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Time to throw the towel in?


JoeyT
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8 minutes ago, geoffboycott said:

I didn't get a ticket this time around, having been successful each time since 2010, so I'd had a good run.  We went to EOTR for the first time last year and had such a great time, immediately got a ticket for this year.  We've already decided EOTR will be the alternative if we can't get Glastonbury tickets.

 

We do this. But have ended up at both this year. 🙂 

After my first in 2000 we said 'I am going to this every year for the rest of my life', but as other things come in to play (kids!), we accept there will be years off due to tickets or circumstance..., but hopefully more years on than off.

After 2007 is the only year I've thoughts 'I'm not going next year', but actually the conscious decision not to go re-invigorated 2009 for me. 

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One thing that made the world of difference to me this year was not following 'traditions' and doing it a bit different. I'm not sure if anyone else had this but the group I go with are very set on their ways about how we do Glastonbury, we must drive down through the night on Tuesday, must go in a certain car park, must camp in Pennard Hill, Saturday night is Shangri-La, even down to what food we eat on certain days (Sunday is chocolate brownie and coffee day). I've had some fucking excellent times doing this in the past but I feel if you're trying to replicate past glories you're always going to be disappointed, a bit like doing Christmas as if you were a kid but when you're much older. 

This year I managed to change some things, we camped in Big Ground and took each day as it comes. I still drove down Tuesday night which I very much doubt I'd do again (especially with the disaster at Gate C in the morning making the early start completely pointless) and overall had a fairly relaxed festival. I think sometimes the decisions I make at Glastonbury are based on what I did 5/6 years ago, forgetting I'm now 5/6 years older and less fitter. Camping in Big Ground was a revelation not just for me but for the rest of the group as well, nice and peaceful at night to the point where I don't think I had less than 7hrs sleep on any night and the access to the main part of the site can't be beaten anywhere else. 

Didn't go to Shangri-la once this year, don't think I ever enjoyed it and normally walked all that way to get crushed in like sardines listening to music I'm not that in to. Not being scared to miss things, doing what I actually liked and taking it a bit easier made 22 one of the best ones I have done. 

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45 minutes ago, Zoo Music Girl said:

I'm also a pack light person (have to on the coach), but that only works if you can afford to buy all your food and booze in there. That's we do (bar a bottle of spirits in plastic) but fully appreciate for some it's just too expensive.

Mmm yeah not sure to be honest. Really how much are people saving? Bottle of whiskey and a bag of wine in the bag. Good to go. Pick off a few pints at the festival. And people have a year to save a few quid.

I dont really buy the cant afford it crew considering the demo of the festival these days. Food was reasonable this year if you wanted some cheap. Williams green for example. 3 quid for a sausage roll. Brekkie sorted. Small Paella a fiver for lunch and then whatever for dinner. Dirty fries for 5 or 6 quid. Thats about 60 odd quid for 4 days of food. 

But people kill themselves bringing in bbqs and ice boxes and bags of food from the supermarket?!

31 minutes ago, Metal Monkey said:

My coach arrived about 4pm Wednesday. Queued for about 10 minutes and it’s a really short walk from the bus stop to the gate so I was happy. 
Return coach at 6am can do one, that was an effort. 

Yeah wont be doing a return coach as we've to get a flight. The queues yesterday morning for the coaches were horrific.

25 minutes ago, plot2pot said:

We got to site at around 7pm on Wednesday due to getting quite a late coach time - thought we’d be gutted to miss so much of Wednesday but it actually turned out okay.

By the time we got there our friends who’d arrived about 7am were broken. The early start, queuing in the heat then two car trips in the heat had done them in. They came for a walk with us but baled early whereas we had a really good explore of the site, a few drinks and some nice food and got to bed around 2am.

Not worth it for a few pints on Wednesday. 

Still fascinated by the "2 trips to the car crew". Ill never understand it. What the fuck are they bringing in? There are exceptions of course - medical, kids etc - but some people really dont help themselves.

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Number ten for me and one of the best. Was a bit concerned about fitness after 2+ years of sedentary home-working, Covid the week before and Primavera the week before that, but managed fine with it all (alternating walking shoes/ trainers was a winner). Only low point was the horrible squash at Arcadia Friday night but I just took myself off to bed a bit earlier and was then nice and fresh for a 21-hour Saturday stint 🤣

Absolutely loved the SE corner this year - great atmosphere but way less busy than I was expecting / wider paths everywhere. 90 mins from coach to wristband was a bit of a chore in the midday heat, think I'd aim for a teatime arrival next time. Nearly jibbed off Macca for Jessie Ware but thank god I didn't for that second half!

