Weather v Line up

[Nobody Interesting]

Watching the best bands in the world and your fave bands in pouring rain is depressing and horrible.

Tis really that simple.

Dry weather and any music is always best

[Nice hymer]

Lots of talk over the last couple of days about 2016. I started looking back through old photos/videos, we had a fantastic year.

In 2015 we watched Mary J Blige in pouring rain, it's still one of my favourite performances, magical.

I prefer sun but it's not essential. As always, preparation is key...

[TiZuff]

2016 was so so tiring. please lets not even pretend it was fine. not being able to sit down for 5 days straight is tough and i was 8 years younger then 🤣

[Avalon_Fields]

Wet weather makes it so much more of a challenge navigating around the entire site, one bad year I was trying to see a band up at the Park, but I was sliding back down the slope and I gave up. If 2024 is bad I’m going to ignore much of the festival and stick 90% of the time to West Holts/Avalon/Acoustic. I’d much rather explore the whole festival in sunshine though.

[Superscally]

15 hours ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

Haven't had to choose for aeons. 2024 is on a knife edge.

This is mad. I've used aeons for the first time in...ever today.

[Superscally]

Oh, and weather. 100% not even a debate.

[Superscally]

3 hours ago, kpins said:

2007 was my first Glastonbury and I loved it, but the whole thing was such an endurance mission, so I'd probably take a worse line-up now if it meant better weather. 

I do believe that if you look up the definition of "ordeal" in the Oxford dictionary, it says: 2007

[The Nal]

Only fest I've been to that rained a lot was 2007. 2016 didnt really rain too much. Was just muddy. 

[dirtysteve]

50 minutes ago, Superscally said:

I do believe that if you look up the definition of "ordeal" in the Oxford dictionary, it says: 2007

Christ, it was horrible.

The first couple of days weren't too bad an experience, I was full of enough drugs that I didn't much care about the conditions, which were objectively horrific but I was still having lots of fun.

By the Saturday afternoon, though, it started to feel like it might never be dry and warm again. The weekend dragged on forever, brief bursts of fun followed by hours of slipping and sliding through ankle-deep liquid mud. Always cold. Every scrap of clothing I owned soaked through. Legs rubbed raw by wellies.

Monday morning waiting in the driving rain in the mud-logged coach field for an hours-delayed ride home was a hateful experience, especially as I had ill-advisedly finished off my supply of mushrooms while packing up in the forlorn hope a little trip might cheer me up. As I finally crammed myself into a coach seat, drenched, stone cold, and absolutely stinking, I told myself "Never again, never again will I go to Glastonbury Festival". 

I've been every year since, obvs... 🙂

[mph]

 

1 hour ago, Superscally said:

I do believe that if you look up the definition of "ordeal" in the Oxford dictionary, it says: 2007

It was more than an ordeal, it was atrocious and did not end, getting home on trains added to it, half the south of england was under water and trains diverted everywhere.

Swore I would never go again and went to FIB fest Benicassim 2008 and 2009, which had hurricane force winds and sandstorms, half of one campsite tents ended up on railway tracks.

2010 I was back to Glastonbury prepared for anything it could throw at me.

Good weather more important than good line up anytime 

[Superscally]

1 hour ago, dirtysteve said:

Christ, it was horrible.

The first couple of days weren't too bad an experience, I was full of enough drugs that I didn't much care about the conditions, which were objectively horrific but I was still having lots of fun.

By the Saturday afternoon, though, it started to feel like it might never be dry and warm again. The weekend dragged on forever, brief bursts of fun followed by hours of slipping and sliding through ankle-deep liquid mud. Always cold. Every scrap of clothing I owned soaked through. Legs rubbed raw by wellies.

Monday morning waiting in the driving rain in the mud-logged coach field for an hours-delayed ride home was a hateful experience, especially as I had ill-advisedly finished off my supply of mushrooms while packing up in the forlorn hope a little trip might cheer me up. As I finally crammed myself into a coach seat, drenched, stone cold, and absolutely stinking, I told myself "Never again, never again will I go to Glastonbury Festival". 

I've been every year since, obvs... 🙂

This post tickled me and I can say that, because I was there with ya, brother. It was the joy of going "Hood down? coat off??" and the second everyone had theirs off, the rain gods would go:

"MUGS".

The rest of the weekend everyone was so mistrusting of any dry spell.

"No point taking your coat off, it'll only start again."

Spoiler alert: It did

That was the last year that you could get shrooms on the cheeky cheeky in the curio shops too. I remember staring at a puddle in hysterics as a group of people in tuxedos and wedding dresses filed past....was probably there for 2 minutes, but felt like a week. 

1 hour ago, mph said:

 

It was more than an ordeal, it was atrocious and did not end, getting home on trains added to it, half the south of england was under water and trains diverted everywhere.

Swore I would never go again and went to FIB fest Benicassim 2008 and 2009, which had hurricane force winds and sandstorms, half of one campsite tents ended up on railway tracks.

2010 I was back to Glastonbury prepared for anything it could throw at me.

Good weather more important than good line up anytime 

Hopefully you've had all your bad luck!

[Simsy]

The 1 benefit 2007 had over 2016 was the wed and thur were dry so you could sit & chill. 2016 even if there was less rain during the festival, the ground was already f**ked before we got there. Also I was younger in '07 so could probably cope better 😂

Good weather (not too hot or wet) is more important than lineup IMHO.

