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Where it's at
If you are going to an English music festival then without
doubt it has to be Glastonbury - it's the oldest, it's
the biggest, it's a world within a world and it is the one
that everyone goes to.
Glastonbury is the largest outdoors festival of music and
performing arts in the world which each year hosts some of
the biggest and best artists in the world.
Located in the Southwestern county of Somerset on a
giant 900-acre farm site in the Vale of Avalon, a place
of ancient myths and Kind Arthur legends, festival
goers here can expect enlightenment, rude awakenings, bizarre
happenings, and moments which border on other-worldly.
The festival usually takes place on the second or third weekend
in June, after the Summer Solstice. The site generally
opens on the Wednesday of the festival with impromptu music
happening each night until the festival starts proper on the
Friday, running through until the Sunday.
Past festival artists
Everyone who is anyone has performed here at some stage in
their career: past acts include Marc Bolan, David Bowie,
New Order, The Smiths, Elvis Costello, PJ Harvey, Velvet Underground,
Radiohead, Robbie Williams, Oasis and Antipodean festival
regular - always with his wobble board - Rolf Harris.
Glastonbury culture
Some people say it's become too mainstream and crowded since
the 1990s, with ticket prices soaring through the roof every
year and old school acts like Rod Stewart and Paul
McCartney headlining the main stages, but there's something
for everyone at this massive event which turns a large dairy
farm into a makeshift city composed of every sub-culture under
the sun. Expect all sorts at the festival - dreadlocked hippies,
ravers, celebrities in green wellies, new age travelers, musicians,
thespians, and families soaking up the crazy atmosphere. Glastonbury
gives you a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience all the
genres of music, people, styles, tastes and sounds that Europe
has to offer - and you'll definitely have a wild time in the
bargain. A dull moment at Glastonbury is unimaginable.
Getting a ticket for Glastonbury Festival
A ticket to the festival is like gold dust; the 100,000-plus
tickets usually sell out within a few hours. Since the organizers
have put the clamps on the great fence-hopping traditions
of yesteryears, you will need to purchase one, retailing at
over $200, if you want to get in. Be warned that tickets usually
sell out within a few hours of going on sale, so check the
website for details of the release date and take the morning
off work to sit by the phone.
History of Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury is one of the original music festivals. First
held during the long hot summer of 1970, the day after Jimi
Hendrix died, it was the perfect hippie retreat. It was
all about great music, groovy dancing and having a good time,
all the time. The original festival was by donation of a mere
£1 (under $2) which included free milk - as the festival
is still held today on the site of Worthy Farm, a working
dairy farm owned by Britain's hippest farmer, Michael Eavis.
Despite the steep admission charges today, profits do go to
good causes - in particular Greenpeace (who sponsor
the main Pyramid Stage), Oxfam, Water Aid, and other
humanitarian charities.
Getting to the festival site
The festival site is three miles from the nearest town of
Shepton Mallet, and six miles from the next major town
of Glastonbury. The nearest major city is Bristol.
Castle Cary is the nearest train station, from which
you can get a free festival shuttle bus, or National Express
operate cheap direct coaches to the site from all major cities.
Expect big crowds and traffic jams all the way, sometimes
trailing back for up to six hours, on the legendary 303 B-road
approaching the site, which was even iconicised in a song
by former-festival headline act Kula Shaker.
Where to stay
Accommodation is strictly a camping affair. If you want to
go up-market you can rent a trailer for about $1,000 for the
weekend, or you could make like an Indian and hire a tipi
to stay in the Tipi Field but this must be organized
in advance.
You'll make plenty of friends during your long weekend -
and you'll probably get to known your camping neighbor more
intimately in three days than your real-life neighbors in
three years, so get there early to get a good spot and families
may want to avoid pitching next to big groups.
Festival entertainment
There is so much to do here, and the site is massive so you'll
have to work out how to navigate around on your first day.
