Glastonbury 2025

Thanks for all the reviews and photos from those who attended. I haven't been since 2010, but I really felt the urge to get back to Worthy Farm this year.

A few random questions that some on here may be able to answer:

Those tents you see on TV , relatively close to Pyramid Stage, what camping area is that, and do you need to be first in the gates Wed AM to nab one of those spots?

For anyone who has done glamping or pre-pitched tents, any recommendations?

^ Have stayed in 3 glamping/ pre-pitched tent options.

For location, Tangerine Fields was the best - far back of Pyramid so a handy walk there or into Williams Green.

Best view and facilities (showers etcs.) is Worthy View up behind Strummerville but a tough hill up to it, especially in bad weather. Also EPO so you can nip back and forth to festival with a wristband and dedicated line, so can avoid having to do checks for tickets each day etc.

I'd find it hard to recommend Sticklinch as while it's behind The Park, you get send a roundabout way to get there. Overcrowded, poor food vendors but decent showers.

Very tempted by Worthy View for my next visit. The stress of getting sorted in general camping this year wasn't fun but all worked out in the end with a great spot in Rivermead. I'm unsure why there were still several spaces there early on Thursday afternoon. Possibly the history of flooding in that field? Though the forecast was good, the land was dry and measures had been taken with the drainage since the bad years. However with pre-arranged camping, the burden of carrying a tent is gone, it's less cash to give to Ryanair, less stress and a decent view. Never done it before but you've won me over @rubick & @desk tidy.

Better late than never etc. Glasto flu is real folks!!

way too long a review of my weekend follows

It’s arguably easier to review a weekend spent on the Farm as a first-timer through fresh, unjaundiced eyes. As a seasoned home-based campaigner, I had yet to play an away fixture, but sterling efforts on various electronic devices from @desk tidy meant that a ticket had been secured and I was finally going after a 54-year fallow spell.

Flying to a festival for the first ever time was also a novelty. What to bring i.e. what I could get away with carrying on my back without my legs buckling under me. It was seamless enough though. A short flight with @desk tidy & @rubick of this Parish to Bristol was followed by a taxi from the airport to the city centre via Sainsbury for a click and collect. We were ferried from the bus station to the farm effortlessly.

The queue to get in was small, and the trek for a decent camping spot was started with confidence. That confidence soon melted away when I saw just how packed each site was. As I am now more, “Born to be Mild” than wild these days, we reckoned that a spot down by Dairy Ground would be ideal as it would be away from shenanigans and would still give us a all round good spot with decent access to the main arena. Yeah…didn’t work out like that. With the rest of the team (including @Seathrun66) arriving on Thursday, I aimed for a spot that gave a sliver of hope that they might be able to camp close by. Wasn’t to be. Full up early on Thursday. The expansion of the Other Stage has taken away a big chunk of prime estate camping. Inevitable consequence of this, is that it’s going to push folk further to the fringes. 

So, let’s get it out of the way early on. It’s a large site. It’s a really large site. Hopping from tent to tent at Electric Picnic or all Together Now is a swift, painless exercise. Factoring in the sheer distances involved and navigating huge crowds at bottle necks at Glastonbury mean that you will not get to see every act that you would like, even if there are no direct clashes. It’s just not do-able. Many times I ditched an act because of the thought of another 50 minute round trip to see them, so instead I stayed by the Cider Bus for a Burrow Hill cider and contemplated life for a minute or two or maybe had a little climb above the Park to rest my weary head and watch it all unfold below. 

On Thursday, one of the food vendors was asking me how my festival was going so far. “Great” I told her, but also that I felt like I was marking time a bit until the music started in earnest on the bigger stages. She said…treat it like two completely separate festivals. Enjoy the Wed and Thu for what they are (a much more chilled vibe) and then go again from Fri - Sun when the main stage madness is going on. I totally get what she meant now. 

Wed and Thu was spent by me “looking for stuff to do” instead of just staying completely in the moment of where I was and what was going on around me. If I could go back and do it again now, that is the only thing that I would change. I would stop and watch something random. I would go off the beaten track a bit more and sit down and take it in.

Wed was a short day as I had only arrived and got set up around mid-late afternoon. The rest of the evening was spent orientating myself and making a bee-line for the hill above the Park to get “that view”. I then got adopted by a squad of youngsters at a pub quiz at West Holts Bar where I was able to help answer some of the “old guy” questions (92 Olympics? Barcelona of course) I didn’t fancy the circus opening act at the Pyramid Stage, so after meeting my volunteer cousin for a drink, I mooched about and watched the opening fireworks for a bit.

Thursday was a full orientation trip around the site and an eventful time was spent up at Strummerville in the musical company of The Lone Grover and the very soporific sounds of the Tommy Halifax and Johnny Khosla Psychedelic Sitar Invocation. I mean come on lads. As act names go…even that is a bit “on the nose” for Glastonbury surely. Met up with Seath and the rest of his crew there a bit later and had another wander.

