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Has anybody ever been to Glasto that DIDN'T like it?


Stevie P-alike
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2 hours ago, Deaf Nobby Burton said:

...I’m camping next year anyway, so at least that can’t happen again...

I hate to be a Debbie/Derek Downer here, but don't be so sure.

2017 I got there relatively early Tuesday evening, aiming to get a good place overnight in the queue for Gate B, aiming for a good camping spot in Row Mead.

Got made to park up at literally the furthest away you can get from said scenario. Think beyond all of the Campervan East places. The most South Easterly car parking spot on the map.

Was still determined to get to Gate B from there but kept getting denied by stewards on the way (who, given that I'm "regular", appeared to not understand the layout of the place as well as I did).

Long story short: Still got my intended queue and camping spots. But it absolutely ruined me that trek. In that heat that year. Which I had to do twice because, well, you know, I'd bought a load of stuff and planned to be closer to Gate B?

If anyone can help me avoid that kind of parking shenanigans next year there's a drink in it for them.

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It's weird isn't it!?

I wouldn't say "I didn't like it" in terms of the last two festies (I mean. Radioheaad and The Foos in '17 was epic), but both years could have gone better.

I didn't expect to enjoy 2016 (my first time not being allowed to drive myself there (despite volunteering), which made me really apprehensive given my health at the time. And the weather pre festival that year. But it turned out to be one of my favourites ever.

I've been to Glastonbury and haven't enjoyed it as much as I thought I would.

Conversely I've also been to Glastonbury not expecting to have a good time and have had that life changing happening that kept me coming back

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9 hours ago, MrZigster said:

I hate to be a Debbie/Derek Downer here, but don't be so sure.

2017 I got there relatively early Tuesday evening, aiming to get a good place overnight in the queue for Gate B, aiming for a good camping spot in Row Mead.

Got made to park up at literally the furthest away you can get from said scenario. Think beyond all of the Campervan East places. The most South Easterly car parking spot on the map.

Was still determined to get to Gate B from there but kept getting denied by stewards on the way (who, given that I'm "regular", appeared to not understand the layout of the place as well as I did).

Long story short: Still got my intended queue and camping spots. But it absolutely ruined me that trek. In that heat that year. Which I had to do twice because, well, you know, I'd bought a load of stuff and planned to be closer to Gate B?

If anyone can help me avoid that kind of parking shenanigans next year there's a drink in it for them.

______________________________________________

It's weird isn't it!?

I wouldn't say "I didn't like it" in terms of the last two festies (I mean. Radioheaad and The Foos in '17 was epic), but both years could have gone better.

I didn't expect to enjoy 2016 (my first time not being allowed to drive myself there (despite volunteering), which made me really apprehensive given my health at the time. And the weather pre festival that year. But it turned out to be one of my favourites ever.

I've been to Glastonbury and haven't enjoyed it as much as I thought I would.

Conversely I've also been to Glastonbury not expecting to have a good time and have had that life changing happening that kept me coming back

Every year I drive in heading towards D gate car parks. Every year I get waved in to pink car parks which are a gazillion miles away and across the road. I only made that mistake once. Now I just keep on driving, make a U turn a bit further down the road and then drive back. I then always get waved in to orange instead

I'm not sure I'd be able to do it in heavy traffic on Wednesday morning but I always arrive early hours when the roads are reasonably clear and always get a much closer parking space in relation to the gates. I think sometimes we perhaps think a car park is full when we get waved in to somewhere closer to Bristol but I think they are just trying to distribute arrivals a bit more evenly. It's always worked that way for me anyhow 

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On 10/13/2019 at 12:25 AM, rumpola said:

Tbh, and I'm not trying to belittle you or anxiety sufferers in the slightest at all, but even the most hardened, mentally strong people have those overwhelming moments from time to time at Glastonbury.

I know there are times over the years that I've needed a bit of time to myself and so have the majority of people that I've gone with. Theres been a few tears shed more than once over nothing in particular and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

I'm lucky enough to have absolutely no significant anxiety / depression / other mental health issues - I'm nearly always confident, resilient, adaptable and all those annoying things*.  Generally pretty chirpy as well, expect where it's not appropriate.

At Glastonbury -  I have called my wife at home on Sunday morning 2016 wanting to come home because I was tired (her response was that I should get some food and a beer, she was right), then left Adele that evening because it was making me sad, and then ended up stood crying at the end of LCD Soundsystem being comforted by strangers; I've had to find a quiet spot (permaculture herb garden) on Wednesday afternoon because I was overwhelmed by how busy it was; I've gone for a quiet sit down in crew bars more often that I can count.

*I'm aware this sounds like a brag, but I know how lucky I am, and that it's not really anything I've done to be like this - I just hit the jackpot on brain chemistry, having just the right amount of trauma in my childhood (enough to make me resilient, not enough to cause serious permanent scars) and all that.  Expect it will come crashing down around my ears at some point though.

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My first Glastonbury was 2016 with my partner and it started horrendously. 13 hour queue to then be put in the blue car parks and not the car parks for the glamping areas up from gate B. I then had to haul as much stuff through the mud to the pre-erected tents and then forget about the rest of the stuff till the next day. 

We decided to move the car to the correct car park on the Saturday morning and presently got stuck in the fields, we only got going again after I pushed the car out and she drove off as she was scared to stop. Parking the car caused more issues and in the end I was covered in mud from head to toe.

