Rosemary and I embarked on our annual pilgrimage to the Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza, this time with a twist—a pre-concert camping adventure near the charming village of Priddy. Nestled in the Cheddar Gorge, the Cheddar Camping and Caravanning offered was complete with freshly baked pastries available each morning. Priddy itself beckoned with its quaint pub and hidden charm, while a longer-than-planned afternoon hike (much to Rosemary’s initial chagrin) led me to the mouth of a mysterious cave system – a tantalizing glimpse into the subterranean world below.
Friday saw us driving through the dramatic Cheddar Gorge, past Deerleap Viewpoint with its stunning vista of Glastonbury Tor, before stocking up at Waitrose in Wells and settling into our temporary Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza campsite beneath the imposing Tor. The heavens unleashed their fury, sending some neighbours packing, but we weathered the storm, comforted by Google’s promise of sunshine for the concert.
Saturday in Glastonbury was a treasure trove of second-hand finds and antiquarian gems. We secured a pre-packed picnic supper for the evening at a local bakery. Decided we wouldn’t do so again. After a good lunch at The George and Pilgrims, we joined the throngs entering the Abbey grounds, securing a prime spot near a crowd-cutting footpath. As the clouds parted, the setting sun painted the sky in fiery hues. The Wells City Band entertained us first with their brassy brilliance, followed by the upbeat rhythm of Lightning Seeds and their anthem, Three Lions. Finally, the Scottish powerhouse Texas. Shame on me for not knowing their roots ran north of the border! The fireworks erupted in a finale of dazzling colour, and we cheered along with the ecstatic crowd before catching the coach back to camp.
Video
The Lightening Seeds, Texas and the firework display.
We have been visiting Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza for several years, missing the COVID years when music festivals were forbidden. R enjoys it, camping for two nights, and a half day of music is enough for her. The campsite is getting busier, the early arriving vans were packed tight to ensure there was enough room for all the booked vans. Those arriving later had more than enough room and were spaced further apart. Tents are now in a different field, and cars parked in yet another area.
It is a basic site, there are the Glastonbury Festival long drops, a breakfast van, and water points and a hand basin. So, Friday was the drive to Glastonbury, parking and (much against my better judgement) decorating the van. I walked up the Tor for a pleasant view of Hinkley Point nuclear power stations and the world’s largest crane called “Big Karl”. This year I also managed to see the Pyramid Stage. On previous occasions I had not looked in the correct direction.
Saturday, the day of the Extravaganza, we walked into Glastonbury along the main road, and then up Wells Road to the East of the Abbey grounds. Along Abbey Road there are quite a few stone plaques describing the history of strategic locations. We walked along the High Street visiting some of the shops, having a coffee and ordering an Italian picnic box for supper. We made our traditional visit to the “The Who’d A Thought It” pub for lunch. There is a lovely mural painted on the wall of the house opposite. So much detail goes into the picture. You also have the odd procession walking down the street to complete the Glastonbury scene.
We queued early for entrance to the Extravaganza, so we could get a reasonable position, once our place had been located in the queue, I went back to the Italian Deli and picked up our supper box.
Once inside we seated ourselves a little distance back from the stage, located along the path which goes from one side to the other. Spectators around us were setting up huge meals and breaking open the bubbly. We consumed a few pints of beer and Pims from the bar.
The music started with the Black Dyke Band, followed by Seasick Steve and then Paloma Faith. She did turn up to sing this year. Paloma had been booked to play in 2018. She had turned up but did not perform because of laryngitis when Michael Eavis flew in Tom Odell. an excellent replacement. He had been called up during a family BBQ supper and flown by helicopter to Glastonbury. R not keen on Ms Faith, preferring Tom Odell & Rodney Branigan.
The usual firework display finished the evening’s entertainment, and then we were whisked off by coach back to to the campsite.
