How To Start Planning Your Glastonbury Festival Weekend!

Glastonbury Festival is one of the biggest weekends of the year for music fans, as some of the world’s best artists descend upon Somerset for five days of concerts. 

The first Glastonbury Festival took place in 1970 when dairy farmer Michael Eavis decided to organise a music event at his farm in Pilton after being inspired by recent outdoor music gigs.

Tickets were originally priced at £1 for the Pilton Pop, Folk and Blues Festival, as it was originally known, and 1,500 people turned up. Over the years, the event has ballooned and now more than 210,000 people buy tickets for the spectacle each year.

Although this is already huge, as many as 2.5 million people log on to their computers on ticket release day to be in with a chance of getting a coveted place on the field. 

In fact, this year’s event proved so popular that it sold out in just 35 minutes, despite tickets now costing £373.50 plus a £5 booking fee.

If you are one of the lucky few who have managed to get your hands on a ticket and will be heading to Worthy Farm in Pilton between June 25th and 29th, here are some tips on how to start organising your weekend.

Plan transport

One of the first things you should do is plan how to get to Glastonbury. Lots of people choose to drive and park there, so they can transport everything they need in their vehicle. However, it is worth noting that car park passes are £55 each and are non-transferrable. 

There are limited spaces, and you could end up having to walk a distance from the car park to your tent with all your belongings. It is also worth getting there as early as possible, as traffic getting on to the site can build up quickly. 

Festival organisers encourage people to use public transport, with one-third of attendees planning to get there by coach, train or bus. There is a free shuttle service between Castle Cary, the nearest train station, and the festival site to help those travelling on foot. 

Another option is to hire a coach to Glastonbury for all your friends, as this means you do not have to worry about parking or carrying all your clothes, tent, toiletries, food and drink with you on public transport. 

What to eat

If you are intending to go for the whole five days, you need to think carefully about what you’ll eat during that time. There are plenty of food and drink traders on the site, offering a variety of delicious dishes, such as burgers, curries, kebabs, noodles, pies and bacon sandwiches to name a few. 

However, your gut and your wallet might not thank you if you buy three meals a day for the duration of the festival. Fortunately, three-quarters of all the traders offer a £6 meal deal to keep costs down, and you can identify these with a Meal Deal sticker on their menu boards. 

It is also worth bringing some snacks along with you, such as pastries or fruit for breakfast that you can easily store and eat on the go. You could also bring cereal bars, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, crackers, hard-boiled eggs, protein bars, and if you have a cooler, houmous, veg sticks and yoghurts. 

You might also want to invest in a gas stove, so you can scramble eggs for breakfast or whip up some pasta for dinner. Festival goers could even make porridge in a pan, a healthy cheese omelette or baked beans for lunch, or fried egg sandwich for a quick dinner. 

What to pack

There’s the temptation to bring everything for all weathers, but the more you take, the more you risk losing or damaging. So it is advisable to only bring essentials. 

This includes all your tickets, IDs, money and cards, mobile phone, battery pack and charging cable. 

Those who are camping also need their tent, sleeping mat and bag, pillow, stove, bin bags, and toilet roll. 

In terms of clothes, be minimal by bringing layers if it gets cold, such as a sweater and waterproof coat. Wellies are also essential, as the fields can get very muddy. 

Though the weather is sometimes cold and rainy, it can also be extremely hot, so do not forget sunhat and suncream. Toiletries, medical information, next of kin notification, glasses and contact lenses, and a reusable water bottle are also important. 

You should also bring a torch and mark your valuables with your postcode and house number.

Glastonbury has a “Love Worthy Farm, Leave No Trace” philosophy, so festival goers need to take everything away with them. Therefore, they should only bring what they are going to carry home.