[foolsgold1981]

18 hours ago, Beerqueen said:

Tricky because I agree the lineup was brilliant in 2016 but bloody hell it was hard work.  But actually, surprisingly there wasn't that much rain over the weekend, it was mostly beforehand.  Agree with Northernangel that watching someone in the pissing rain is not fun.  And then, last year, 2022, 2019 were if anything too bloody hot.  I struggled.  So could I go for midway for both please, early 20s, no rain, decent lineup but not stellar.

I also think that the weather dampened some of the performances. Beck was on top form, but I think everyone was just too tired/cold/wet to properly feel it - atmosphere was totally flat. The exception was LCD Soundsystem who played the gig of their lives...

[foolsgold1981]

1 minute ago, Simsy said:

The 1 benefit 2007 had over 2016 was the wed and thur were dry so you could sit & chill. 2016 even if there was less rain during the festival, the ground was already f**ked before we got there. Also I was younger in '07 so could probably cope better 😂

Good weather (not too hot or wet) is more important than lineup IMHO.

It was also wet, loose and sloshy mud in 2007. The mud in 2016 was thick, claggy and bogged your feet down. I've never felt so exhausted in my life by the Monday morning...

[Franky]

So to sum this up. No f**king rain!!!! Not even to “keep the dust down” 🙄

[foolsgold1981]

1 hour ago, dirtysteve said:

Christ, it was horrible.

The first couple of days weren't too bad an experience, I was full of enough drugs that I didn't much care about the conditions, which were objectively horrific but I was still having lots of fun.

By the Saturday afternoon, though, it started to feel like it might never be dry and warm again. The weekend dragged on forever, brief bursts of fun followed by hours of slipping and sliding through ankle-deep liquid mud. Always cold. Every scrap of clothing I owned soaked through. Legs rubbed raw by wellies.

Monday morning waiting in the driving rain in the mud-logged coach field for an hours-delayed ride home was a hateful experience, especially as I had ill-advisedly finished off my supply of mushrooms while packing up in the forlorn hope a little trip might cheer me up. As I finally crammed myself into a coach seat, drenched, stone cold, and absolutely stinking, I told myself "Never again, never again will I go to Glastonbury Festival". 

I've been every year since, obvs... 🙂

I felt the same thing after falling into a waist-deep puddle on my way out Monday morning by the John Peel tent. It was genuinely a carbon-copy of that Vicar of Dibley scene...

It was my first one so I got through it, but me and my girlfriend at the time were in Oxylers and because it got so muddy on the paths, people walked through the campsite after The Other finished or coming from Park/Shangri-La/Track. I had my head stood on twice and the place was a bog. They were even getting flatbed trucks to move tents on the Sunday morning, though they stopped at ours and said we were fine. Putting us right on the edge and making it worse!!!

Good memories, in retrospect!

[Beerqueen]

19 minutes ago, foolsgold1981 said:

I also think that the weather dampened some of the performances. Beck was on top form, but I think everyone was just too tired/cold/wet to properly feel it - atmosphere was totally flat. The exception was LCD Soundsystem who played the gig of their lives...

I remember Earth Wind and Fire urging the crowd to jump and me thinking "I can't, I'm literally stuck in the mud"!  Abd watching Richard Hawley up at the Park, it was a slog to get up there and I was practically falling asleep standing up I was so knackered!

[Johnnyseven]

I think it does you good to have a muddy Glastonbury as your first. Mine was 1998 were the mud was absolutely horrific, none i've been to since have been that bad so they've all been relatively easy in comparison - including 2016. I wasn't there in 2007 though.

[Madyaker]

If it has to be one or the other I'm taking the weather

[Dark Star]

If you've got good kit, the weather is much less of an issue. 
That said, being able to get from one side of the site to another in half the time of a wet year... 

[Pipine]

My first two Glastonbury’s were the epic mud years of 97 and 98.  It was a revelation to be able to sit on the ground without a bin bag the first dry year I went to.  
Weather > Line up every time.  I’d rather just spend a sunny year wandering the site looking for randomness than see my favourite bands in the rain.

[Crazyfool01]

13 minutes ago, Dark Star said:

If you've got good kit, the weather is much less of an issue. 
That said, being able to get from one side of the site to another in half the time of a wet year... 

not much kit can deal with the energy sapping gluey mud though . It’s ok in its liquid phase but a bit later in certain parts of site it’s a massive challenge 

[gizmoman]

11 minutes ago, Dark Star said:

If you've got good kit, the weather is much less of an issue. 
That said, being able to get from one side of the site to another in half the time of a wet year... 

This is the point, it's no good having a great selection of acts available if you can't get to the stage to see them, a good lineup  is decimated in a muddy year because you can't get across site to see the ones you want. If having to endure the rain isn't bad enough you also miss some of the acts you really wanted to see.

[Ayrshire Chris]

It’s got to be weather.  The welly eating Somerset mud is energy sapping as is the inability to have a wee lie down now and then. In 2016 we managed to get our arses on one of those painted railway sleepers at the back of the pyramid field pre  Coldplay. A welcome rest. 
if the weather is great you enjoy the festival, if it’s wet you try to enjoy the festival despite the weather. 

[danmarks]

2007. 2011.2016. It was all shite.  Moments of fun but overall not fun and i love the who