Next day, I was up at 4am to walk up Glastonbury Tor to catch the sunrise and hopefully to meet Michelle Cowbourne a photographer, who walks up there most days to photograph the sunrise. I did not find her, she had been there, but from lower down the Tor. There were many people there waiting for sunrise. It was a lovely morning, mist in the fields with the golden orb of the sun shining.
I departed and made my way back down for breakfast.
We packed up quickly and headed over to see Sue and Ken for lunch. Being a tad early we made a short visit to a National Trust house called Lytes Cary Manor. It is a house you can hire as a holiday let but it does allow visitors around the gardens and chapel. It was a short visit, so we were soon on our way for lunch at the Old Inn.
We missed you Glastonbury! Three years since the last one. COVID causing the cancellation of the two previous years. But I was now on my way to the greatest music festival in the world. This would be my twelfth Glastonbury. Attended 1998,1999, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 and now 2022. This was to be my sixth visit to Love Fields, an oasis just outside the festival site by pedestrian gate C, the entry to the Theatre Area.
I arrived in an eco-green car, driving my Polestar. Anticipated arrival at around 1pm. There were no holdups. On the way I stopped at a BP site to top up the battery. The return journey, though possible on the one charge, would leave little to spare for emergencies. Also stopped at an ASDA to purchase beer.
Love Fields had changed a little from previous years. It is always expanding. First came the self-camping sites and the large dining tent. This year I am sure there were far more yurts than previous years. I even had my own reception for the yurts, previously this was shared with the campers. Another update was that the yurts have a lock. This makes them secure; the yurt has an internal wood lattice which would require quite an effort to break through. Undoubtedly possible but would be noisy and very noticeable.
From Love Fields you can see the various sections of the site – The Glastonbury Sign, the Fireworks on Wednesday, The Ribbon Tower, The ‘Tree’ at Greenpeace. On the Wednesday, it is a beautiful place to have a drink, watch the fireworks and listen to one of their onsite bands. The breakfasts in the morning are ace, and there was no queuing for the showers or toilets. (Though in 2019 there were no showers for a day because of the general water shortage throughout the site.)
The Opening Glastonbury 2022 firework display from Love Fields
That was it. Glastonbury was over. We showered, packed up and The Love Fields at 7 am in the morning. Stopped off for a Costa and arrived home.
Ravi and Simon stayed over, so we entertained them to some local village life. The Ludgershall Bike Night. Thousand of bikes parked up in the village from 6 to 9. Stalls selling beer, fish and chips, burgers were doing a roaring trade. We opted for the pig roast which was run by a local Kingswood man. Was accosted by the Air Ambulance, who saw we had been to Glastonbury and then talked at great length about the event.
There was a fabulous American truck unit on display. Rosemary saw it pass our house that evening. The event earns money for the Air Ambulance and other charities.
Our last day at Glastonbury, up early to the loo and the showers were still closed. Looked out again shortly before 9 and they were in the process of being opened. Quickly told Simon and Ravi and then I dashed off to the showers before there were any queues. The word spread around the yurts like wildfire.
Today I was heading over to see Jeff Goldblum at West Holts and Vampire Weekend and TheCure at the Pyramid Stage.
Ambled over to the West Holts and stopped in the Circus Field to watch a musical performance. Interested in the patter that got me into the little stage area, anyone walking by who peered in was fair game for the compere, and if you walked on by, you were grossly insulted.
After this brief entertainment, I stopped at the model of Glastonbury, many clay figures on the ground with caricature models of the stages and festival areas. See some of the pictures below. This was at Glastonbury before but looked more expanded this year.
At the West Holts stage, I was in time to see Hollie Cook, a dramatic reggae singer who was a former member of The Slits. It was fun, pop, reggae with a nice dancing beat.
