Sue

[Sue12]

Thanks everyone - def going to take my pillow now and take a trip to Go Outdoors ASAP! 

[ravermum]

18 minutes ago, Quark said:

Pillow. Finally gave in and took one with me this year.

Oh my.

This. I never camp without my own pillow - makes all the difference. Welcome @Sue12

[Avalon_Fields]

Congratulations on your early retirement, the best years of my life are since I’ve retired.

(Also, have retired from camping! 10 Glastonbury’s in a tent was enough, but it was great whilst it lasted. Getting into the warmth of a sleeping bag and listening to the hubbub of the festival outside is the thing I miss the most).

[parsonjack]

Stick your duvet and pillows in a vacuum bag and reduce them down with the hoover.  Makes them much smaller, easier to carry and keeps them clean on the way in ?

[H.M.V]

17 minutes ago, parsonjack said:

Stick your duvet and pillows in a vacuum bag and reduce them down with the hoover.  Makes them much smaller, easier to carry and keeps them clean on the way in ?

To add, no hoover to vacuum on the way home but nor do you have the same weight of booze. Or shouldn't have. ?

[Tuna]

Ed Balls 

[parsonjack]

9 hours ago, H.M.V said:

To add, no hoover to vacuum on the way home but nor do you have the same weight of booze. Or shouldn't have. ?

True..for leaving we stick them in the bag and then squash the air out by sitting on it.  No so good but works well enough to make them easier to carry. 

[Padjeq]

Spend time crawling in and out of the tents set up at Go Outdoors. I'd ordered a great blackout one for collection, but when I got there and went in it, I hated it. Got a perfect 3 man instead.

[scaryclaireyfairy]

Self-inflating foam sleeping mats > airbed. Shields you better from ground temps which can be really cold. Aldi and Lidl both do a decent one for less than £20 and they'll have them in at least once before June.

She-wee and a big fabric conditioner bottle. I like the look of the portable urinal but the advantage of the she-wee is you can have it in your daybag and have the comfort of knowing that if you're desperate, no toilet is too minging to use cos you don't have to bare your bum to it.

Pillow AND an old pillowcase. It's like heaven.

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

Don’t camp either too close, or too far away from the toilets.

[Digi]

Duvet, proper pillows, a double height inflatable bed and a tent big enough you can stand up in. They are all game changers for me... And a decent trolley to lug it all in. Admittedly I do take everything but the kitchen sink and it is a slog dragging it all in when the gates open and it is hard work but it makes a massive difference.

Pack the duvet and pillows in to a vacuum bag to reduce the bulk. I hate feeling restricted in a sleeping bag and not being able to stand up to get dressed would drive me mad 

Oh,  and a decent cool box. I've had an igloo for the past 10 years that's done a fair few festivals and is still going strong. We still have cold booze on a Sunday night and it keeps bacon and sausage fresh for breakfasts for all 4 mornings 

[Digi]

12 hours ago, H.M.V said:

To add, no hoover to vacuum on the way home but nor do you have the same weight of booze. Or shouldn't have. ?

We have a battery operated pump for the bed that has a reverse flow on it. It works pretty well sucking the air back out of the vacuum bag on take down day ?

[parsonjack]

39 minutes ago, Digi said:

We have a battery operated pump for the bed that has a reverse flow on it. It works pretty well sucking the air back out of the vacuum bag on take down day ?

Perfect ?

[Jensescapade]

I agree with everything which has been said already.  My one essential is ear plugs.  You never know who will be camping next to you.  The wax ones from boots are pretty good. x

[Sue12]

22 hours ago, scaryclaireyfairy said:

Self-inflating foam sleeping mats > airbed. Shields you better from ground temps which can be really cold. Aldi and Lidl both do a decent one for less than £20 and they'll have them in at least once before June.

She-wee and a big fabric conditioner bottle. I like the look of the portable urinal but the advantage of the she-wee is you can have it in your daybag and have the comfort of knowing that if you're desperate, no toilet is too minging to use cos you don't have to bare your bum to it.

Pillow AND an old pillowcase. It's like heaven.

Not even thought about carrying a she-wee around with me during the day to use!!

[Sue12]

21 hours ago, Digi said:

Duvet, proper pillows, a double height inflatable bed and a tent big enough you can stand up in. They are all game changers for me... And a decent trolley to lug it all in. Admittedly I do take everything but the kitchen sink and it is a slog dragging it all in when the gates open and it is hard work but it makes a massive difference.

