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
After three years a full Download Festival was held. I was to go with Ravi, and we were doing the RIP Hotel package.
Back in 2020, I had booked this package, which included the Radisson Blu hotel for three nights, after the 2020 festival had been cancelled. During 2021 the festival was again cancelled, but I elected to carry my tickets over to 2022. Now it was finally happening, and I patiently waited for my tickets. This was fraught, with several people panicking on the Download forum. Electronic tickets were replacing paper tickets. The process and information appeared to be different for different people, depending on which company the tickets had been booked through. But the tickets did arrive, and I stored them in my Google Pay wallet. They worked without a hitch.
Ravi arrived at our house a couple of days before the festival. A metal festival was on his bucket list, and I had organised two. During 2019, he and I had ticked off Glastonbury from his bucket list. Friday, we set off in the Polestar and arrived at the hotel. Parked, checked in with the RIP Reception where we were given our wristbands, programmes, t-shirts and especially useful waterproof backpacks. (We could not check into the hotel room; this was not yet ready.) The buses to the festival site ran once an hour, so we were soon on our way. The buses were exceptionally reliable, though at peak times they could be full, so you just had to wait for another. They normally put an extra one on to collect those left behind.
Friday
Arriving at the site, we walked to the Guest area, had a beer from the bar and some lunch at the Delhi Club, (Saag Aloo and rice). Friday was the warmest day; the other days were cloudier. Thankfully, there was no rain during the festival.
Theory 1.55
Cellar Door Moon Crow 2.50 (Dogtooth Stage)
Myles Kennedy & Company 3.50 (Opus)
Skindred 5.10
A Day to Remember 6.40
Kiss 8.50
Saturday
The breakfast at the Raddison was excellent. A good full English with freshly fried eggs, or omelettes made to order. There was also the option of cheeses, meats, and pickles.
Today I arrived from the hotel before Ravi, and spent time walking around the site, looking for real ale or craft beer. For some reason, the location moves around every year, and there is never any indication on the programme map to indicate its position. Found it, so Ravi and I were happy. We spent many an hour there, seated at the tables, talking with whomever we met. One couple had flown in from America for this festival.
The Raven Age 11.00
Monster Truck 1.35
Black Label Society 3.00
Deftones 6.10
Iron Maiden 8.55
Sunday
The highlights of Sunday were, for Ravi, the bands Wargasm and Alestorm, and for me. Biffy Clyro
Wargasm 11.00
Alestorm 1.45
Marianas Trench 3.50 (Avalanche Stage)
Volbeat 4.50
Korn 6.30
Biffy Clyro 9.10
Thoughts
This was the first time I had stayed in an hotel for a festival. It was nice, the food was good, the other guests were pleasant. There was no noise or throwing furniture out of the upstairs windows. For Download, I did miss the bar and bands which played late at night at the RIP camping. Instead, we were always on a deadline to catch the 23.30 bus back to the hotel. My preference is still to take the campervan to the RIP camping.
Ravi enjoyed the festival, or so he said. He expressed the opinion that it was more enjoyable than Glastonbury. Glastonbury is so huge, and it takes ages to walk anywhere, either for a drink or to walk to another stage. At Download, you can walk from the bar and be near the front of the stage withing minutes.
I managed to catch Covid, but I didn’t realise immediately I got back home, so I managed to pass it on to the wife. It did not make me popular.
We have friends near to Rushmere Country Park. When they entertain us, we visit the park with them, for a walk. We went in May and November. I take my camera along, (cameras because the last three images are with the new camera) and snagged some portraits of the birds on the ponds. In May there were the baby birds, hitching rides on their mothers’ backs, the sun was shining, and the reflections and colours were gorgeous. In November, the birds were coming in close hoping to be fed.
We took a walk around Wotton Underwood Estate, only with my mobile phone, so I failed to get many shots of the wildlife. It is a shame to see the one old oak tree broken. It has always been magnificent with the strange spiral trunk. Now unfortunately it has been broken by the winds, still alive, but will be gone soon. It is a lovely walk, and you don’t get to see anyone, not even Tony Blair.
Sunday 8th May, we packed the van and left Fforest Fields campsite at 7.45 and headed south to St Brides Major. We were making good time and paused for a bacon butty on the A470 in the Brecon Beacons. The van was doing a roaring trade catering for the hordes of bikers who were enjoying the road.
We made it to St Brides Major and met up with our other club members, and then headed off to the quarry for the shoot. We managed to lose this leg of the shoot. Lunch was booked at the Star Inn, Wick, so I dropped Rosemary off and drove to the campsite we were staying at. It had been our intention to stay overnight there the night before, but because of a wedding, there had been no camping on the Saturday night. I arrived and dropped the van onto a pitch and raced back up the hill for lunch, on foot it was a little over 20 minutes fast walking and jogging.
