I (finally) made it to Glastonbury: Tips and what to pack

After having Glastonbury on my bucket list for so many years, getting a 2020 ticket in 2019, and holding into it for another two years, I finally made it! Thankfully, I went to Glastonbury with friends who had done their research (and one who had been before). A general ticket to Glastonbury requires some fairly hardcore camping, and there are some key things to know.

There are no showers in sight (unless you purchase a pre-erected tent/glamping ticket etc.). If you’re planning to stay in the general camping area, you’ll need to find creative ways to stay clean - and that’s no easy feat with all the dust (or mud if you’re there on a rainy year). I highly recommend packing a collapsible bucket and flannel to wash. Something I saw other people doing that will make it even easier is also bringing a collapsible water carrier (closed, unlike a bucket). You can fill this up at the taps and bring it back to your tent to fill up your bucket, water bottles and more. I didn’t bother washing my hair, but I might have if I’d had a decent water carrier. Don’t bring the type of camping shower that needs to be hung from a tree - there are very few trees!

People are hardcore about arriving early for the best camping spot. We drove to Glastonbury on Tuesday evening and spent the night in the car, but I wouldn’t recommend this. As the weather was clear, most others who arrived in the night literally slept in the queue, so arriving the evening prior to the gates opening didn’t put us at much of an advantage, since the queue was already incredibly long at 6am. Either go hard and sleep in the queue or just arrive the next morning. Personally, I would prefer to get a pre-erected tent since this saves the stress of rushing in for a camping spot, but it does mean shelling out a lot more money.

The music doesn’t really get going until Friday. If you’re planning to stay in the general camping area, you’ll likely want to arrive early to get a good spot, but know that there isn’t much to do on Wednesday and only slightly more on Thursday. If you’re staying in a pre-erected tent, you have the luxury of arriving whenever you want and personally, I’d arrive on Thursday morning.

But, there’s a lot more to Glastonbury than just music. I loved visiting the Craft Field - and this is one of the areas that are open from Wednesday. You can do everything from making your own kokodama, to pottery and headpieces. There’s also a Healing Field adjacent to the craft area, with activities like meditation and sound bathing.

The Craft Field: The Dyery Society and pottery

Once things get going, there’s almost too much to do at Glastonbury. I thought I would get time to visit circus tents and do all sorts of things, but you can’t do everything. Use the app to save your top priorities and go from there.
Bring a hip flask and spirits - but make sure you decant your spirits into plastic bottles prior to arrival, as no glass is allowed. We also brought soda water and cordials with us, but I wouldn’t do this next time - not only is it too much to carry, but it’s hard to chill drinks. Bringing a hip flask means you can simply order soft drinks from the bar, which I found was a good middle-of-the-road option to save money.
You’re likely going to get to bed late, but the sun will wake you up early. The biggest mistake I made was not bringing an eye mask. You may also want earplugs to help with the noise.
Yes, the toilets are disgusting but trust me, Glastonbury is so fun that you’ll look past this.
Bring some cash - sometimes, vendors lose their wifi connection and card machines stop working.

Glastonbury packing list

Foldable bucket
Foldable water carrier - Something like this Trespass Squeezebox Foldable Water Carrier will make life much easier.
Garden trolley/cart to carry everything - this is mostly if you’re staying in the general area and carting in a tent, etc. Otherwise, I’d recommend getting everything into a hiking backpack.
A hiking backpack. We were lucky that 2022 was a very dry year, but you certainly wouldn’t want to drag a suitcase or wheelie bag through the mud!
A water bottle to use throughout the day
Toilet paper - none is provided.
Tissues
Basic medication and plasters for cuts. You may also want to bring hangover cures :)
Hand sanitiser and soap
Rubbish bags
Sunscreen
Cutlery - not essential but might be useful
Spirits decanted into plastic bottles and a hip flask.
Eye mask and ear plugs
Clothes to get you through a few weather scenarios, including rain
Comfortable shoes that will also work in a range of weather scenarios. I mainly wore an old pair of sneakers, but Doc Martins are a good choice if you have them. A lot of people also wore hiking boots.
A small backpack to carry around during the day

If you’re staying in the general camping area, you’ll also need:

A tent. We brought quite a large two-roomed tent between three of us (one place to sleep and another for bags with plenty of room to sit), which was a luxury, but frankly very nice to have.
A sleeping bag - bring a warm one; it was very hot during the days we were there but freezing at night.
A sleeping mat
A pillow - inflatable is a good idea.
Tent lights
A camping chair
Swimwear - not for swimming, but for very publicly bathing yourself.

There are plenty of shops at Glastonbury, so don’t stress too much if you forget something; including fun outfits. There was also a Co-op but it ran out of stock quickly, so get in quick if there’s something you really want.

There are so many different areas to check out at Glastonbury. The headline acts are at the Pyramid Stage, which was conveniently near where we camped. The other two stages I frequented most were Other Stage and West Holts Stage. You’ll find that stages have broad genres so it’s likely you’ll keep coming back to the same stages.

I really wanted to get into the Rabbit Hole, but the queue was ginormous every time we checked it out. I also really wanted to check out the cabaret and circus tents, but just ran out of time. If you arrive early on Wednesday, you’ll find that you do nothing much on Wednesday and Thursday, and then find yourself in a mad rush trying to fit everything into your schedule from Friday to Sunday! There were a few acts on Thursday, including mystery acts, but we weren’t organised enough to get there in time. I definitely recommend getting to Thursday acts 30-60 minutes before the start - the demand vs supply ratio is out of balance on Thursday so everyone will try to head to the same place at the same time.

If you’re desperate to wash your hair, look out for the hairdresser on your first day and get yourself booked in. If you don’t get in early, you’re unlikely to get an appointment. Another thing to look out for is the Guardian tent. There’s usually some sort of freebie with the newspaper and they go quickly. It was lucky they were giving out backpacks since mine broke while I was at Glastonbury.

We drove to Glastonbury and if you’re lugging everything into the general camping area, this is probably the easiest mode of transport. If however, you do manage to get a pre-erected tent, I’ve heard the bus is very easy and actually brings you much closer to the entrance than the parking lots.

We camped around Hawkwell/Row Mead area (near the Pyramid Stage). While this was convenient for the Pyramid Stage, we were on a hill and found ourselves sliding down our tent in the night! I would personally prefer to camp on a flat near Oxlyers next time (although I’ve read that this area is noisier, and can get muddy on wet years - you win some, you lose some). One advantage of camping on this side of the Pyramid (beyond being near the headliners), is that this stage stops playing at midnight, so it’s not too bad for a good night’s sleep.

The long packing list and basic camping facilities didn’t dampen the experience, I had the time of my life at Glastonbury and hope to be back soon!