Glasto, babes!
A blissed out week under the Somerset stars featuring frozen pornstar martinis
Where do I start?? This trip - or perhaps it’s better described as an experience - has lived rent free in my head since I departed the festival grounds on a 5am Monday train from the Castle Cary train station, so I’m quite shocked it’s taken me this long to write about it.
To set some context for my American readers (all 12 of you) - Glastonbury is the UK’s biggest festival that pops up in Somerset almost every year (they take a year off every five or so years to let the grounds recover - which is so sweet). It’s been around since 1970 and is truly, as I experienced, for EVERYONE. Hardcore festival ravers? Check. Posh London yuppies reuniting with their uni mates? Check. Children? Nudists? Celebs? Check, check, check. Twice I witnessed a dense crowd of people clear a path for a double wide stroller (Brits are so polite).
This was my first Glastonbury and I was going to play and work, so my experience was a bit unique. My brother and his family run a cafe in the Tipi Field every year - The Beloved’s Arms. It’s a gorgeous vegan cafe, made of massive tipis, serving of coffees, teas, cakes and (curveball!) ramen. Their Guinness cake previously won Best Cake of Glasto from Worthy FM and the chocolate chip cookies sell out daily.
Working at the festival meant arriving a few days before gates opened. All in all I camped for 8 days total. If you know me at all, you know this was a huge feat! It also meant enjoying the sprawling festival grounds mostly empty. The production value of the stages at Glastonbury are like nothing I’ve seen at festivals before, and when I arrived, things were still being set up. I took long daily walks tracking the progress, seeing the themes of the different areas emerge through stages, food stalls, art installations, and more. The best part of working was participating in crew activities. Around 2,000 people work the festival and in the lead up, we all have a mini festival of our own with bars and performances set up just for the crew. Wednesday morning - Day 1 of Glasto - I woke up to the grassy fields completely transformed with tents as nearly 200,000 people descended onto the grounds.
Once the festival started, I worked a daily 6 hour shift and had the rest of the day to enjoy the party. I knew a handful friends attending but spent most of my festival time solo, hopping to as many sets as possible and taking breaks for birria tacos and frozen cocktails. My favorite sets were The 1975, Alanis Morissette, Ezra Collective, Maribou State, Lola Young, Fatboy Slim, and soo many more. Beyond the music, my favorite part of Glastonbury was just how MUCH there was to do. There’s almost 24 hours of music, sometimes at more than a dozen different stages at once; a massive crafts fair with felt workshops, blacksmiths and vintage markets; a circus tent with magician performances; a tipi field hosting spiritual and wellness retreats; niche dance parties where hundreds of people turn up wearing lobster paraphernalia; climate activism; south baths; mobile saunas; and all of a sudden a surprise act is announced and everyone runs to catch a glimpse! By Sunday, I was exhausted. I recharged by spending an hour waiting in line in the shade for Terminal 1 - an interactive art installation replicating the border control journey of migrants attempting to gain access to the UK. Deeply moving and woke me right up.
On Sunday evening, my brother, sister-in-law and nephews closed up the cafe and we spent the evening winding down at the Roy Harper show followed by a food crawl on the way back to our tents. I could go on and on about this festival and still not do it justice. So here are some tips, tricks and general expectations for those joining me in 2027.
Packing
Wear whatever you want - some people are dressed for Coachella, some are in gym clothes, and by the 3rd day when we’re all forced to choose between another hour of sleep or showering…no one cares what you’re wearing.
Ear plugs & eye mask: essential for the almost 24hr musical line up and the English Summer sunrise schedule
Fanny pack or backpack
Water bottle and a water bottle carrier: hydration is key but holding a 32oz Hydroflask sucks
Comfy Sneakers that you also don’t mind getting covered in dust and dirt
Comfy rainboots: I wore these Bogs even when it didn’t rain
Flip flops: nothing better than the fresh breeze of flip flops after being on your feet all day (also essential for shower logistics)
Socks: enough for 2 pairs a day
Toilet paper - yes, you need to BYO!!
Hats, headbands, clips, dry shampoo or anything else that will distract you from the what is happening to your hair after multiple days of camping, dancing, sweating
Sustenance: bandaids/compeed, advil, sunscreen, vitamin c powder, electrolyte powder, celsius powder, protein bars, your favorite sleep aid
Sleeping
The question I got the most when telling people about this trip was “so did you camp?!” Due to the sheer size of the festival grounds and the limited options outside the grounds, everyone camps. The camp grounds are massive and vary in vibes - you could stay right in the thick of it (great for a weekend of 24/7 raving) or far up on a hill away from the noise (great for a built in workout when you inevitably forget your chapstick and need to schlep uphill to your tent). There are some “pop up hotels” and inns in nearby villages but…come on.
Staying Fresh
It’s true what they say - showers are limited. Alternatively, you can pay a small fee to get into pop up saunas in the Green Field that have shower booths and (if you’re like me and adverse to long lines) a rogue hose you can fashion into a shower.
Micellar wipes come in handy for hand washing, dry showering, and feeling like you can clean your face before it hits the pillow.
Vodafone provides fully powered portable chargers you can swap out throughout the festival to keep your phone topped up on battery. Just don’t rely on it to find your friends in real time - cell service is understandably limited.
Leaving
Many people have strategies for avoiding the headache of mass exodus of thousands of people all funneling into the small local train station on Monday. I chose to leave at the crack of dawn as the final sets were coming to an end. I hitched a ride to the train station (there are also free busses available), waited in line for about 40 mins, and managed to snag a seat on the next train to London.
Only 476 days til Glasto 2027!
I still can’t believe that you were here for so many days… lol