With a Brothers cider beside me, I waited for Ravi and Simon to arrive for Jeff Goldblum and the Mildred Snitzer band. Jeff was on stage chatting with the audience during the soundcheck, he also had a humorous repartee with the BBC woman who came on stage and asked him when he was starting. His response was he had already started, at which point the microphones were cut off until the official start time. Jeff also did a signing, and despite the long queue, I bought a vinyl album which he signed for me, and I shook his hand.
While I was queuing, This is the Kit played, earthy indie-folk music, and then the Fatoumata Diawars. At this point, I raced back to Love Fields and dumped my Vinyl and headed over to the Hospitality Area. Simon and Ravi had seen Kylie Minogue and I assumed they would be watching Miley Cyrus. I grabbed a drink and a burger, and then found Simon and Ravi in the Hospitality area also eating. They had given Miley a miss.
I headed off to see Vampire Weekend, quite close to the front and then moved further forward for The Cure. While waiting for the Cure, I spotted Mark S (Walkerite) and his daughter across the other side of the barrier. The atmosphere waiting for The Cure was intense. They came on and played for two hours. Just music, no fireworks, no flares, no paper, just music and lights. For the final song ‘Boys don’t Cry’, I was grabbed by a girl who wanted a quick final dance with me. It was such a beautiful and intense moment. All the old classics played. My recording of The Cure on my phone is absolute crap. Good pictures, bad sound. I have now bought an external microphone for the phone, I will be testing it at Latitude.
I waited for the crowd to disperse and said hello to Mark and his daughter while they did the mandatory selfies.
Disaster, the showers were all closed this morning and would remain closed for the rest of the day. The Love Fields and other glamping sites had been requested to close their showers. The water supply in the festival site was in a dire situation, and with a very hot Saturday forecast they did not want the water to run out. My only comment is, who drinks water at festivals when there are Brothers cider and real ales in abundance?
We started the day at the Pyramid Stage to watch The Proclaimers. (Watch and hear Ravi singing along in the video.)
The rest of the day appears to be a haze, spent mainly at the West Holts Stage watching The Ezra Collective, Slowthai and Lizzo. I think it must have been the Brothers cider and the hot weather.
In the evening there was an abrupt change in temperature, the wind changed and the temperatures plummeted, the showers were still closed.
The evening was spent at a bar next to the Acoustic Tent where I had a JD, (no queues) and then some Real Ale. Simon bought some comfort food, Cheese Mac. So simple and so delicious. Suitably fortified we were then ready for Hawkwind. Simple, no graphics just smoke and flashing lights accompanied by their layered acoustics. Not a big crowd, but then The Killers were headlining the Pyramid Stage. You can see the age profile of those attending Hawkwind by looking at the bar photographs. A nice crowd though.
We three then went for a walk around the South-East corner before the crowds arrived, visiting Block 9 East (IICON), The Common (The Temple and Rum Shack), across to Shangrila to read the slogans on The Lanes and listen in at the Truth Stage. Leaving through the Unfairground, we went across into Block 9 West to see the Meat Rack. Was unable to persuade Ravi and Simon to enter the Meat Rack.
We parted ways, so I left R and S to walk through Avalon home, while I headed off down the railway line (busy) and diverted through Green Fields, to miss the crowds, and up to Strummerville where I sat near the fire and listened to the DJ. Headed down to The Park and hopefully Pangea. It was absolutely heaving in that area. I gave up trying to get anywhere near the dance area and only viewed Pangea from the distance. I had wondered what the huge sphere built around the base of the crane was. It was a screen, and what I saw was a huge iris and pupil rotating around looking like an eyeball. Watch at the end of the video. Fabulous, they will be next year, as I believe the crane will be there for four years.
I decided to head back to Love Fields. Showers still down.
Glastonbury 2017 was greeted with great expectations. There had been a long period of dry weather during the build up to the festival. The few days before there had been a heat wave with temperatures in the 30s. The weather forecast predicted no more than a couple of millimetres of rain. I set off early on Wednesday, did some Tesco shopping for drinks and arrived at Love Fields with hardly a car on the way.
