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Glastonbury in a camper

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Tntoast

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ive been lucky enough to get a ticket for Glastonbury this year, ive never been before and ill be in the west camper van field.

are any of you lot going?
are there any pitches to avoid?
any glasto specific 'need to takes' ?

for me its a great line up, Foos', macabees, kate tempest, alabama shakes, the fall, patti smith, catfish and the bottlemen are my most fave bands so cant wait.

any advise appreciated
 
Never been but my son-in-law attends various festivals every year.
I asked him about the Cali at these venues. He said no way, it would get damaged by the drunks and those a bit "high".
Of course Glastonbury may be different.
 
For the sake of transparency, I have never heard of any of the above bands.
 
I have been lucky enough to attend Glastonbury since !992, first few years roughing it in a tent and since 1999 i have taken my camper, granted it wasn't a California at first but a full restored bay window super viking, never had any problems and never gave a second thought regarding damage etc... only issues we had was getting stuck in the mud leaving. The last two years we have taken our california, again no problems and wouldn't even think about not taking it. This year will be no different.
Leave the camping in tents to the kids. The camper van fields are a mixture of all sorts of vans of all ages and most people who are driving them should be at a more responsible age, yours or mine will not be the most expensive van there.
Hope you enjoy your first time at Glastonbury its a brilliant festival.
 
Damaging a Cali at a festival? Never heard of such nonsense! The campervan field at a festival is usually a much different vibe to the camping areas (less youngsters, more families too) and a real mix from modern (and rental) motorhomes to amazing converted vehicles! I have never heard of someone getting their van damaged by drunkards in the 8 summers we have been in the van fields; tents is a different story!
 
Don't worry about taking the Cali, the campervan areas are separate from the main festival site and have their own security patrols. Pitch wise you don't get any choice in the matter as you'll be directed to a place by the stewards. West is smaller and quieter than East and has its own dedicated entrance, but it's further away from most of the stages and the walk can seem endless especially at the end of the night.
Make sure your leisure batteries are topped up.
Levelling chocks may be useful depending on where you end up.
Don't take any glass items.
Don't get too hung up on seeing too many bands. It can take a long time to get between stages, so have a short list of must-sees and just go with the flow the rest of the time.
 
Well it is only what I was told.
You may think it is nonsense. Nothing wrong with different opinions on a forum.
 
Agree with all the posts encouraging you to take the Cali.

As stated, the stewards tell you where to position your van. You get an approximate pitch size of 8x6m, but be warned, they do have a tendency to cram them in quite tight (not enough to prevent you driving off site at the end if you leave before your neighbours, but you don't get loads of space around you). May seem even less with the number of tents and awnings that get pitched with vans.

Things to take / do in preparation:
- Levelling chocks. Not had to use mine yet, but bear in mind the field you will be in is a farm 50 weeks of the year - it in not a maintained campsite.
- fully charge your batteries. I've lasted 5 days no problems with fridge on and light use of lights and sockets to charge phones etc. But beware using radio or air con - these will affect main battery. In scorching 28C heat at a festival in Belgium a couple of years ago, batteries only lasted 4 days before fridge turned itself off.
- Fill up water tank before you get there. There are stand pipes, but the queues can be long at peak times.
- take an awning. I have Comfort panels to fit to my wind out awning. The extra space is great for kicking off muddy wellies etc (not that it's going to rain this year though )
- Don't take any glass. (It's a working farm, so it's all to do with what people might leave behind.). That means you need to think about how you transport your favourite tipple. Decant into plastic bottles in advance.
- chill and fill your fridge in advance. Keep it stocked up.
- consider how you might want to keep yourself clean. I'll be taking a solar shower (nothing fancier than a black bag that you leave out in the sun (which will be shining constantly this year). A wash, no matter how restricted is enough to keep you human.
- I don't have a porta-potty (the long drops are ok) but you might want your own facilities.


See you in the West Campervan field in the last week in June!
 
The only other tip I would add is to fit the tow eye before you head out if there is any suggestion of moisture in the air. One particularly wet Glastonbury I had to be towed in and it was a bit of a pain getting to the tow eye from the depths of a heavily packed boot.
You will have a great time and in the many years I have been I have never had any security issues.
 
"fit the tow eye before you head out " ....? Didn't know there was a separate /bolt on tow eye , I'll have a look in the tool kit - .....
 
Some great advice there so thanks for that.
I'm going on my tod so if you see some loner in a silver Cali say hello!

Didn't know about the glass so that's good, do you get searched or anything?

Also, what did you lot do with your keys, did you carry them about, stash them somewhere or use one of those key banks that lock onto something?

I've got an idea for a solar shower as well, a 10L water sprayer and paint it black, leave it out in the sun. Worth a try!

I'm also looking for some side panels for my wind out awning, any recommends?
 
"fit the tow eye before you head out " ....? Didn't know there was a separate /bolt on tow eye , I'll have a look in the tool kit - .....
It's in the tool kit and is a bit of a fiddle to fit, especially if you drop it in the mud and then cross thread it as I did. It also worth knowing that it has a reverse thread.
 
Some great advice there so thanks for that.
I'm going on my tod so if you see some loner in a silver Cali say hello!

Didn't know about the glass so that's good, do you get searched or anything?

Also, what did you lot do with your keys, did you carry them about, stash them somewhere or use one of those key banks that lock onto something?

I've got an idea for a solar shower as well, a 10L water sprayer and paint it black, leave it out in the sun. Worth a try!

I'm also looking for some side panels for my wind out awning, any recommends?
The water sprayer works well, I have one which has a shower head on it and I mount it on the top of the bike rack. I boil a kettle first just to get it up to temperature and I stand in one of those big plastic garden buckets. I find the bag showers are warm in the evening but cool down by the morning which is usually when you want one.
I have a key bank which fits on the rear tow eye for when I'm surfing but at Glastonbury just carry.
 
Some great advice there so thanks for that.
I'm going on my tod so if you see some loner in a silver Cali say hello!

We'll keep our eyes peeled. 2 of us in a white 2012 Cali.

Didn't know about the glass so that's good, do you get searched or anything?

The searches are random - both in frequency and thoroughness. Can vary from nothing, a simple question (Do you have any glass?), quick check in a cupboard or drawer, to a full 'strip search' (only heard of this, never seen or experienced it). Best to just not take any; unless you are wanting champagne, everything else can be decanted in advance.

Also, what did you lot do with your keys, did you carry them about, stash them somewhere or use one of those key banks that lock onto something?

Just carried them on me all the time (on a chain so they couldn't get lost)

I'm also looking for some side panels for my wind out awning, any recommends?

I've got 2 panels from Comfort (forum sponsor) - keep forgetting to get the third one to create a room. The perils of being an 'early adopter' - they didn't do the panels with doors and windows when I got mine, didn't want to have a pitch black cave, so only got the 2 solid panels (front and 1 side). Festivals are the only time I use the panels. Setting up for 3 - 5 days means it's worth doing.

Another thing definitely worth getting are awning tie-downs if you will be using you wind-out awning. They make a huge different to stability of the awning. Have seen free standing awnings and gazebos flying across a site - scary, given the proximity of all the other vans and people. Have heard of the wind out awning being caught by the wind- awning legs flailing in the wind isn't a pleasant thought.
 
+1 for the comfort awning panels, well made and quickly fitted.
 
This is a picture of Newt Beer Festival the year we got towed ONTO site!
Cali's go anywhere and bring that much needed luxury to the self inflicted squalor we love and call Glastonbury!

image.jpg
 

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