The main areas are:
Main Stages
There are six main stages hosting mainly established artists
- the largest of which is the Pyramid Stage, followed
by the Other Stage, with the Dance Village, Jazz
World, Acoustic Tent, New Band Stage (re-christened the
John Peel Stage in 2005 after the death of the great
alternative music DJ in 2004), and Fields of Avalon
offering more low-key specialist alternatives.
Circus and Theatre
A wild space packed full of fire jugglers, big top acrobats,
comedians, cabaret singers, and poets, with everything from
family-friendly theatre in the day through to adults-only
acts like the Jim Rose Circus late at night. Or the
Lost Vagueness crew further out of the site near the
Stone Circle has nuns and vicars conducting mock mass
weddings, or you can don a mud-caked dinner jacket and head
to the casino for gambling, burlesque cabaret, and swing bands.
There is no avoiding theatre at Glastonbury as many mix-and-mingle
performance artists - some booked but some impromptu - fill
the festival with crazy costumes, inventions, and props making
for some unexpected encounters.
Green Fields
This large area is set aside for alternative medicine, healing,
environmentally-friendly technology, crafts, and social debates.
It's the perfect place to begin a shamanic journey, enjoy
a sauna (there are few public showers on site!), chill out,
or see really far-out bands - where the generators are often
powered by pedal bike! There's also entertainment here for
kids and the Tipi Field.
King's Meadow
At the top of the Green Fields is the King's Meadow
with the Sacred Space which offers fantastic views
across the whole festival site, a stone dragon, and a stone
circle - built in 1990 AD! At night, fires and torch lights
illuminate the circle and the sound of a thousand-and-one
djembe drummers beating in (near) unison fills the air. It's
the space for your spiritual encounter, or just a chance to
get 'stoned with the stones, man!'
Festival tips
- Run out of food or money? Head to the tent of the orange-robed
Hare Krishna, a sect of Hinduism, for free nourishment
for the stomach and soul to the prayer chant of: 'Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Rama…'
- You can get every drug imaginable here, with many
dealers openly touting their wares with cries of: 'Acid! E!
Speed! Hash for cash!' Smoking hash is usually tolerated by
festival police but even if you don't get ripped off by the
fly-by-night dealers you may end up with something you didn't
expect, so these crooks are best avoided and keep an eye on
you minors at all times. There is often at least one drugs
related death per year at the festival.
- Crime is rife at the festival, a space with a population
the same as the nearby city of Bristol. Don't leave anything
of any value in your tent and don't bring anything you can't
afford to lose or get trashed. There are cash points on site,
but expect long queues and transaction charges. Even tent
theft - where someone brings a large tent to 'eat' up a smaller
tent and dispose of its contents - is a bizarre but common
occurrence. Gun and violent crime has been a problem in previous
years so take care, and never be in a position where you are
too out of control to know what is happening around you.
- Bring a year's supply of plastic bin liners, they
are essential for everything from emergency waterproofs to
makeshift volleyballs. Earplugs are a festival-goer's
essential. Wear them in the rave tent and your ears won't
ring in the morning, or wear them in bed and you've got an
outside chance of getting some sleep.
- Glastonbury's toilets are notorious. Toilet facilities
per head are limited, and they are usually stinking by the
end of day one. Bring your own toilet roll. There are a few
flushing loos on site so suss out their locations and use
every time you pass through. Also, if you see the van that
cleans out the toilets passing by, take this as a chance to
get in while it's moderately clean. There are few showers
on site: expected to get sweaty, dirty, and stink by the end.
The service stations on the nearest stretch of motorway to
the site are another notorious post-festival gathering for
scraping off the mud, washing, and three days of suppressed
bowel relief.
