It seems quite some time ago now, but as the end of the summer is probably in sight now (even if we say it isn't), I wanted to look back on one of the highlights of my graduation summer; Glastonbury. If you have even just a flicker of disappointment upon reading that my latest blog post, after a good week of nothing, is about how amazing Glastonbury is, then I don't blame you. If you haven't been to it, you probably know full well, advised by friends, family, the media and life in general, that Glastonbury Festival is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best festival in the world. I won't waste a whole paragraph telling you this...(oh, wait).
It is difficult to describe exactly what makes it the best festival in the world, so I won't bother trying.
Instead, I want to offer some advice to anyone thinking of going (You should. Start thinking. Now) which I wish I had known before. Hopefully it will make you want to go, rather than put you off.
Camping: People will always advise you to get there early to get a space. What they won't tell you is how much space you will get. Chances are you will have to alter your understanding of the term 'camping spot'. We had two large tents to put up, and we were delighted with our find of a small patch of grass, the likes of which would have made a rabbit feel cramped. I introduced myself to our neighbors by sticking one corner of our tent into the side of their's, and positioning a tent peg in what was no doubt the middle of someone's sleeping area. To accommodate the hippie, sorry happy campers on the other side, I decided it best to simply not put up the porch section of our tent. It's Glasto, free love and no porch areas. Our two tents, overlapped nicely, created the most difficult assault coarse known to man - guy ropes left, right and centre. Many a smashed teenager fell victim to the guy ropes. They didn't seem to notice too much though.
Heal yourself: It's Sunday morning. You have been camping in your spacious marquee of a tent for four nights now. The music started on Friday, and your voice is gone from screaming, your feet ache from walking and your mind is overwhelmed. Ok, bare with me on this one, but I advise a trip to the healing fields. A whole section of the festival is a maze of colourful tents offering massages, yoga, hula hooping, etc... You don't have to do any of this to be healed, however, just walking through this area will bring you back to calm. Cheap tea and coffee, soothing music, greenery. You may have only slept for a few hours, if that, but you will feel refreshed, calm and reading for the final day of madness. You will not, however, feel clean. And I would also like to point out that not participating in any of the offered activities means that I am not a hippie, merely an appreciator (I hope).
Don't try and see everything, but don't miss anything: It's pretty difficult, well, probably impossible to see everything at Glastonbury. But that doesn't mean you can't walk past it, or even see it from above. Going up the tower is definitely recommended to get a view of the festival. And walk around. Your feet will not like you for a few days, but it will be worth it. Glastonbury is definitely not a festival where you should spend the afternoon in the tent.
The view from the tower. Remember where your tent is, or it gets a bit tricky.
No comments:
Post a Comment