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Time to throw the towel in?


JoeyT
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1 minute ago, steviewevie said:

we camped in Darble...not by choice, but because we were so exhausted from baking in the queue for gate A that we just wanted to pitch anywhere. And it was ok, flattish and quietish (when San Remo stopped). Not enough loos though, and a bit of a trek.

We were in Darble too. Might have just been unlucky with who we pitched next to. The loos were a problem there for sure, and the lack of water points, they moved the ones by the hedge connecting to Pylon which I didn’t really understand. We normally camp near those, in the corner where the hedge connects to the fence and it’s normally served us well. We ended up being by the other loos near the route to John Peel and it had a very different vibe! 

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Agreed, this will be my last for a while. I actually found that a 6 year hiatus since going in 16 meant this year was really special for me. It also helped that not seeing many artists (Sunday just saw Diana) meant i could spend more time chilling in the fields, going to Lost Horizons and taking it easy. It also helped the weather was fantastic, if it had been a muddy year I think i would have broken and given up and gone home.

It was a very great year for me to finish on for a while, 2016 ruined Glasto for me a bit so glad I got to end on a high. Will be back for sure, but maybe not this decade.

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28 minutes ago, Suprefan said:

Oddly enough my step count was highest on thursday when there wasnt much to do. Stayed at certain stages for a couple acts in a row so that helped on wear and tear each day. Being in Worthy View doesnt help too much because you gotta climb that hill. I think they should address that though. Just because people paid extra for certain facilities doesnt mean you have to subject them to pushing their bodies to the limit at the end of a 12 hour day up an incline.  Likely doesnt help that Im on pure holiday so being out and about multiple days as a tourist already puts some strain and the jet lag. If I lived here it def is a diff decision so there isnt as much cost involved too.
 

I want to go back for  at least a 3rd time but not sure when that is at this point. Might stop going to this when the big 5-0 hits but its still plenty of festival even if you go a handful of times and great memories are made regardless.

Agree with you regarding WV. My first time there. Was lead to believe that the path (rather than the stairs) was new and it was fucking hard! It’s so far away as it is. And then you get up there and there was somehow queues at the toilets literally at any time. Got back at 4am one night and there was a queue of 7 people for the bogs.

the positive is that I didn’t go back to the tent as much as usual and therefore saw more of the festival, just because it was such a pain to get to

Edited by One Tonne Baby
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I'm a big fat 20 stone bastard and also found it was the standing still where my feet really hurt. Rest of me held up thankfully, but found dancing like a loon at Pet Shop Boys when sober not too bad yet tipsy, standing and drinking on Friday evening before Sugababes I could really feel the strain. Odd phenomenon. 

Agreed re rocks/rubble/woodchips etc. To those that struggled, were you in trainers all weekend? I had mine with me but switched to walking boots because my walking trainers weren't heavy duty enough to withstand the terrain. 

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3 minutes ago, One Tonne Baby said:

Agree with you regarding WV. My first time there. Was lead to believe that the path (rather than the stairs) was new and it was fucking hard! It’s so far away as it is. And then you get up there and there was somehow queues at the toilets literally at any time. Got back at 4am one night and there was a queue of 7 people for the bogs.

the positive is that I didn’t go back to the tent as much as usual and therefore saw more of the festival, just because it was such a pain to get to

Worthy View’s new path was so steep!  

Definitely more so than the old entrance.  

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Had a weird feeling leaving the site this morning. As if it was the end of something. Been thinking about this a lot on the drive back and I think I’m actually really serious and not just tired and emotional. I’ve had some of the best memories of my life at Glastonbury but I now sort of feel I’ve “done” it.

This was my sixteenth Glastonbury and I cannot say how much that place has meant to me over the years. But I almost feel that I’ve had my fair share now. Seen so many great artists - Bowie, Radiohead, The Cure, Blur, Springsteen, Neil Young. Seeing Paul McCartney on Saturday was probably the last of my truly favourite artists who I wanted to see at Glastonbury. And it was wonderful, spiritual for me. But it felt like a good place to end it, especially after Pet Shop Boys were so wonderful last night. That was one of my top three Glastonbury’s ever. From Elvana on Thursday onwards I saw nothing but brilliant, brilliant sets. It felt like a sign.
 

I did think about knocking it on the head after 2019 which I really didn’t fully enjoy for the first time ever, but I didn’t want to bow out of a place that has meant so, so much to me in my 20s and 30s without a proper goodbye and ending on a positive. I really feel I got that happy ending this weekend and I think I can walk away with a smile now.