Collected my Glastonbury EPO wrist band (Easy Pass Out) from Love Fields and made my way into the festival. The EPO wrist band means you do not need to show a ticket and re-entry pass when you go in or out. It is fast as it also bypasses the queues. Most volunteers get these bands. The other neat thing I found with the EPO was that it enabled me to enter some of the back stage bars when I was accompanied by my friends who were working at the festival. I was also helped by my Love Fields band which matched the colour of their bands.
Wednesday
The Wednesday was hot, and you heard cheers from the crowds when a fleeting cloud covered the sun for a few moments. Wednesday was a getting-acclimatised-day. I met up with Ed, Bob and Mary for a pint on the Park area just after sunset. and we all watched the fireworks. We then made our way to Avalon, going through the closed barriers where the one way system had just been started (EPO band working) and had a few cocktails in the Avalon backstage bar (EPO band and Lovefields band). Really quiet oasis from the madding crowds around us. Cocktails were good as well.
Thursday
Thankfully it was cooler from now on, with the occasional very light drizzle. Today spent most of the day exploring in the circus /theatre/acoustic/Green Fields area. Also spent an hour trying to Salsa at Glasto Latino. Not a success, but fun. The evening was spent in the South East corner where I saw Napalm Death play, and Son Yambu.
Friday
The first full day of Glastonbury. I saw Confidence Man at Williams Green, then watched Lucy Kitt at the Acoustic Stage, apparently Ed Balls was in the crowd. The crowd was small so I am surprised I did not see him. Spent some time looking at and filming the people and acts in the Theatre and Circus area. Then on to The Other Stage. Late evening spent some time in Shangri-La, The Common, Block G, Unfairground and Glasto Latino, so missing out on Radiohead. Just before dawn, I walked over to The Park and had a beer at the bar. Watched the sun rising. Not a spectacular event, there was a very light drizzle and the night just got slowly lighter. Amazed at the number of people who asked when the sun was going to rise, it had already risen an hour before. Maybe that is the result of living in cities.
Saturday
Walked over to The Wood. Never been there before, an oasis of ponds, trees and paths. There were some Moorhens being aggressive to their chicks. Rushed back to the acoustic stage to meet Ed and Mary. Later Jeremy Corbyn was on at The Pyramid Stage, and then came over to The Left Field stage where he spoke for an hour. I listened to his longer speech at the Left Field. Then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching the headliners on The Pyramid Stage, finished with an excellent set from the Foo Fighters
Sunday
More band watching finishing with Ed Sheeran on the main stage. Ed and Mary had been let off their stewarding duties, so I met them at The Wood bar. Arrived just as it closed. They thought of trying the John Peel back stage bar as it had some good reports. We arrived and entered easily. There was music there, including the organiser of the John Peel tent area playing and singing. We then moved on to the Silver Hayes bar where we stayed until 6ish. I walked back to Love fields, getting there at 7.00. for some recovery time.
Monday
It was peculiar watching people leaving the Glastonbury site for home site at 5 am in the morning, they were in total silence. They all must have been feeling sad because they were leaving after a dry and superb Glastonbury .
Jeremy Corbyn at the Left Field
On the 24th June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn spoke first at the Pyramid Stage and then at the Left Field stage. This is his full speech at the Left Field stage. Sound only.
The South East Corner (aka the Naughty Corner)
Glastonbury 2017 #Glastonbury2017 #Glasto2017 The naughty corner, the south east corner, shangri-la, block 9, the common, the unfair ground. Napalm Death, STEVE IGNORANT’S SLICE OF LIFE
Circus, Theatre and Cabaret
Starting with a view of the circus field from Love Fields above pedestrian gate C. I quick amble through the theatre and circus field sees all sorts of entertainment.
Napalm Death at the Truth Stage
Napalm Death playing at Glastonbury 2017 on the Truth stage, Thursday afternoon.