Oh, at this point it would be remiss not to talk about food. Yes, of course you can get cheesy chips if you like, but the variety of food (and quality in most cases) was pretty stunning. Louisiana blackened shrimp with Cajun fries at Bayou (West Holts), Indonesian Chicken Coconut curry, Goat curry at West Holts, kedgeree for breakfast from the Goan Fish Curry stall, all very good. 

Drinks are reasonably enough priced too. Less than £7 for a pint of beer/cider. Water refill points are plentiful too. 

Anyway…I digress. Let the music play. A rip-roar through most of ‘I Should Coco’ and the pick of their next two albums meant that Supergrass were the perfect Pyramid Stage opener (enjoyed with Desk Tidy and Rubick). Singalongs? We got ‘em. 

Then it was a toss up between CMAT and Chalk at the BBC Introducing stage. Opted for the latter. Bit of Belfast solidarity and all of that. 

On to Glass Beams at West Holts. Having seen them last year at ATN, I had a good idea of what to expect, but they were as mesmeric as before. Aaaaaall the way over to the Park Stage for English Teacher and then a weekend highlight…the mighty Osees. Now, my days of getting involved in the pit at ferocious gigs are, frankly…behind me. However, such was the magnetic pull of John Dwyer and the twin drummer set up that before I knew it, I was at the barrier with mayhem going on above me, to the side of me and behind me (nothing below, fortunately.) It was mental…it was f’kin great. Sometimes as an auld lad it does no harm to remind yourself of what it’s all about, and THAT what it was all about. Didn’t take long after the Osees set finished until I started to get messages from friends and family with pictures snapped from the BBC iPlayer live stream of my beardy face helping crowd surfers safely surf etc. Ah well, that’s me (with my high blood pressure and dicky ticker) in trouble with the Missus!

How do you possibly top that? Oh yeah, The Searchers were playing their last ever gig in the Acoustic Tent. Goodbye to Needles & Pins, When You Walk in the Room, Love Potion No. 9 et al. The band that jangled first… It was emotional, and it was great.

A brisk walk to Left Field to catch Billy Bragg be Billy Bragg (and he does it so very well) and I was done. The thought of a 30 min walk back to the tent after having been out since 8 in the morning in THAT heat meant I cut my losses and went. I regret nothing. I left nothing out on the field on my first/third day…

Saturday began with Infinity Sound at West Holts.  It wasn’t really my thing as it turned out, but hey…that’s ok. Followed by an intimate short set from Rianne Downey in the Bread & Roses bar at lunchtime. 

Then it was back over to what was now beginning to become a very busy West Holts. Caught the second half of the Nilufer Yanya set, and got into place closeish to the action for Bob Vylan. Yeah…can confirm. Was there. Big Bobby, Little Bobby and (guest star) Littlest Bobby were ferocious, pissed off, tight, entertaining, engaging, musically on point. All the things. End of.

By now West Holts (whilst not uncomfortably so) was heaving at the seams at the anticipation of Kneecap’s appearance (It had been closed down a good half hour beforehand.) Hung about to hear the opening Kneecap tune. Can I be honest? Musically, not really for me…and I really wanted to see ol’ man Fogerty on the Pyramid.

Made it as the opening bars of Up Around the Bend started up. Aw man…so good. Tune after tune after tune. Born on the Bayou, Down on the Corner, Who’ll Stop the Rain, and that is before we get to the stratospherically popular stuff. With his two sons playing with him, he looked like he was having a ball…as were we John, as were we.

A trip over to Left Field to see up and coming Manc band The Guest List. Very catchy, very good. Look out for ‘em. A little down time to catch my breath before the main event was required…and then it was time for the highlight of the weekend, Ol’ Shakey himself Neil Young. For those who saw the performance streamed live on Saturday night you will understand when I say that to see him and the Chrome Hearts in complete ‘simpatico’ was a treat. I loved that the curmudgeonly old sod played it his way. He gave zero **** about playing to the cameras, wheeling out guest names, pulling out ‘crowd pleasers’. He ended on a song from Mirrorball ffs! Majestic. 

Sunday. Time for a second (third?) wind. It turned out to be the easiest day to plan. There were no major clashes (apart from Goat…grrr) and, although the crowds are greater on the Sunday, it was all navigable without too much stress involved. A great set at the Pyramid from The Selecter was the perfect way to kick off a Glastonbury Sunday. A quick trip up to Woodsies to see local lads Gurriers fill the tent and go down a storm. Just a real shame their slot was too early to have been televised… 

A lovely lie down on the hill looking down on the Pyramid Stage for a Libertines set chock full of classics was just the ticket, and a decent segue into Rod the Mod’s Legends slot. Cheesy? Of course. Knowingly cheesy? Double of course. Didn’t care, had a ball. Wanted to see him and Woody share a stage for a Faces number…tick. Lulu duetting on Hot Legs was unexpected, but was good clean(ish) fun. 