 

Someone else can get the joy I’ve got from it in their lives. I feel someone else now deserves my ticket 😊

That said, I’ll probably feel totally different when October comes around 😂

Edited by foolsgold1981
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Probably not the best time to decide as we are all going to be drained.

i feel the same though. I think partly I was so hyped it’s always going to be a let down. I felt a bit anxious and that I should be doing more until about Friday when I relaxed a bit.

feet were aching so much by Thursday and shoulders and back were done in by Friday. Interestingly, my body started adapting and by Sunday my feet weren’t too bad.

Maybe it’s just the lockdowns but the amount of people was ridiculous and was a real downer.

overall I had a good time and in 2015 I had a shocker and thought that was it for me but then had my best ever Glasto in 2017.

The original post is right. Unfortunately we have to adapt how we do the festival. It means that it might be a fri-sun thing, or not much walking on weds/thurs. And the late nights could be a thing of the past. 

i am going to skip next year and see how I feel for 2024

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2 minutes ago, GlastoEls said:

Worthy View’s new path was so steep!  

Definitely more so than the old entrance.  

On the first day, when it was boiling hot, these two security guards told us to go up the stairs. When we asked the people at the ticket gate they acted like the stairs didn’t exist and refused. Odd why they’d make it harder. 
 

if there was sufficient rain, that path would have been a death trap coming down and you’d never get up it going back

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Just now, One Tonne Baby said:

On the first day, when it was boiling hot, these two security guards told us to go up the stairs. When we asked the people at the ticket gate they acted like the stairs didn’t exist and refused. Odd why they’d make it harder. 
 

if there was sufficient rain, that path would have been a death trap coming down and you’d never get up it going back

100% - the path in the rain would have been a real problem. 

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This festival absolutely broke me physically, mentally, and spiritually. Loved all of the acts I saw and the highs were incredibly high. The lows, though... oh boy. 

It was beyond crowded, but this was my first time going properly solo. Did not enjoy it. Really missed the social aspect of it, but that coupled with the fact that everyone who said they would hang out with me either stood me up or cancelled made me feel quite isolated and caused a lot of self-doubt. The friends I used to go with have all moved on from wanting to go regularly. I think if I don't have someone to go with, I won't go again. 

Also, my legs are fucked haha! 

Maybe I need to work on both my mental and physical fortitude - but right now the thought of another Glasto just makes me feel sad and worried. I've never had that before. 

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1 hour ago, jannybruck said:

I think with this sort of thing it's a case of "when you know, you know".

I skipped out this year and honestly had an amazing time watching it on iPlayer with some friends. It's OK to not go – or want to go – every single year.

Yeah, this is the first year I didn't go since 2003- wasn't ready physically (due to a recent op), or mentally (still processing the past two years with a ll the covid, death, loss and change). I'd been dreading not going for years, but it wasn't as bad as anticipated- had more pangs of wanting to be there rather than a burning desire. I think I had it my brain that if I didn't go once, then I would never allow myself to return for some reason! Which is daft when you think about it😂 It is alright to not go and see how that feels, it doesn't mean you're banned for life

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1 hour ago, stuartbert two hats said:

I always read these thread and think "naaah, I'll keep going forever", but I really need a rethink this time. I've missed Sunday headliners before, but it's always been due to overindulgence. This year it was down to downright mild indulgence on the Friday night. I was just knackered. Not super hungover or anything like that, just tired. It was good, obviously it was good, it was Glastonbury, but I can't help thinking that keeping on doing what I've been doing for the last 25 years didn't work this time.

Probably a wake up call to really double down on my personal fitness, either that or drop shit loads of money to not actually camp in the festival, and I'm way, way keener on the first.

 

I've had to listen to my body the last year or so and alter my fitness and food habits- after the initial resistance, it's not so bad- some changes I feel a bit better for and I do feel physically fitter than I think I ever have been (it is a low bar)- though tiredness (sleepy more than physical) is very challenging to overcome- think I just have to accept I need more sleep and am more susceptible to 'power naps' than I used to be! When I first started going my amount of sleep per night halved each day I was there until it was down to nothing- unimaginable now!😂

Edited by Mr.Tease
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Don't take your presence there so seriously

 

It's set up for the best weekend of your year; adapt how you approach it both mentally and physically and don't be hard on yourself by thinking: "It used to be different!"

Adapt, smile and be grateful - nowt better for a weekender, no matter how you choose to do it

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I got to Jack White and thought then and there, that was way enough after being on site since Wed.  Then I got home and tested positive for Covid, so I am wondering now if it's the illness talking...

