Here in Pilton, the village is getting ready for Glastonbury Festival, and if you were lucky enough to get tickets; you should be too! Here’s a list of some of the things to be getting on with….
-If you have one already, pitch your tent in the garden / nearest park, throw away the rubbish still in it from last year, and give it a good airing, and possibly a wash as well. While you’re at it, a waterproofing spray might not be a bad idea if you’ve had it more than a couple of years.
-If you need to buy a tent, please don’t get the cheapest one. In 2008 we bought a £20 pop-up tent from Mountain Warehouse and came back to it to find 2-buckets-worth of water sitting inside and obviously everything in it was sopping wet. They are simply not waterproof. I highly recommend Quetchua tents.
Always go for a double skin tent – and by that I mean there should be two layers of fabric between you and the open air – it doubles your chances of staying dry. Pop-up tents are good because they’re so light to carry, and once you’ve trudged miles from your car to the campsite, it’s so easy to just let it out the bag and get your stuff in there really quickly. Ideal if it’s already raining. They do need to be good quality though.
-Practice re-packing the pop-up tent.
-If you’re going as a family, then go for a bigger tent with a small inner bit where the kids can stand in the dry to take off all their wet muddy clothes, and have a bit of space to play in if it’s too wet outside.
You may have noticed a bit of a theme here! It has been a while since we’ve had a truly wet Glastonbury (despite telly cameras making a big deal of any puddle they can find), and I’m worried regulars may be getting complacent and newbies will not have a clue what it can really be like! I just have a tingling in my bones that it could be a wet one this year. It’s certainly about time.
-Take out all your camping equipment and check it over – you don’t want to find when you get there that mice have made a nest of the bottom of your sleeping bag.
-Take a look at my Glastonbury Packing List and buy anything you don’t already have. (I’m going to be updating this list next week with handy links, so please come back on Thursday for that.)
-Wear in your boots. If, like me, you have a pair of boots that only come out at festival season then it’s time
Glastonbury Green Fields
to bang off last year’s mud and start wearing them on walks to get your feet used to them again. Check that they’re still waterproof. If you have new boots, then definitely wear them as often as possible.
-Get fit. It’s not to late to build up your fitness levels a bit before you go! You can easily cover twenty miles a day going from one stage to another, and if you have one act finishing in the Acoustic tent at 5pm and your favourite band starting at 5:20 at the park, you will need to get a wriggle on. Add sticky mud into it and you’ll wish you’d been a regular at the gym since January.
-Listen to music you haven’t listened to before. It’s always a great feeling to sing along with the crowds around you, but that’s difficult if you have no idea of the words. I click on the links on the Glastonbury Festival line-up and listen to their music, making a note of bands I like. This is particularly good if there are two bands on the same stage you know you want to see, but have no idea who the person in-between them is.
-Watch a Glastonbury Film to get you in the mood.
-Master hoola hooping or fire poi to impress your friends and passers by. (Not juggling.)
Nearer the time, there’s of course the usual things to do before a holiday: arrange for a friend to feed the cat; check the oil and water in you car/book your train or bus journey; dye your hair or beard pink; practice outdoor cider-drinking….If you can think of anything else you should be getting on with, please leave a comment 🙂