As I was at the wrong side of the stage to get up to Woodsies, I was swept the long way round back to Woodsies and so managed to miss most of Black Country, New Road’s set…but I really wanted to see St. Vincent. Great set from Annie and the lads. More stripped down and grittier than her last appearance on The Other Stage and, imho…better for it. 

Aaaaaaaalll the way over to Acoustic for The Bootleg Beatles. Look, you know what you’re getting with the Bootlegs, and unlike most people who, at some point in your life will invariably let you down…the Bootlegs will never let you down. Fun squared.

Debated hanging around for Roy Harper, thought about The Prodigy (saw them at All Together Now last year, so wasn’t too worried about getting to see them here) but in the end decided to take a wander round Shangri-La (first visit of the weekend. I know!) but as The Prodigy were almost causing The Other Stage to break free from its moorings and launch itself into outer space, the SE Corner was empty. 

The old man legs were starting to give up by now. A little watch of The Prodigy from the old railway track for a bit, before the long trudge back to the tent. When I got back, The Prodigy were winding up, and the noise all the way from stage to the tent was incredible. Maybe it was the atmospheric conditions…I don’t know, but it was as if they were playing 50 yards away. And that was that. Had an early start and a pleasant enough coach trip back to the airport with Seath and pal. 

Would I do it again? I can’t not do it again. It lives up to every cliché you have heard about it down the years. Overpriced? No, not for what you get over the course of five days. Corporate? Zero corporate presence/branding anywhere (beer cups and phone charging tents were literally the only exception) Friendly? Aye…English, y’know, but…aye. Middle-class? Behave. All walks of life here. Expensive? Cheaper to eat and drink there than any Irish festival I have been to in recent times? Variety? You could have 5 back to back festivals,  repeat one act and still have the best time. Can recommend. Will reccomend

Encapsulated brilliantly man. Delighted that you had such a blast there. And the lack of rain certainly helped.

Brilliant review darzog.

If anyone is looking for the football shirt - had a little script running on my Pi checking for it to come back in stock in small (am normally a medium, but notoriously an oversized fit).

https://shop.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/products/glastonbury-festival-adidas-originals-football-shirt?variant=55232993034615

Pinged me this morning so grabbed one, so still appearing every so often.

Not cheap at £91 shipped but really like the look of it, plus I'll get more wear of it than I would a regular football top.

Great review, think i will have to bite the bullet and try make it in 2027 for my 40th

Sure we'll all go, will we? You're gonna need a bigger boat @darzog !

I mean at that age you could just bring them, they would really enjoy it and their tickets are free.

October 2026 in all likelihood. Looks like there'll be a bigger Boardsie crew than usual. The only tip at this stage is to get yourself into a group of 6 (or 12) as you're allowed to pay for 6 deposits. There's a possibility of getting them solo (or in a duo) but it's a longshot.

I'd agree with you. Best to work out the lay of the land. Glasto 2025 would have been great for kids, if a little hot. I'd have brought my older one (9) if I were living in England but it's a risk if you've got scheduled flights or ferries and want to leave early. They may have had enough after 2//3 days and you're effectively trapped if the weather goes bad.

I've taken my two lads to a camping festival before but Glasto is an entirely different proposition. I might try with one or both in 2027 but it's a gamble. On the plus side though they could have the weekend of their lives (can you imagine your parents having taken you to Glasto as a primary school kid?). The Kidz Field alone is the biggest children's festival in Europe and there are plenty of child-appropriate acts.

Vastly different to their first festival (Pohoda 2023) where their first three acts (Sleaford Mods, Yard Act, Wet Leg) indulged in lots of swearing. Kinda obvious for the first act but a result of logistics, arrival times, etc. Jason Williamson certainly gave them a lively festival introduction and some new vocabulary for their return to school.

Would put up a review, but I somehow saw embarrassingly few of the 100 or so acts I had on the planner on the app! Did finally get up to Strummerville and spent quite a bit of time there on Friday night and caught a few acts up around Greenpeace on the Wednesday. Thoroughly enjoyable day up there.

Was great to meet Seathrun and Co for CMAT and he was kind enough to pop in to the Taphouse a couple of times to say hello during my shifts. Taphouse was a great spot to work in. Far, far more enjoyable than Stonebridge last year. Had a really nice crew working there. Will definitely be requesting that bar again in 2027.

Yeah, such a great spot. Had been at Wunderhorse in the Park and decided it was now or never to make the trek. Had no headliners I wanted to see and the heat had really gotten to me, so I went up there and got a couple of White Russians and spent a few hours there. Felt rejuvenated afterwards.

Ahh Jaysus, great review, love it. Read it 3 times and no doubt will again. I'm going 2027 after reading this for sure. I can't wait to see the Gurriers at ATN. Seen them at the National Stadium a while back but they have come on so much.