Blog ≫ 2025 ≫ Glastonbury day -2
You're right, it's about time I wrote this up! Let's start with Glastonbury day minus two. If we say Glastonbury is really the Friday, Saturday, Sunday, this is me getting there on the Wednesday. I had the day off work, a train ticket for 10am to be in Stratford in plenty of time for the coach at midday. We checked the train times, just to see, wouldn't it be typical if there was an issue on the trains today? There was an issue on the trains today. Just my service, the one I had to get, was goign to be forty-five minutes late. Now that would still get me there in time for y coach but it was a bit hairy. How could just this one be delayed and not the trains before or after it? Clare took me up to the station to try and find out more, but the time we got up there it had sorted itself out. There was some problem at the point where this train had set out from in the morning, but all good now. We had some time to kill, but then back to the station, and I'm ready to go.
Got to Stratford with an hour to spare. LOADS of people around so I got in a sort of line. They had camping chairs out and all sorts and everyone has more baggage than they say is allowed. Soon realised they are all there for an hour earlier coach than me, they all bundle on and the crowd is gone. I have a walk around, into Westfield, looking for water. Yes, all my prep and the main thing I forgot was my collapsible water bottle, filled with water. It was on y list and I checked it lots of times. I did have an empty two pint bottle though which I'd brought as a spare to fill up and leave in the tent, it was the empty one of the two cider bottles we'd bought at the weekend. So instead of buying water I walked round Westfield until I found the water dispenser, and filled up. Used a nice loo for the last time in about a week and back to the coach.
Much faffing still at the coach queue. Our coach much delayed, then of course three came along at once. With all the confusion over which coach was which and should they leave all at once or spread out as per their scheduled times, they had to park in different slots. So suddenly I was in the front of the queue for my coach, first one on, got the best seat near the middle exit. Close to the loo which I thought I would be making use of, but no.
Journey there was fine. Others on the coach getting drunk, two in particular quite near, getting louder too. I didn't have a drink at all, though I had some in my bag, not until we got to Fleet services. Then I treated myself to a rum and ginger premix thing and a big bag of crisps. Oh and of course this was actually the last decent loo of the weekend. Back to the coach. Think it must be after the services we go right past Stonehenge and I got quite a good picture out of the window.
At Glastonbury and on site and no queues or anything. None of the lengthy delays searching bags for fireworks and body glitter like they'd suggested. Got my wristband clamped on with somde medievel looking punch thing that I'd forgotten about. On to the site and already it's packed with tents. Some people must have just dropped where they stopped happy to have a space at all. This would be too low, too flat, too likely to flood if anything went wrong, and too much on a path, too busy for me. I looked for a quite bit, near the family camping, the accessible camping, that sort of thing. Beyond that was Hitchin Hill, right at the top of the site. On a bit of a slope, but with a plan to sleep with my head up and my feet down. This way no danger of the tent lying in a puddle of water at any point, this was about my greatest fear. That and getting stuff stolen. I put the tent up in about half an hour I think, quite hot work though. Left most things inside and out for a wander!
I had an idea to head to the cinema stage, or one of the cinema stages, to catch The Ballad Of Wallis Island, a new film by Tim Key. I had been speaking about it with a friend and serendipitously it was on on the Wednesday here. But by the time I'd remembered it, it was half way through and I was nowhere near a screen. I would return to the cinema later in the weekend.
I walked down the hill, past the side of the Woodsies area. I had a look in but could see the stage was not open yet. Maybe the bar was. I looked in at a bar pretty early on to get an idea of what was on offer. I had understood there were lots of actual pubs on site now, I assumed they would have different ales and things, and it not just be like the old beer tents selling the same brand of lager beer. But though the bars look different they all had pretty much the same things. There was a festival IPA and pint of Otter Ale at some. Mostly I did not go to the bars.
I walked on through the wood area, it had a rope bridge type thing to walk around, and its own music area. Everything is a stage these days, maybe it always was.
More walking around, and then I met up with a friend from work, and we watched the opening show on the Pyramid stage. This is the first time they've done one of these it had acrobatics and interaction, but weirdly there was no sound. I think there was supposed to be sound as there looked to be a big old choir on the stage, but we could hear nothing from where we were.
I am not sure if I hit the cider bus on the first day or just stuck with my two pint bottle I had brought from home and had been carrying round all day. But ah, it just came back to me, I did get a cider, as I remember asking about the reusable cups that I had heard were available. They were not available from the cider bus but I could get one from the water aid tent in the morning.
Back to my tent and to bed not too late. Earplugs in to try and get some sleep.
⬅️ DIY shopping :: Glastonbury day -1 ➡️