I have to say surprisingly I haven’t got the Glasto blues as bad as other years, maybe that’s myself maturing as a person or just my mind set nowadays of looking forward and trying to appreciate and smile about the good things in my life, and boy Glastonbury this year was better than good, it was amazing ! Its hard to believe it was only a week ago I was sat in a little café near Gate A, having a fry up and a coffee absolutely giddy with excitement after seeing the Foo Fighters absolutely smash it on the pyramid the night before. It actually seems that long ago and it testament to the fact that even though we didn’t arrive until the Thursday afternoon this year that myself and Niki packed so much into our 3 and a half days on the farm.

Our adventure actually started day before on the Wednesday, we had to travel from Hull to Leeds as we were getting a 7am Seetickets coach on the Thursday morning, the stars had aligned after we’d got our tickets and The Stone Roses had announced a concert the same day we were travelling to Leeds so I thought what the hell and surprised Niki with tickets for Christmas, I thought it would be a suitable warm up gig for Glasto. We got to Leeds, checked into the hotel and then went out for some afternoon gin cocktails and some great food before the gig. The Roses didn’t disappoint, its the third time we’ve seen them since the reunion and if the rumours of a split are true then it was hell of a way to go out, they were fantastic.

We’d had a good drink so I thought the 5am get up on the Thursday might be a bit rough but surprisingly we were ok so there we where at 7am waiting for our pickup, a bit tired, a bit hungry, but ultimately very excited for what lay ahead of us. I loved going by coach, if you’ve never done it I’d recommend it, the travelling coming back made for a long day, taking us 9 hours in total, but the travelling there was great. Once on the coach we had 5 hours of the excitement building and once we’d hit the first service stop and people had had something to eat and drink then people started to relax and get to know each other. We soon found out that most of the people sat around us were Glasto virgins so they started to pick our brains about what to expect, I told them just to explore and enjoy it, plus expect a lot of walking, oh and that you’ve never been anywhere like Glastonbury ! , I didn’t want to spoil too much as the guys sat around us were very excited. The other great thing about arriving by coach was how close you get dropped off to Gate A, I’m talking a 10 minute walk to the gate, so we were onsite and had our tent set up in no time, then it was time to get out and explore.

Our first plan was to head to Williams Green for The Smyths but on arrival it was clear we had no chance, the place was packed out, so we decided to bimble our way around to the T&C fields. The Smyths have become something of a Glastonbury institution, they have definitely outgrown their usual slot in Williams Green. After the success of both Hacienda Classical and The Bootleg Beatles opening the Pyramid Stage this year I think its time to give The Smyths their moment opening the main stage, Id love it in 2019 starting my day one day to load of Smiths classics.  We had a lovely walk through the T&C, just letting the feeling of being back on the farm sweep over us, sat and watched a couple of covers bands  and then headed into the South East Corner. A lot of the South East Corner was still getting set up but as the sun beated down on us we had a look at one of the dance classes in Glasto Latino and had a look at Block 9, then we headed over to the Greenfields.

We headed to Avalon for something to eat, I had an amazingly fresh Halloumi Rap, and ordered a couple of fresh apple juices, it was time to crack open our damson gin. I’ve always loved the fact that Glasto lets you carry your own food and drinks around with you, especially the drink ! We certainly took advantage of buying cheap mixers this year as we’d come armed with a bottle of lovely damson gin and another with rum and amaretto. After a walk through the Green Fields we headed to one of my favourite spots at the festival, The Stone Circles. I love the views from the circles and its a great place to head during the day on the Wednesday or Thursday, have a drink, enjoy the amazing views and let it sink in that your actually back on the farm.

After that we cut through the Tipi Fields, hit The Park, had a quick look at what we could see of Carmageddon, and headed down into Arcadia as they were testing some of the flames for the spider rig. We decided we were close to seeing almost the full festival in one day so the trekking continued as we hit The Glade, The Other Stage and had a walk upto the pyramid. We’ve hit it hard on the Thursday in previous years, as we’ve always arrived on the Wednesday, but with the gig the night before, the 5am start and the coach ride starting to catch up with us we thought we’d take a leisurely stroll back to camp while having a drink or two, I had no problem with it as there was no way I was missing Haccienda Classical open the pyramid the next day.

I’ve mentioned in previous posts that the beauty of Glastonbury is stumbling across hidden gems or into things you didn’t expect. Last time we visited in 2015 The Wood was just a walkthrough with nothing in it, so we thought we’d check it out on our route back to camp. Myself and Niki fell in love with The Wood this year, such an beautiful looking spot with the lights and installations and very reminiscent of how Latitude Festival sets out its woodland, high rise areas. As we were cutting through the last part of The Wood which led out to The John Peel stage stewards were starting to build the wood up on a gigantic fire pit. They told us it was 15 minutes until go time so I went and got some more mixers, poured Niki and myself another gin, and waited for ignition. We sat round the fire happily drinking Gin cocktails, chatting to people and just enjoying the warmth of not only the fire but the spirit of Glastonbury, it felt good to be home !

I cant remember what time it was upon our return to camp but we were happy, tired and excited for what the next three days had in store, and they definitely didn’t disappoint.