Pretty much everyone already talking about next year. We go again...

 

 

 

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Definitely not. I’m 45 now and the aches and tiredness are getting worse. However the last 3 times I’ve been I’ve had to take a Thursday Coach ticket and it’s actually been a revelation. Had to a of energy left Sunday evening. So Thursday arrival only for me, might even splash out on WV next time for extra convenience.

This year was brilliant though, I’ll definitely be trying for next year

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My now 40+ body with the well known extra Covid kilos dealt with Glastonbury better than I anticipated, but I did get a couple of hints I should watch out for future ones. I even thought the climb to WV wasn't bad, but then I really barely drank booze.

Next time: upgrade the gear like a camping nerd: my old sleeping bad wasn't good enough and I suffered at night, I just had a sweater and not my fancy nerdy outdoor gear.

Drop the super popular huge crowds act if possible. Not worth the energy.

The biggest question mark for me next year (hopefully) will be transport: the international ticket pick up was a pain, and although we split the way to GL in two days, the way back was 12 hours and was just not safe with our level of exhaustion. So need to see which mean of transport/gear/etc to choose for the next ones, probably meaning spending more cash...

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My 4th one and by far my favourite. Perfect weather. I had friends there that I saw on occasions but was mostly me and my partner. We stuck to having full days of music from 11am to the headliners. Then wondered back to WV with some food. Weird to think that even though we were averaging 2am bed times it still felt like an early night.

I’ll be trying again next year for sure, nowhere else would I have seen Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and Kendrick in the same place let alone the 20-odd other musical acts we got to see. However the all over aches did slow us down. Which has me thinking if the live music is our main focus and the big time headliners aren’t for us any particular year, maybe a smaller more focused festival like Green Man or EOTR would suit us better. Can’t deny the issues with the crowds either. 

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47 minutes ago, SleepyBob said:

One thing that made the world of difference to me this year was not following 'traditions' and doing it a bit different. I'm not sure if anyone else had this but the group I go with are very set on their ways about how we do Glastonbury, we must drive down through the night on Tuesday, must go in a certain car park, must camp in Pennard Hill, Saturday night is Shangri-La, even down to what food we eat on certain days (Sunday is chocolate brownie and coffee day). I've had some fucking excellent times doing this in the past but I feel if you're trying to replicate past glories you're always going to be disappointed, a bit like doing Christmas as if you were a kid but when you're much older. 

This year I managed to change some things, we camped in Big Ground and took each day as it comes. I still drove down Tuesday night which I very much doubt I'd do again (especially with the disaster at Gate C in the morning making the early start completely pointless) and overall had a fairly relaxed festival. I think sometimes the decisions I make at Glastonbury are based on what I did 5/6 years ago, forgetting I'm now 5/6 years older and less fitter. Camping in Big Ground was a revelation not just for me but for the rest of the group as well, nice and peaceful at night to the point where I don't think I had less than 7hrs sleep on any night and the access to the main part of the site can't be beaten anywhere else. 

Didn't go to Shangri-la once this year, don't think I ever enjoyed it and normally walked all that way to get crushed in like sardines listening to music I'm not that in to. Not being scared to miss things, doing what I actually liked and taking it a bit easier made 22 one of the best ones I have done. 

This!! I was in bed by 2am latest (Friday) and midnight or close to on other nights and it was a revelation for how i enjoyed the festival. Im mid 30's now not teens or through my 20's so the late night stuff is not for me, ive always been a guitar head anyhow! So much more out of my weekend and i feel pretty much human again already which is remarkable. 

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1 hour ago, SleepyBob said:

 I feel if you're trying to replicate past glories you're always going to be disappointed,

This. 

We spent the last few years doing exactly that, with diminishing returns since probably 2013. Now it's all changed and we take the kids, go back to camp after the headliners and generally have a much more chilled out time. After a couple of years getting used to this we're back on track and enjoying the festival in a whole new way.

So if anyone feels like throwing in the towel, maybe try one more year but do it completely differently.

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18 minutes ago, The Nal said:

Getting home at night up that hill......