Glasto Latino with Son Yambu
Son Yambu playing at Glasto Latino on Thursday evening
Confidence Man
Confidence Man played Williams Green on Friday
Lucy Kitt
Glastonbury 2017 Lucy Kitt at the Acoustic Stage. Apparently Ed Balls was here as well.
Halsey
Halsey playing the Other stage at Glastonbury 2017. Loved the inflatable balls at the end.
John Peel backstage and in the wood
Various cuts from the glade, the park, the wood and finally backstage at the John Peel stage. Jim Fox the organiser of the John Peel stage singing on the Sunday night.
I managed to persuade Rosemary to go to one festival this year, the Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza. She seems to have been further persuaded to go by one of her friends. Playing were Van Morrison, Jamie Cullum and the Wells Cathedral School Jazz Band.
The journey to Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza
We set off from home on the Friday, stopping at Avebury. The site was heaving with people. We walked around most of the ring, picnicking on the bank. The facilities have been changed since we were last there. The National Trust has opened shops, restaurants and museums. We then continued the journey to Glastonbury, passing through Pilton on the way. The trouble with Google maps for navigation was a sudden lack of mobile phone signal meant we were unable to plot a course for some time. The cached map though helped us drive in the correct direction.
Glastonbury Campsite
A special campsite for the festival had been arranged, very basic, some Glastonbury Festival compost toilets, and trough wash basins. The Festival painted oil drums for rubbish bins were also in attendance. We erected our tent by a hedge and then walked into town for some well earned beers and food. We drank at the Who’d A Thought It, which was the only pub we could find to sit outside, and went to the Elaichi Tandoori for supper. Lovely walk home behind the Tor back to the campsite.
The prelude
The following day we ate our breakfast, and went to chat with some campervan owners to see how they had done their conversions. Interesting conversation. They seem to have been long time campers and campervan owners. We then walked up to the top of the Tor where the views were staggering. We could see Hinkley Point nuclear power station on one side, and on the other side we could make out the Glastonbury Festival pyramid stage field and Worthy farm. To the North of Hinkley we could make out the Bristol Channel and Wales beyond. We met an American who had come over expressly for the Van Morrison concert and a chap who lived on Worthy Farm.
After the Tor we walked on to Glastonbury for lunch at the Hundred Monkeys Cafe. Rosemary assured me it was a Vegan cafe, and that I was not to mention steaks. The first item on the menu was beef burger. It was a rather bizarre experience, on what was going to be a busy day, the kitchen did not have a full team, so customers were being turned away from a half empty restaurant. We were seated, but did spend several hours there. A lazy afternoon ensured with a bottle of prosecco at the Who’d A Thought It.
Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza
At five we entered the Abbey grounds and found an area on a slight rise that should give us an uninterrupted view of the stage. The fun started. R was pleased with the Wells Cathedral School Jazz Band and Jamie Cullum. She did not like Van Morrison at all. I have to admit there were probably just two of his songs I recognised. Still is was a good evening with an almost cloudless sky. Even saw the International Space station pass overhead. The night was finished with splendid fireworks.
The next day
The morning after the Glastonbury Abbey Extravaganza, it was raining. A very fine drizzle in the morning, meant we had to dry the tent out when we got home. We packed and went towards Pilton. Here we tried to get to Worthy Farm, but it is barricaded off. Showed Rosemary where Love Fields is. We then headed for home on the A303.
Lunch
Then Google announced a detour because of traffic congestion, and we headed off on the A36 towards Stofford where we stopped for lunch at the Swan at Stofford. We did not go for their Sunday roast, but ate from the menu. Back on the road, and followed the diversion directions back to the A303, to be met by the traffic problem caused by people rubber necking Stonehenge. At least Google had saved us a few miles of traffic problems, and showed us a reasonable pub for lunch. Time the A303 was buried out of sight of Stonehenge, should improve the traffic flow no end.