 

Some serious thinking needed though.

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1 hour ago, JoeyT said:

How do you know when it’s time?

I left during Diana Ross yesterday and being lucky enough to live fairly close was home / showered / fed by 6pm.

Legs / feet in pieces and by that point felt I’d hit my limit with the place.

I’m comfortable with the thought of only doing Friday - Sunday next time around but have a nagging in the back of my mind that perhaps it’s just time to knock it on the head.

Confused by how I feel due to how excited I’d been in the build up only for it not to 100% click.

Any others feeling the same?

Based on availability mine was a Thursday coach, so I missed the ordeal some had arriving, plus missed out  the additional day of hot walking. 

Thursday I arrived and there couldn't have been less of a queue at PG A. 

We're older so we look at our clashes for things that are more achievable distance wise, also avoided a couple that we knew would be rammed even if we could get there. 

I have a little fishing stool, so it's light to carry and you're not taking up lots of space if people are walking by. 

Everywhere we went just had thousands of people having a lovely time

1 hour ago, henry bear said:

We’ve stopped camping. I no longer particularly enjoy it in any situation, and am no longer interested in/capable of staying up all night. And we don’t spend that much (compared to some of the other options). We got an Airbnb barn conversion a short bus/taxi ride away. Makes the festival far less of a physical ordeal. So each night we came back to this, for a nice warm shower, and catch up of Glasto on the TV, with a nightcap 

FD716832-906C-46B4-88F1-C8AE32AC6543.jpeg

I've been a handful of times when I lived not too far and went home, but I prefer a caravan or Sticklinch personally - I like being on site and being able to have a wander if you do want to keep the night going for a bit. 

For those who haven't been to Sticklinch it doesn't have the WV hill, it's a 5 to 10 minute stroll. Has the best toilets I've seen at Glastonbury, but they are often busy, as are showers except at night. 

No bar, but 3 or 4 food stalls. 

 

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Haven't been since 2016, but arriving Thursday instead of with the masses on Wednesday makes such a difference.  Ok, you miss a day of wandering around, etc.  But it means you're still relatively fresh when the bands start on Friday.  Its worked for me for a number of the festivals, and I'm 64 this year.  

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After all the hardship of not sleeping in the queue for seven hours on Wednesday morning to lugging a fully loaded sack truck for what seems 10 miles back to the car is that we will try again in October and if not successful then thats it. If we do manage to get a ticket then make a decision on balance payment day.

Edited by ghandi
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My first one in 11 years I was made up getting tickets but I just feel it was busier and harder than the last time. It’s my 6th glasto and feel like it’s time to let someone else have the craic. It’s still amazing and so special to me. I’ve seen so many of my favourite artists there but Musically, I’m done. Nothings going to top Bruce and macca on that stage for me. I’ll probably just compare everything to them. And no one wants to hear a moaning scouse bastard chirping in their ear about how they should have been at the pyramid on that balmy Saturday night in 2022 🤣

Edited by eddie_corrigan
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I decided I wasn’t going again after 2017. I was knackered, and by Sunday I wasn’t enjoying it. It’s so big and so much effort. Didn’t miss it in 2019, went to Boomtown instead (which I enjoyed a lot more than any Glasto recently). 
This year I saw the initial line up announcement and thought I’d try for the resale. Best festival in ages. Definitely not the end of the line for me but I’m glad I broke the tradition of having to go every year in case I missed something. 

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Quote

 

Totally get where you are coming from. For me, I have the same feelings, and I was working aswell.

I have been going since 2000, and seen a lot of changes, but this year was very different in atmosphere and people. I get that things need to change, but I think it has changed too much.
Listening to BBC R6 today and listening to the performances was like lisetning to another track. In the past I was all excited thinking I was there.
 

There were more people there this year, the queues for the toilets were insane, was told that it was also a record year for cars attending site.

Is it becoming more commercial? Catering for the younger generation? Possibly. 

But, for me, think that is it. Maybe the Sunday ticket (live local).

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Me and a lot of our crowd were thinking the same. It broke us this year. The sticks/stones and hard ground really screwed mine and my mates feet so badly that we had to wear flip flops all Sunday. Trainers/boots just rubbed all the sore spots and blisters. According to the phone, I did around 225k steps. I’m now in agony.

The other issue was the crowding/crowd control. Mental. Scary at times.

Will reflect for a bit but I’m definitely erring towards calling it a day.

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