Glastonbury Review

Overall Rating

Great bands
When the weather is good it's beautiful on Pilton Farm

Site too big
Too crowded
Too many people high on illegal substances behaving like animals
Stupidly expensive

I have been to Glastonbury once and once was more than enough! I'm a festival veteran, have been to many of them both in the UK and the US and despite it's reputation, I found Glastonbury to be the worst experience of the lot.

For starters, the parking facilities on the site are MILES, and I do mean MILES from the camping, so you have to load everything on your back and then wander around a massive space trying to find enough room in the overcrowded camp grounds to put up your tent and god help you if the only spots you can find are near the toilets....If you actually bring any food or drink with you, it's likely you'll have to make more than one trip to your car which can take a couple of hours all told.

Next, the campsites, so crowded that it's incredibly easy to lose your tent in the masses of people. Or simply to have your tent and all its contents stolen (TIP: Don't take ANYTHING you don't feel comfortable leaving in a large field unsupervised and do try to pitch your tent near a tree, or other defining landmark otherwise it'll all be over in the dark). It's all very poorly lit so that at the end of the night you find yourself tripping over and knocking down other people's shelters in order to get back to your own. Because everyone is so crammed in, we had a very hard time getting any sleep whatsoever as we managed to get ourselves next to a LOUD group of speedfreaks who decided on the first day that they would take enough drugs to keep them awake for the duration of the festival and that if they weren't going to sleep then nobody else should either. This lasted 2 nights until somebody a good 1/4 mile away started threatening them with bodily harm if they didn't take their noise elsewhere.

And that brings us to the atmosphere. Now Glastonbury may have been friendly in the '60s and '70s but we simply found that most people were drunk or high and generally had come there to behave in ways which would not be considered acceptable or appropriate at any other time or in any other place. Furthermore, most people seemed to be there mainly for the chemical indulgence rather than for the bands which meant that even when we braved going near the front we were subjected to lots of talking through sets. That said, in the Green Fields and near the Stone Circle where the travellers and hippies congregated, things were much more pleasant and people were lovely.

On to the bands, etc. - Can't fault a thing here. We saw some amazing sets including REM, Manic Street Preachers, Mogwai, Pavement, Tindersticks, Travis, Ooberman, Mercury Rev, Doves, Blondie. We missed as many acts that we wanted to see as we actually saw because of scheduling and the distance between stages. The other entertainment including acrobatics and dance was also equally entertaining and a really good distraction.

The facilities have gotten a lot of flak, and to be fair, the toilets were repulsive and could have been cleaned more often, but there were plenty of places to fill water bottles, queues weren't awful and there was lots of choice in terms of food, and it wasn't as expensive as I expected. Beer was a terrible rip-off however. The main problem we experienced was that by Saturday the place was a rubbish tip, made worse by the people who had snuck in glass bottles, dropped them on the ground where they broke and the glass was all over the fields. There were no bins, so everything just got dropped where people stood. Nasty.

On the whole, if you're going to drink heavily and take drugs with your friends, stay up all night raving and generally misbehave then you'll probably have a great time, but if you want a MUSIC festival with a great atmosphere then save your cash and go to Reading/Leeds instead!

Members' Comments onWSD's Review

• bexcoz99 on 7th Oct 2004

  It's people like you who spoil things like this for those of us that LOVE them!! Next time stay at home!!

• WSD on 8th Oct 2004

  'Scuse me, how do I ruin it for you? By watching the bands? By not smashing glass bottles into the ground? By not throwing glass bottles filled with urine at the stage, thereby covering everyone in front of me in wee? By not getting drunk/high and aggressive? By being polite and friendly to people, most of whom did not respond in kind? By trying not to knock down people's tents while returning to mine? By not standing down the front and talking really loudly through a quiet, sombre performance?
  
  I have been to TWELVE different festivals across a range of sites (and countries) over the last 10 years or so. Some I attend every year (Leeds, Move), some only occasionally (V, Lollapalooza). Glastonbury had, by far, the worst atmosphere of the lot, which was not helped by the layout of the site or the sheer amount of filth and garbage everywhere.
  
  It's funny, because everyone says Glasto has the atmosphere and Leeds/Reading has the bands; but in my experience, Leeds has BY FAR had the BEST atmosphere everytime I've been. People have been friendly, polite and fairly genial (and slightly less chemically enhanced, making them far more reasonable). The site doesn't smell like a toilet, gets cleaned overnight and doesn't require a bank loan to finance the tickets or an act of God to get them.
  
  So, don't you worry, you won't be bumping into me at Glasto because I'll be where the fun is.

• bexcoz99 on 14th Oct 2004

  We all have different experiences in life and, like yourself I have also been to many different festivals in many countries. I feel though that there has been enough advertising about Glastonbury since it began that you should have know what you were getting yourself into when you parted with your hard earned cash for your ticket. I think positivity is the key to happiness and your review was overly negative so I wanted to add something positive for readers!

• djeva1 on 24th Jun 2007

  Hi WSD, I was interested in reading your review on the Glastonbury festival.I have never been to this one myself,but I once went to a similar,but smaller one in the 80's called 'Elephant Fayre',do you remember it?It was in a place called St Germans east Cornwall near the Devon border.This festival also had a lot of people high on drugs and full of New age hippies,the bands were good, but this type of festival is not my cup of tea therefore Glastonbury wouldn't be either. Many people have told me about Glastonbury and it reminded me of Elephant fayre,I prefer the 'Bulldog Bash' myself it's much more exciting,ideal if you like bikes.

• Consumer View on 25th Jun 2007

  It's true Glasters is not as good as it used to be..

• HughieJ on 30th Jun 2008

  It hurts me to have to agree with your review as I am a true fan of the festival, and have been a regular for more than 20 years.
  
  The good news is that I am just back from 2008, and I can report that some of your criticisms have been addressed.
  
  In particular, there was more space this year, and a daily litter pickup was in operation, meaning the whole experience was a lot cleaner and less stressful than in previous years.
  
  The distances to be covered are a problem, and always will be, but provided the food prices remain reasonable I for one am happy to travel light.
  
  2008 has been the best for a decade.

• Joff1979 on 1st Jul 2008

  I disagree with this review because to complain about the size of the site is madness. I love the fact that it is huge, yes you may miss some bands but that was the best thing about this year, wandering around the site seeing loads of little stages with great bands.
  
  Also people High on substances......it is Glastonbury mate.....if you didn't expect that then you should do research plus in my experience the may be acting like animals but they are harmless.......unlike reading or V.

• bhikkubodhi on 1st Jul 2008

  wow i agree with some comments and not others its not miles to the campsites maybe a mile and we arrived late difficult to find a space yes and to be told by a `waster` sorry camp attendant who are all in one tent boozing vaugly there may be a space somewhere over there if youre lucky - no ive paid 150 where is the space. Sack these volunteers and get real.
  The tents are 2 close has anyone broken their neck yet? Basic greed i feel have health and safety looked at this? i imagine the spin is offering the experience to the maximum people.
  
  Saying that people were great and I had 2 lovely night sleep seriously! luck of the draw I expect.
  
  Gigs great food amazing i will go again. Its the closest to India i've been in the uk so its not for everyone. hell theres always bbc3.
  And I agree leeds festival rocks shame I booked lazytowm in Manchester as the wife will not let me get out of it. SERIOUSLY.

• triffiks on 18th Dec 2008

  In the old days it was just a few drinks bit of fun and now sadly its the drug scene. I wish we could turn the clock back but we cannot. One day the kids MAY wake up and stop damaging their minds. Who knows next year?
  
  Am ex 60s "hippy" but we behaved ourselves and respected people.