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Yeah there is that 😆 If I’m on the coach again, or a flight/coach/bus combo as I did this year, the idea of travelling light/not having to pack up early Sunday is pretty alluring

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We had the same thoughts this year. I’ve got a horrendous cough (not covid apparently!) so left after watching herbie Hancock as the Diana crowd just got a bit too much. Getting home was a breeze though, gate A to getting in my own shower took an hour exactly. I do think if I’m lucky enough to go next year then I’ll just do Thursday evening to Sunday evening or stay at my mums house in Glastonbury town on the nights I don’t want a mad one. One good thing about being ill is that the post Glasto depression hasn’t hit yet and I’m loving being back in my own space.

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2 hours ago, The Nal said:

Yeah wont be doing a return coach as we've to get a flight. The queues yesterday morning for the coaches were horrific.

Glad I missed that. I arrived in time for my coach at 6, just as the 4:30am coach turned up. Lucky everyone opted to stay in bed so plenty of room, but there were already a lot of earlier coaches which hadn’t shown up by 6am. 

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I'm getting serious FOMO from reading this.

I live in Ireland so have only been a couple of times.

I think having a basic level of physical fitness is very important particularly as you get older.

But anyone who plays sport or runs or hikes regularly should be fine. 

I feel like this prevents lots of those aches and pains also.

But yeah lots of us went to shit during covid. If you've a sedentary lifestyle and then attempt a festival it's tough going. Maybe hiking is the best preparation.

If you smoke, don't exercise, are a bit overweight and over 30, then festivals are extremely hard going. Even more so in the muddy years 

Also getting decent sleep is obviously very necessary. Sports scientists are huge on sleep for recovery. It's boring but true.

I can see why people opt for fancy camping.

I camped in oxlers and woke up every night. Even had my tent robbed while I slept. It's unfortunate how it seems to attract a bad element. Maybe with all the cashless payment, robberies become rarer.

I think I'll be trying for tickets in October.

English people seem to like Irish people so I normally mingle quite well.

I don't get the hype with Fontaines DC.

Ellie from Wolf Alice's dad is Irish.

Noel Gallagher and Paul McCartney likewise have Irish blood, so we gave ye a lot. 🙂

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7 hours ago, benc said:

I joined the queue to get in at around 4.30am this year - I'm always keen to get in early, pitch up in a convenient location and commence!  but with it being so busy, there wasn't really much benefit being there weds/thurs and I only ended up tiring myself out.

There was a magic about the weds/thurs that isn't there any more and it's costing too much in terms of energy and lack of sleep

 

I think If I go again... I might arrive thurs evening and go all in on the friday/sat/sun

Not so much thinking of not going, but also considering a Thursday arrival and skip all the queues and to be more on form for the Friday. Anyone who arrives on Thursday - where do you camp? Everywere seems rammed by Wednesday evening.

I'm off to End of the Road again later in the year. It's a really nice festival without the crazy crowds and walking like at Glastonbury. And you can take your own booze into the 'arena'

 

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20 minutes ago, Orange_rhyme said:

I'm getting serious FOMO from reading this.

I live in Ireland so have only been a couple of times.

I think having a basic level of physical fitness is very important particularly as you get older.

But anyone who plays sport or runs or hikes regularly should be fine. 

I feel like this prevents lots of those aches and pains also.

But yeah lots of us went to shit during covid. If you've a sedentary lifestyle and then attempt a festival it's tough going. Maybe hiking is the best preparation.

If you smoke, don't exercise, are a bit overweight and over 30, then festivals are extremely hard going. Even more so in the muddy years 

Also getting decent sleep is obviously very necessary. Sports scientists are huge on sleep for recovery. It's boring but true.

I can see why people opt for fancy camping.

I camped in oxlers and woke up every night. Even had my tent robbed while I slept. It's unfortunate how it seems to attract a bad element. Maybe with all the cashless payment, robberies become rarer.

I think I'll be trying for tickets in October.

English people seem to like Irish people so I normally mingle quite well.

I don't get the hype with Fontaines DC.

Ellie from Wolf Alice's dad is Irish.

Noel Gallagher and Paul McCartney likewise have Irish blood, so we gave ye a lot. 🙂

I'm 44 and pretty fit - I run 3 times a week but I think the number of days at Glasto if you arrive on Wednesday takes it out if you whatever your condition - I thought the same 15 years ago :D. One thing that was good this year - investment in a Fresh and Black tent. I definitely slept and rested longer than usual in the mornings.

