Glastonbury Festival 2025

[seanandjules]

So i've been 13 times before as i'm old, but got tickets (yay) and my first time in a moho. I know there's been a lot of threads about this, but wondered about recent experience. Our van is under 8m, so hopefully will get in the adjacent fields rather than Bath and West Showground.

We'll have plenty of gas, but how far apart are the taps? I assume a 25m hose won't work in most circumstances and i'll need a water hog or similar?

What's the atmosphere like in the camper field? Frankly i'll set up a tent inside anyway, but if we do need some downtime is it OK? Or does the influx of newbies renting vans make it different?

Finally, I think there's showers in Bath & West, but are there some in the other site? Not a deal-breaker as we'll bring plenty of gas, but...

Thanks all

 

[edgewood175]

First of, well done on the tickets. We started going in the early 90's in tents but as we got older most of us turned to campers etc.

From memory the taps were not close and we used a barrel on wheels type of thing with a 12v pump.

The motorhome fields were quiet after a certain time and were a good walk to get into the site. We tended to go into the main site lunchtime then back for an hour or so 5ish then out till we were done for the night.

The campervan tickets are not easy to get either. It is almost as much a bun fight to get them so be prepared.

There is a pub in the village that allowed vans to stay on the Tuesday night ready for an 8am opening. All they expect is for you to buy food/drinks.

 

[seanandjules]

Thank you! Good point about the pump, didn't think about that.

 

[Soycd]

Enjoy! I've never been, lived in Germany for decades so never got the chance. Tried on Sunday but no luck.

 

[Brains]

Blimey, call yourself old! Here was my first one.

I've been more times than I can remember, but always in an official capacity working for various bands.
But there was usually a break in the tour at that point, so usually the crews would stay on for a couple of days as there was always plenty of work available.

If there is a chance of getting onto the field before the 8am opening, then do it, and tuck yourself right to the hedge, as we have found people setting up tents actually under our awning in the past.
(A 'dog' fence, even if you dont have a dog is a good idea, but don't take more space than you need)

One year several of us (crew) arrived in campercans, motorhomes, caravans etc, and we all drove onto one of the fields and down one side, literally nose to tail with not even an 1" gap, this meant we had a 'private' area 2m wide and 40m long just for us.
But that sort of parking needs agreement in advance

Otherwise get into the camping queue as early as you can, it starts forming the afternoon before.

Go full loaded with gas and water. Gas is very difficult to get on site and water is often a long way away.
Either take a rollerdrum (or see which of your neighbours have one and arrange to borrow it)

Don't expect to leave in a hurry.
It takes half a day to empty the car parks and camp sites.
We actually used to stay an extra night (which may not be possible in the public camp sites) just to avoid the madness of a city the size of Bristol all being on the move on the same day.

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[angusboy]

My first one was t.rex when I was 15 I'm 71 now still going

 

[dom_k]

I went in 2023 in my van. Stayed in a field close to the site. They park packed tight so don’t expect much room. The water is a trek depending which side of the site you are and pressure can be poor. Took me about 40mins to queue and 15 to fill a 10 litre can! Probably best to get it away from peak times - think 2 - 6 am time so take as much as you can!! They have black and grey points but few and far between - I emptied mine into the portaloos as they were significantly closer.
It’s still a walk to the site - probably 25 mins from where we were parked and climb up the hill on way back on the evening

 

[pampam]

Do they have many caterers or is it all done by one of the big event companys?

 

[edgewood175]

Catering at Glasto has improved massively over the years. Last time I went 2017 we had a sit down Indian meal in a converted London bus. And I think there was an agreement across the site at price caps so back then all the stalls charged £8. Bound to have gone up but you won’t go hungry there

 

[Vintner]

We stayed at Bath and West in 2023 and that was the only option we had by the time we got to the front of the ticket sale. As someone mentioned, it is hard to get campervan tickets so whatever you did to get main tickets, do it again for the campervan ticket sale. My experience below is only Bath and West and for the final reason below we will be doing our best to get into the other area which is a walk to the site rather than a bus.

As far as I recall there was no electric hookup which was fine as we were out all day and we had glorious sunshine so the solar topped up the batteries.

They guide you in as and when you arrive so the earlier you go the closer you will be to the toilets/showers/waste but you do not have any choice as to where to park. If you have an awning they will make sure you have space to wind it out. If you are going with friends make sure you arrive in convoy and they will make sure you are together. For us we had a reasonable walk to the toilets and water but nothing that bothered us. I had a 10 litre watering can which worked fine.

Night time was quiet in general apart from a few people sitting around chatting, no loud music. Someone who clearly had a similar van to mine and maybe a lot more to drink (or whatever) tried to get get in to our van 2 nights on the trot thinking it was his. Not a big issue but a bit alarming at the time.

Bus to and from the festival was easy and frequent. It was mega hot though and a small fan helped a lot.

When we drove out on the Monday it was easy, very little queueing and straight home. Could be very different on a wet Glasto with people getting stuck in the mud.

The biggest issue and the sole reason I don't want to go to Bath and West this year (we also have tickets, hooray!) is the last bus back at the end of the festival. It is the same bus that is used for people who are on foot and getting connecting buses or taxis to leave Glastonbury. So the queue is insane. 3 hours was what I heard. A proper nightmare when you have had a long festival. It is definitely a massive failure in the organisation and perhaps they will have improved the system. If I was to do it again I would have to consider missing the last main stage act on the Sunday and going before or going all in and staying until the early hours of Monday before going back.

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[Barti Ddu]

Do they have many caterers or is it all done by one of the big event companys?

Somewhere approaching 1000 independent food vendors on site. Everything from Goan Fish Curry to a full Sunday Roast, so something for everyone!

Around 100 bars. Also a massive wholesale food market where the food stalls can restock without going off site, plus a retail supermarket for the punters.

It becomes something like the twelve biggest city in the UK for the weekend!