Pack the duvet and pillows in to a vacuum bag to reduce the bulk. I hate feeling restricted in a sleeping bag and not being able to stand up to get dressed would drive me mad 

Oh,  and a decent cool box. I've had an igloo for the past 10 years that's done a fair few festivals and is still going strong. We still have cold booze on a Sunday night and it keeps bacon and sausage fresh for breakfasts for all 4 mornings 

This sounds like me - always take too much stuff when I go on holiday ‘just in case’ so would rather spend the time getting stuff set up - not even thought of A cool box for breakfast and cooking stuff! 

[Digi]

12 minutes ago, Sue12 said:

Not even thought about carrying a she-wee around with me during the day to use!!

I used a she-wee for the first time this year. Great using them in the female specific troughs but I'm nowhere near brave enough to go anywhere and use them. I need to master the art of not exposing my arse to everyone first! ?

[Sue12]

5 minutes ago, Digi said:

I used a she-wee for the first time this year. Great using them in the female specific troughs but I'm nowhere near brave enough to go anywhere and use them. I need to master the art of not exposing my arse to everyone first! ?

Think I need to buy one and try it out in the privacy of my own home?

[FrankieX]

Apart from the Fresh and Black tents, and to use sunscreen when necessary, the best advice I could give to a Glastonbury newbie is to accept that you will miss out on some stuff. And you will miss out on some stuff. There are around a hundred stages, and at any one moment there might be three or four things which you'd enjoy, but you can only be in one place at a time. Try to enjoy what you see rather than regret what you didn't.

[Digi]

18 minutes ago, Sue12 said:

This sounds like me - always take too much stuff when I go on holiday ‘just in case’ so would rather spend the time getting stuff set up - not even thought of A cool box for breakfast and cooking stuff! 

Ah, I'm the complete opposite going on holiday. I just bung stuff in a case 20 minutes before heading to the airport and what I've forgotten, tough shit! 

Glastonbury is a military operation though because I know the more organised I am with what I take at the outset will directly effect how much I enjoy it. If I don't take pillows and a duvet I know I won't sleep as well... although I could just take more booze to counter that ? 

I'm currently spending my Sunday morning looking a tent porn as mine finally gave up the ghost at Kendal Calling a few months ago. I figure now is a decent time to grab a bargain before the newer models come out 

[sophiemarie]

On 10/11/2019 at 10:14 PM, Quark said:

Pillow. Finally gave in and took one with me this year.

Oh my.

Same — and having a pillow on the coach journey back was heaven.

[Sue12]

1 hour ago, Digi said:

Ah, I'm the complete opposite going on holiday. I just bung stuff in a case 20 minutes before heading to the airport and what I've forgotten, tough shit! 

Glastonbury is a military operation though because I know the more organised I am with what I take at the outset will directly effect how much I enjoy it. If I don't take pillows and a duvet I know I won't sleep as well... although I could just take more booze to counter that ? 

I'm currently spending my Sunday morning looking a tent porn as mine finally gave up the ghost at Kendal Calling a few months ago. I figure now is a decent time to grab a bargain before the newer models come out 

Was going to ask when was the best time to buy a tent - maybe I should go out now and look as it’s raining! 

[Joeyjarmangtf]

On 10/11/2019 at 9:27 PM, jparx said:

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/arpenaz-3-freshblack-tent-3-man-id_8357355.html
 

A revelation in recent years is also an old, thin double duvet and a pillow. Bit extra to carry in but makes the whole experience much more comfortable!

I took this tent this year and I second this. Did me an absolute solid. Got a bit of heat exhaustion on the Saturday but got in for a quick lie down and was right as rain (well, delayed the inevitable for a few days) by mid afternoon. 
 

If you’re wanting a roomier tent and porch as suggested I would recommend the few extra bob to make sure it’s a blackout. 

[bexj]

For me, after the standupin tent, comfy bed and pillow, the most important things are kettle and cooker (1 ring), real coffee, metal cafetiere, plus washingup bowl and flannel, for decent coffee whilst having a good wash.  Pretty much anything outside of that i can do without! 

[stuartbert two hats]

On 10/11/2019 at 10:35 PM, ravermum said:

This. I never camp without my own pillow - makes all the difference. Welcome @Sue12

I just took my pillow with me to a hotel I'm such a princess about these things.