Another option is Worthy View or Sticklinch? No carrying and putting up a tent and I assume its a much shorter walk from the car and less time queuing to get in? 2.5 hours queuing in the heat of Wednesday was hard this year. 

 

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5 minutes ago, Chip Batch said:

Not so much thinking of not going, but also considering a Thursday arrival and skip all the queues and to be more on form for the Friday. Anyone who arrives on Thursday - where do you camp? Everywere seems rammed by Wednesday evening.

I'm off to End of the Road again later in the year. It's a really nice festival without the crazy crowds and walking like at Glastonbury. And you can take your own booze into the 'arena'

 

I've done Glastonbury from Thurs onwards for the last 3 now, 2019 I cycled in and that was a game changer.  I felt much fresher throughout until the Sunday night.  If I try for tickets and successful I will bike it and go in on Thurs again.

Likewise, I'm off to EOTR for the 2nd time this year, last year was my first time and I just absolutely loved it.  I think I saw more music each day, plus the whole layout, vibe, ease of moving about was so well done.  The beer options were so much better too and there was always somewhere to sit and eat.

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8 minutes ago, Chip Batch said:

Not so much thinking of not going, but also considering a Thursday arrival and skip all the queues and to be more on form for the Friday. Anyone who arrives on Thursday - where do you camp? Everywere seems rammed by Wednesday evening.

I'm off to End of the Road again later in the year. It's a really nice festival without the crazy crowds and walking like at Glastonbury. And you can take your own booze into the 'arena'

 

We arrive on the Wednesday but there's always space at the back of Rivermead on a Thursday where we camp. (Like "crowd crust" it often looks full from the pathway but if you take the clear path down the side of the bush between Pylon and Rivermead you can get to the back of the field and you'll see plenty of spaces about.

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19 hours ago, Euphoricape said:

Thinking I will skip the Wednesday next time, maybe arrive Thursday afternoon to get set up then just go all out for the festival proper.

This is likely my plan, not because of any lack of enjoyment, but just that it makes everything easier to have an extra day's energy.  I've done a few years of overnight queue, but those years I've either arrived by coach or later in the day Wednesday have always been the most hassle free.

The only 2 things I don't like about Glastonbury are getting there through to getting the tent up and then getting the tent down through to getting home.  Anything I can do to improve that experience as a lesson learned I will.  Getting in went great arriving around lunchtime by coach, getting out a bit of a shambles (again).

 

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5 hours ago, SleepyBob said:

One thing that made the world of difference to me this year was not following 'traditions' and doing it a bit different. I'm not sure if anyone else had this but the group I go with are very set on their ways about how we do Glastonbury, we must drive down through the night on Tuesday, must go in a certain car park, must camp in Pennard Hill, Saturday night is Shangri-La, even down to what food we eat on certain days (Sunday is chocolate brownie and coffee day). I've had some fucking excellent times doing this in the past but I feel if you're trying to replicate past glories you're always going to be disappointed, a bit like doing Christmas as if you were a kid but when you're much older. 

This year I managed to change some things, we camped in Big Ground and took each day as it comes. I still drove down Tuesday night which I very much doubt I'd do again (especially with the disaster at Gate C in the morning making the early start completely pointless) and overall had a fairly relaxed festival. I think sometimes the decisions I make at Glastonbury are based on what I did 5/6 years ago, forgetting I'm now 5/6 years older and less fitter. Camping in Big Ground was a revelation not just for me but for the rest of the group as well, nice and peaceful at night to the point where I don't think I had less than 7hrs sleep on any night and the access to the main part of the site can't be beaten anywhere else. 

Didn't go to Shangri-la once this year, don't think I ever enjoyed it and normally walked all that way to get crushed in like sardines listening to music I'm not that in to. Not being scared to miss things, doing what I actually liked and taking it a bit easier made 22 one of the best ones I have done. 

Tradition and ritual is deeply human, it's very comforting but yeah it's better to not be welded to them.

 

Driving through the night seems like a bad idea since you're sleep deprived on arriving. 

 

Sleep is really important. If you're not getting 6 or 7 hours at night, then an afternoon nap

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I must have been at a different festival all this talk of more people and awful crowding. You just have to play it smart when moving and where. I only got caught in one crush all weekend which was out of PSB as loads coming into other to get to Arcadia. It didn’t feel overly more crowded that usual to me at least. 

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