We had wanted to go to Glastonbury for a few years since we began campervan life and didn’t spend all of our summers in the Med. This year we finally managed to get there and book a space for Dora as well. We really couldn’t be doing with sleeping in a tent cheek by jowl with 200,000 others.

In order to get to Worthy Farm as the gates opened for campervans on the Tuesday morning (yes, three days before the main event!), we left home on the Monday (June 23) afternoon to drive to Cheddar Bridge Park campsite near Cheddar so we could meet up with our fellow festival goers, Caron and Yvonne, in their hired VW California van. We arrived around 17.30 and had a great spot opposite them but near the loos and the fresh water point. We had a lovely BBQ and catch up that night, sitting out until well after dark.

It was only a 30 minute drive to Glastonbury from the campsite so we had planned to leave around 11.00 so we could be one of the first in line and get one of the fields near to the entrance. That way we could minimise the walking Jo would have to do each day as she was still recovering from her knee surgery. Whilst we were packing up, Liz got talking to a fellow camper who turned out to be a medic at the festival and she told us that they start letting people in from 07.00! What? We read that the police move you on before noon. We were quickly on the road after that piece of information but the route into the site was fairly circuitous but by midday we were in our spot in Field E17, at least a mile from the festival entrance. Still, we were in and got ourselves sorted for the next 6 days.

After a leisurely lunch, we took our bikes and went exploring. You couldn’t get into the festival yet, that opened on Wednesday but we went to the top of the hill overlooking and experienced the vastness of the place. Apparently, it covers 900 acres!

The next morning, we all went off to explore the site. Jo was in a mobility scooter as Liz had found a charging point tent near our entrance. We were able to leave it there overnight to charge and pick up in the morning on our way to the entrance. That way, Jo only needed to walk a mile each way. There wasn’t much open on the Wednesday but we got a feel for where everything was and also just how vast it was. It would easily take an hour to go from one end to the other and that’s before all the crowds.

We spent Thursday morning planning our days as there was so much to see but clearly you couldn’t get to everything and there were quite a few clashes. Caron used ChatGPT to work out the best routes and even scheduled in rest and lunch stops! In the afternoon, we wandered back in as things began to open and even queued to go up the Ribbon Tower to see over the site.

In the evening we went to watch the National Theatre Live production of The Importance of Being Earnest and had a Q&A session with Ncuti Gatwa in the interval. He had consumed a far bit of cider so it wasn’t the most in-depth interview we’ve seen but still fun.

Apart from the music stages, there was a lot going on from Carhenge to Steam Punk to circus acts to comedy tents. Something for everyone.

We saw many acts but the stand outs were probably Myles Smith, Lewis Capaldi, Brandi Carlisle, Alanis Morissette, Jade, Olivia Rodrigo and Pulp. However, top billing had to be the Scissor Sisters. They were amazing, so energetic. The tent and the area outside where they were playing held 15,000 and yet the access to it was closed nearly two hours before they were due on stage.

The whole experience was amazing but there were an awful lot of people so you had to decide where to base yourself for a few hours. It felt like you were pushing against the tide at times but the mobility scooter had a way of clearing the path!

By Sunday evening we had had enough so it was good to get away early on Monday morning. Getting out of the farm wasn’t a problem at 08.30 but the A303 was a nightmare and took us 5.5 hours to get home. Not sure we would go again but so glad we went this time. You never know who the headline acts are until after you buy the tickets but as it wasn’t a stellar line up (glad we didn’t bother with Rod Stewart) we got to see up and coming or less well known to us acts.

Miles since last blog: 526