We endured the mud throughout the weekend but packed up early on the Sunday and we left after Coldplay.

She said she would never be back, however I got tickets for next year and I think I have persuaded her to go, this time we have a decent tent and won't have to walk up and down muddy lane every day. i think camping on-site will allow us to enjoy the festival more and get more out of it, fingers crossed the weather isn't as bad as 2016.

We didn't even get to John Peel stage, Silver Hayes or Arcadia so hopefully next year. 

Biggest downer of 2016 was waking up to the news that the country had voted for Brexit, look what thats caused. 

    

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I've been going since the mid-90s, but for several years mrs d and I used to stay off site at a B&B in Glastonbury town - mrs d hates camping so this was the only way we were both going to go.

Anyway, in 2016 there were two retired nurses staying at our B&B who'd seen Glasto on the telly and who'd made the decision to go as a bucket list thing.  At breakfast on the Friday they were excitedly telling us about all the acts they were looking forward to seeing, but when we saw them the following morning it turned out they hadn't brought wellies or any other suitable footwear, and they hadn't actually made it to any of the stages.  Indeed by late Friday morning they'd given up and headed back to the B&B.  They spent the rest of the weekend visiting Cheddar Gorge, Wells and other places in the area before heading home.

 

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I didnt really enjoy 2015 for a number of reasons. 

I missed out in 2014 after just breaking up from my ex, who did get tickets, and i was gutted. I built 2015 up and all my mates pulled out, so ended up getting a ticket on my own. I knew a couple of people who were going and tagged along with them. One was having some issues with her BF (who was there) and spent the whole festival looking for him/crying about it. I was also in a bad place and the crowds and annoying teenagers pushing me everywhere i went made me a bit mardy.

I thought that might be it for me and Glasto, but luckily I was in a much better place in 2017, and went with close mates and it was the time of my life.

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Not Glasto but had a mate with us at Boomtown 2012 who hadn't done a full festival before - it was about 30 degrees all weekend (similar situation to this year at G (still very fresh in my mind!)).

So the Thursday he was battered by the time we were an hour outside the festival, he carried this on all day and night - woke up on the Friday with a giant hangover in a tent which more closely resembled an oven -threw a wobbly about "all these hippies" etc and got someone to come and collect him

He lasted about 20hours onsite.

However (plot twist) he ended up realising what a mistake he made and came back for about 5 years in a row following that.

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I've been to a fair few festivals but they've mostly been abroad and have mostly stayed in hotels. I think I'd struggle not with the heat but with the rain if it were to happen. If you could guarantee me the weather I wouldn't hesitate in at least registering for tickets one year.

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had a friend who went one year,. totally hated it . put video's on you tube of the toilets and how bad it was. he created an effegie  of Bush and set fire to it while shouting through a mega phone fuck bush and so on.

 

he left on Saturday afternoon,

 

left his tent his camping gear everything.  just walked out, he had some good gear all new. the tent he left lasted me 6 years. 

 

flash forward ten years, I bump into him at the stone circle having a blast of a time judging by the state of him; attitudes can change

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I had a few first-timers come with me one year. We camped near Arcadia (imo, the perfect spot as it's not far from The Park, Other Stage, SEC etc...). We weren't bothered about Arcadia being loud as it closes at like 2am, but some fucker set up a 'mobile' soundsystem each night in the middle of the campsite and played right through til at least 7 in the morning while all the tents around vibrated from the noise. It was deafening.

My friend has not returned.

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As much as I love the festival I’ve had years where I’ve gotten home and it just hasn’t went how I planned. Getting older I’ve learned to not expect anything or over hype an event too much, as it never usually lives up to your expectations prior to it all. 

Been going since 2011 and out of the 7 festivals I’ve been I’d say there where 2 where I’d gotten home and after all was settled just had to admit it wasn’t the best of times for me. Personal issues during that time period of my life, going with different groups and different people, beginning to appreciate different areas of the festival/approaching the 5 days differently, weather, bad turns on the arl booze/narcotics. Sometimes it just clicks for me, 2011, 2015 and 2017 being 3 of those years. 

The magic was there especially in those 3 events for me, everywhere we seemed to go we didn’t have to queue, great spots and great people around us in the crowds for some of the headline acts across this years - Coldplay 11, Florence, Pharrell and Chem’s 15 and XX 17. 

16 was pretty dire for me personally, going through back home issues and coupled with the weather just seemed more like a chore. What summed it up was the Sunday traipsing to SE corner taking twice as long with the ground conditions to see that no more people were allowed in due to safety precautions, then plodding back to the rabbit hole and having no success at all getting into there, nor did we for the previous nights before. Then finally we went to make our way up to stone circle, which in 2015 we had the best Monday morning on as a big group together, speakers on and smoking a few joints talking about the 5 days we’d just had. Whereas I can remember heading up there Monday 2016, it was grey and pissing down, people where covered in mud and all wrapped up huddled together, seemingly like they where just staying there for the sake of it being the last few hours for another 12 months in the place.

Came home 2016 and thought my time could be up with the place, or at least for a few years. October came and our full group of around 20 odd got tickets. Went and had one of the best weeks of my life.

The magic is in there at the festival, but from experience sometimes it just doesn’t click for one reason or another. But when things are good, there isn’t a place on earth like it. 

Lets hope the magic is with us in 2020 folks.

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