40 minutes ago, Beerqueen said:

Oh I've certainly done that before but not in 2017 - maybe it was the hot weather made me want to stick to beer?  My problem with red wine is that I sometimes forget it's not beer and neck it at a similar speed!

Yeah you are not wrong there. The sips get progressively bigger till it's all gone. Always less of a problem at the farm than in real life though. 

[Kay95]

13 hours ago, rubenz said:

If you ever feel yourself flagging, get over to the west Holts late afternoon and neck a couple of high powered brothers ciders.  It is pretty rancid but always perks me up and the west Holts has the best music and fun crowds with minimal bellends in the vicinity!

 

My tip for if you're flagging is a 'posh spice' (or variant thereof) from the somerset cider bus: hot spiced cider with brandy.... pricey but guaranteed pick up, especially if its wet/cold.   One of those at a key point (usually on the sunday afternoon before the legend slot on the pyramid) has become a bit of a ritual

Also will echo the advice to use the lock up... even if its just for your car/house keys.  Take a photo of the receipt in case you lose it.

[The Nal]

Bring a GoPro for when you're walking and an iPad to film the gigs.

Walk up the hill and yell "DON'T TURN AROUND YET" at people. 

Theres usually a "what to wear" supplement in the Daily Fail a few weeks before the festival. 

If you want a good spot at the Pyramid Stage, get there early to get close and put your chair down for the night. 

Put a large blanket down aswell for all your stuff and for friends to sleep on. 

Print off a fake disabled pass so you can get on the viewing platform. 

Don't be afraid to talk a lot during the gigs. Its a social festival. 

[giantkatestacks]

Don't completely cane it on weds/thurs night leaving you wrecked for the weekend. Dont leave your tent. Use the lock ups. Dont piss on the land/against another person etc. Dont worry if you lose your mates.

Everyone's Glastonbury is completely different - don't listen to all the people on here who moan about people being at the Pyramid all day. If that's your cup of tea then you do that.

[SignalConfusion]

Take a visit to Hari Krishna near West Holts - beautiful food and all they ask for is small donation, saved me a fair few times. 

[e_p]

A few proper saying don’t leave your tent. You probably will need to leave it at least once over the weekend. 

[Mardy]

43 minutes ago, giantkatestacks said:

Don't completely cane it on weds/thurs night leaving you wrecked for the weekend.

Dammit, I knew I'd been doing something wrong all this time.

[Doug85]

Don't take as much as you think you will need, trust me you won't need everything. 

Arrival time depends on when you want to get there but if you want a decent camping spot that is either central or in the popular grounds then i'd say get there early enough Wednesday morning- most travel overnight and sit in the car park.

Use Wednesday as your day to get your bearings and have a good scout of the place, Thursday is good for this too but there are some bands on around site, its probably the best way to get an idea of how long it takes to get from one stage to another so that when Friday arrives you have an idea of how long it will take you to go see whoever is on your must see list (i'd say don't go overboard though as most end up doing random things that messes around with their "schedule") 

Most of all enjoy it and don't pee on the land. 

Leave no trace and take everything home and put your waste in the bins. 

You will love it!

[The Clearest Blue]

15 hours ago, zico martin said:

As an ancient 40 something, I've never really got the amazing nightlife. Where should I be going after the headliners have finished as the South East corner just seemed far too busy and hectic for me!

I'd recommend the Spike, usually has a band on of some form and there's a little cocktail bar in the, plus the disco ball reflecting sparkles all over the tree canopy above you makes it feel special.

Also just taking a wonder around the green fields and you're bound to come across a bar/tent that's got some form of band having a jam and people dancing and having a good time!

[BambooShanks]

Get festival fit as early as possible.

The wednesday is a slog of a day even in good weather and you'll be covering a lot of miles on hilly terrain while carrying a lot of weight.  Focus on training your legs, core, shoulders (especially your trapezius) and plenty of cardio.

If you are driving in, only take your rucksack and tent with you when you queue up.  Pitch up your tent, empty your bag into the rucksack and then do a booze run. It's so much easier than trying to do one big mission.

Take it easy on the Wednesday and Thursday.  It's a marathon, not a sprint. The last thing you want is to be burned out by Friday.

if you are going to indulge in naughty substances, know your limits and take care of yourself.  Before you take anything heavy, make sure you've had a good meal and a good shit recently. There's nothing worse than coming up, realising you really need to shit and having difficultly finding a toilet because you're too spangled.

Set designated meeting points for your group for the various stages, so if you lose anyone, you know where to look if calls or messages don't get through.

Bring a flag for your campsite (or camp near one). Makes finding your tent so much easier.

 

Nothing good comes from doing more drugs after 3am.  What little you will get out of it, will only make you feel worse the next day.

Have your must sees, go to them on your own if needs be.

 

Don't be afraid to get lost.

 

[Skelts]

2 hours ago, Kay95 said:

 

Also will echo the advice to use the lock up... even if its just for your car/house keys.  Take a photo of the receipt in case you lose it.