A traditional Sunday lunch and some excellent ales, speeches and prize giving and then we were on our own as everyone left for home. We walked back down the road to the campsite and met the owner. Tale of woe, their cafe wasn’t open due to lack of staff. Chefs were hard to come by and could command a high salary.
Next day R and I walked to the coast, over the local stone stiles in places. R was incredibly pleased with the local flora. I continued down the coast, walking into Marcross and back to the campsite. Also walked over the old ruin of an Abbey in Monknash. Nothing to see other than masses of stone and a few ruins.
The next day we headed home. I decided to fill the van with diesel, the first time I had to pay more than £100 to fill the van and it wasn’t exactly empty with 150 miles to go.
Tuesday 3rd May we headed off to our favourite campsite in Wales, for our first camping trip of 2022. It looked like the weather would be reasonable, and it was. I managed several walks in sheep country, following various tracks across the moors using the Outdooractive app to navigate. It’s like Google Maps for the walker, it uses open-source maps, or, if you pay, OS maps, for navigation. It can find a route for you automatically, or you can plan a route, or just wing it. You can also follow routes which other hikers have contributed. At the end you can also see how far, how much up and down, and your speeds. Just love it.
So, we had several fine days, and the evenings, though cool, were a photographer’s heaven with some glorious sunsets lighting up the hills in a golden glow. During the day, the birds of prey and Red Kites could be seen soaring on the ridges. We managed to get above a kestrel for a photo opportunity. Cuckoos sang morning & evening.
Still being off season, the cafe bar was not fully open, which was a shame as I had forgotten to bring any wine or beer. But, in the end, I was able to purchase a few bottles of beer and a bottle of wine for our evenings. When Friday came along it was pizza night. The first time we managed to be there for the event. Big mistake – we ordered gluten free pizza; the base was a bit soggy.
Several brave and intrepid swimmers took to the lake, I think I will delay swimming until September, when hopefully the water will be warmer.
Our last day there, Saturday, was a sunny day with a Northerly breeze. This had been predicted for numerous days, and low and behold a group of people started walking up the hill with large bags on their backs. Yes, a few paragliders had come to fly the hill. They were flying until early afternoon when the lift disappeared. No one managed to get away from the hill. It was lovely seeing these gliders and I don’t apologise for placing them on my blog.
Sunday, we had to leave early, so we packed away the awning on Saturday evening, in the dry. Sunday we quietly finished packing the van and left the campsite at 7.45, heading south for St Brides Major where we had a shooting match in a quarry.
Beautiful day in May was chosen for the Wotton Fête. We had not attended for a few years, something got in the way, and then it was COVID. Unfortunatey Wotton House was not open. It used to be for Fête days. The house not being open was a disappointment. We love the house to open, not so much to see the inside it, but to peer out of the upstairs windows into the grounds of Tony Blair’s country house next door. The last time we did this, there were only armed police in the garden, which, claimed R, would have put her off her G&T on the terrace.
The fête had the usual country treats; cakes, teas, a brass band and dog show competitions. A few classic cars are also brought along for nostalgic reasons. Tecnology is making its way, a wifi zone had been setup to make payments by card faster. Additionally, a number of electric cars arrived at the fête,
The church was also festooned with flowers, adding a graceful touch.
I missed several days of fox cubs, they run the battery down on the camera in only a few days. One night the fox cubs spent the whole of darkness playing! The Infrared light soon depleted the battery! The batteries changed and, on the 4th and 5th of May the Fox cubs are still around. A little bigger, now steady on their feet and much more active.
R and I took a trip to Oxford to look at an exhibition at the Bodleian and for R to go to the Oxford Pen Company. She’d seen mention of the Mowgli Street Food restaurant in Westgate, so we thought we’d check it out. We had not seen it before, though I believe it has been there since the new Westgate centre had been completed. We used to eat at the Cinnamon Kitchen, but since lockdown that restaurant has closed for good.
Mowgli was a surprise, not expensive, and delicious food. Don’t think of an Indian restaurant with the standard range of curries, instead think of deliciously spiced food. We both went for the ‘Office Worker’ Tiffin box, which saved us having to decide on the individual dish. The waitress told us the chef would provide different dishes for us, except for the rice, so we could share the flavours between ourselves. While we waited for the food, we each had a yummy cocktail.
This was an excellent meal with fast service and little waiting after we had ordered. We will be back there the next time we are eating in Oxford.
I knew there was still the odd fox around our garden. The compost heap was regularly being visited, and any leftover food was soon carried away overnight. I put up a webcam on the 23rd of April, near some holes by our field pond, which are often used by rabbits. Last year foxes used these holes to store their larder and raise their young cubs. Sure, enough the Vixen(s) were back and there were four fox cubs in residence. They played during the night, early evening, and early morning. The vixen could be seen during the night. We are not sure if there were two families in the same area. Mostly we would see two or three cubs, but on occasion there was a fourth.