- Despite the festival taking place in British summertime,
the weather can be unpredictable and torrential in
the West of England and some of the Glastonbury Festivals
in recent years have been totally washed out, with rain halting
play on the main stages, tents washed into a field of mud,
and out-of-it punters swilling in the mud like pigs! Because
of the isolated location of the site, and the vast numbers
of people churning up the grass lands, even a slight rain
shower can turn the grounds boggy, so if you like things calm
and clean this is not the festival for you. Bring wet weather
gear, a pair of good old British wellington boots, and check
the forecast in advance. Or how about a shower curtain: take
it to the festival and voila - an instant waterproof rug,
rain coat, an extra blanket and something to lay over your
tent if it starts to leak!
- On site costs for drink, food, and essentials
like lighters, toilet rolls, or an umbrella are a rip off
to say the least, with a typical stall in the main stage areas
selling a small plate of hot food upwards of $8. Bring your
own where possible. However, there are plenty of international
cuisines to experiment with like Creole, Chinese, Lebanese,
and lots of veggie and vegan options so dig in.
- Now where did I pitch my tent? In the dark, your
cheapo identikit tent could look remarkably similar to the
other 70,000 or so. Get there early and pitch up near a recognisable
landmark - and mark your tent with paint or a flag - glow-in-the-dark
accessories will help you see your way home. Likewise, a torch
will come in handy.
- Unless you want to become a Glastonbury Festival cliché,
avoid buying a jester's hat. You may as well have a
sign saying 'naïve festival virgin' over your head. There
are plenty of better buys at the hundreds of festival stall
like new age jewellery, crafts, ethnic clothes, CDs, posters
- all the hippy chic you can imagine and at competitive prices.
- Get a festival program before the first day of music
and plan your schedule if you want to catch certain bands.
The trek from one end of the site to the other can take over
an hour to negotiate the paths and crowds. On the other hand,
there are plenty of smaller stages towards the south side
of the sight which are great to meander around, seeing what
new talents you may discover. Many people come here and have
a great time without once seeing a band on the main stages,
just soaking up the atmosphere, chatting, and exploring the
alternative elements of this mini-city.
Other things to see and do
Visit Glastonbury
Glastonbury town and the surrounding region is the undisputed
centre of spiritual England and is considered one of the oldest
religious sites in the country. Pagan and Christian pilgrims
have flocked to Glastonbury for centuries and even today it's
frequented by spiritual tourists and new age travelers. The
town itself has more crystal healing shops and new age retail
outlets than is healthy.
Glastonbury Tor
Glastonbury Tor is a small 500-foot hill, at the summit
of which stands the remains of the Medieval Church of St
Michael. The last Abbot of Glastonbury was executed on
the Tor by Henry VIII, but these days it's a great place from
which to look out at the scenic surrounding countryside. Glastonbury
Tor is open to visitors throughout the year, and it takes
just 25 minutes to climb to the summit. You can survey the
countryside for mile around and inspect the intricate carvings
of St Michael at the base of the tower.
Natural springs
White Spring is a natural water source, which flows
into a cavern at the foot of Glastonbury Tor. It's an ideal
spot to take in the atmospheric surroundings and refreshments
are available at the café here. Chalice Well on
Chilkwell Street in the town has long been associated
with powers of healing, for those who sip the water which
cascades through the Lion's Head spout.
Glastonbury Abbey
The first evidence of a church on the site of Glastonbury
Abbey dates back to the seventh century, when King Ine
ordered that a monastery be built here. The original church
was destroyed in a fire in 1184, and the Abbey was rebuilt
in the reign of King Henry II. In 1191, after several
monks claimed to have had visions that King Arthur
was buried in the grounds of the Abbey, excavations uncovered
their alleged tombs. The regal pair were re-interred before
the high altar in 1278, but with the dissolution of the monasteries
by King Henry VIII in 1539, all traces of the tomb
disappeared and the Abbey itself fell to ruin. The ruins of
Glastonbury Abbey are open daily, and you can still see the
Lady Chapel, the Abbot's Kitchen and the supposed spot
where Arthur and Guinevere were buried. |