Great advice, saved myself a lot of hassle twice last year!

[Dangertappy]

Woooo newbie club!! ?

[shuttlep]

16 hours ago, zico martin said:

The decanting of the red wine into a water bottle at the tent every afternoon is an integral part of the festival though.

Oh my god still can't believe we got a ticket

why not just buy a box of wine then take the card board away and carry the bag around with you. just bring your metal cup.

[rubenz]

1 hour ago, Kinkyinuit said:

Get festival fit as early as possible.

The wednesday is a slog of a day even in good weather and you'll be covering a lot of miles on hilly terrain while carrying a lot of weight.  Focus on training your legs, core, shoulders (especially your trapezius) and plenty of cardio.

If you are driving in, only take your rucksack and tent with you when you queue up.  Pitch up your tent, empty your bag into the rucksack and then do a booze run. It's so much easier than trying to do one big mission.

Take it easy on the Wednesday and Thursday.  It's a marathon, not a sprint. The last thing you want is to be burned out by Friday.

if you are going to indulge in naughty substances, know your limits and take care of yourself.  Before you take anything heavy, make sure you've had a good meal and a good shit recently. There's nothing worse than coming up, realising you really need to shit and having difficultly finding a toilet because you're too spangled.

Set designated meeting points for your group for the various stages, so if you lose anyone, you know where to look if calls or messages don't get through.

Bring a flag for your campsite (or camp near one). Makes finding your tent so much easier.

 

Nothing good comes from doing more drugs after 3am.  What little you will get out of it, will only make you feel worse the next day.

Have your must sees, go to them on your own if needs be.

 

Don't be afraid to get lost.

 

There's nothing worse than coming up, realising you really need to shit and having difficultly finding a toilet because you're too spangled.

 

Sounds like your speaking from experience! 

[Quark]

16 hours ago, zico martin said:

The decanting of the red wine into a water bottle at the tent every afternoon is an integral part of the festival though.

Top tip: don't try decanting rum and fizzy mixer into a camelbak bladder.  Carbonated beverages and what is basically a posh carrier bag don't really belong together.

[mashedonmud]

19 hours ago, deebeedoobee said:

don't be a tit and leave your tent

EVER

[NewloveGlastonbury]

Although followed the forums for years not logged on and posted in 4 years by the looks of things!! I think the wait for 2019 since 2017 and getting tickets has raised my excitement levels more than other years. 

This will be my 6th time at Glastonbury and i still haven't seen everything it has to offer which is the beauty of it.  

My advice will be to read these forums as much as you can between now and June, these forums have helped me so so much and really helped me understand the festival and now i have that bug. 

Pack as light as possible, i overheard a friend at the weekend planning what food they are going to take with them - you do not need to take food, the variety and quality of food this place has to offer is exceptional. 

Wednesday and Thursday are by far my favourite days - just walk around and see what you come across. In the early hours in 2016 i stumbled(literally) to a bridge hearing the song 'island in the stream' only to find a couple dressed as Dolly Parton and Kenny Rodgers in a small raft in a stream drifting under the bridge! 

[zico martin]

4 hours ago, shuttlep said:

why not just buy a box of wine then take the card board away and carry the bag around with you. just bring your metal cup.

Portion (or should that be potion) control see!

I always use one of those plastic foldable water bottles which clip onto a belt strap on my shorts. Cans and wipes in a backpack hence hands free to dance and high five

[Havors]

There is no correct way. What I would say is, write a list of things you like so we can tell you where you can find that sort of thing. 

Other than that.... I would set aside wed and thursday to have no plan at all and just wander.... see what you come across. The place is truly magical and you find the strangest yet funnest things ever. 

[shuttlep]

4 hours ago, Quark said:

Top tip: don't try decanting rum and fizzy mixer into a camelbak bladder.  Carbonated beverages and what is basically a posh carrier bag don't really belong together.

sounds like a man speaking from experience 

[reallife]

Don't try too hard.  Relax.  Enjoy.

 

[Brave Sir Robin]

21 hours ago, balti-pie said:

??? I’ve taken to extensively trialling canned beers to see what’s good at ‘room’ temp and what’s not: my findings are primarily that the darker the beer, the better it is. I also favour yer stronger beer in order to keep a good wee/smashed ratio. My favourite strong canned beers: 

Magic Rock common grounds (breakfast in a can!) 

Northern Monk mocha porter

Gun imperial whisky stout 

Evil Twin Bozo beer (17%! One of them just before a headliner and I’m a happy bouncing boy) 

That's those added to my shopping list! I've enjoyed a fair bit of 'testing' too... another thing to savour in the build-up!! ?

For me I've learnt from experience not to get too many swish craft cans in, I don't appreciate them and don't remember much after a few... I favour a sprinkling of specialities alongside a load of session strength (Tribute being my favourite for the latter, fine in the sun despite being fairly pale).

And then there's the infused spirits to prepare!!