One of the few bad things about working in luxury travel is that you get seriously spoilt, and the thought of five nights in a tent is enough to give you the shakes. Add to that the thought of five nights in a tent without showers – it brings me out in a cold sweat!  But despite my reservations I was talked round to making my second pilgrimage to Worthy Farm for the 40th anniversary of Glastonbury Festival last week.

For the first time in 15 years the British weather did us proud – (which is more than can be said for our football team!) and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Great for tans, but not so great for sleeping in a tent, which veered from freezing cold at 3am to sauna-like by 7am most mornings. Ice cold cider from The Brothers Bar helped to keep cool, but until the sun went down we had to resort to bottle upon bottle of water to keep going in the heat. I’ll never complain about the Glastonbury mud again!

But despite the sweltering heat, with Gorillaz, Muse and the fantastic Stevie Wonder headlining the weekend, and countless other bands and stages to explore, Glastonbury was once again a roaring success. 200,000 people took to the green fields to explore the site which goes on for as far as the eye can see. Around every corner there’s another field of dreams to be discovered. Some might say the festival has ‘sold out’ ( in the press tent a sign read " Queue here to complain that the festival's not as good as it used to be") -  but there are still amazing sights to be seen. Shangri-La, with its full scale apartment buildings, crashed taxis and tube trains, the ‘Dog Faced Geisha’ bar and markets is mind bogglingly insane, you feel as though you’ve stumbled upon an alternative universe. Flame throwers blasts out fire into the night, performers startle you at every turn – the weird and wonderful surrounds you!


The Kids Fields and Circus and Cabaret areas are always great fun to explore – there are usually performers around every corner, and sometimes giant kangaroos and the like!

At night crowds gather at the Stone Circle to let off the pretty Chinese lanterns, much to the anxiety of the fire marshals who run around like headless chickens, unsure which lantern to confiscate first. For the record I got mine taken off me within minutes…bah humbug!

One of the highlights of the festival usually comes courtesy of the secret shows – although they are becoming less and less secret. This year Thom Yorke from Radiohead performed on the Friday, and Biffy Clyro blasted away the cobwebs in a storming Saturday evening set on The Park Stage. Crowds surged up the valley to catch the Scottish threesome’s set, which was short but sweet, and the perfect accompaniment to another stunning Glastonbury afternoon.

Whilst Gorillaz were, to be honest, a little boring – Muse took the festival by the throat with a set packed with chest thumping anthems – every track was another sing-along special, and Matt Bellamy has the crowd eating out of his hand. The next day Stevie Wonder was equally popular, and had the crowd singing along to Happy Birthday in a feel good performance that left everyone smiling. Unlike other festivals I’ve been to, Glastonbury has an amazing atmosphere, it’s genuinely friendly and lacks that aggressive streak that so many festivals seem to have picked up. I think everyone should experience Glastonbury – even if it’s without camping (although that’s almost part of the fun!)

Backstage people networked all day and all night – the best part of that area were the amazing papier-mâché wildlife sculptures, I loved the zebra especially. And there was even an elephant from The Elephant Family up at The Park!


We arrived home at 4am on Monday morning, sun kissed, tired, aching from walking but with smiles on our faces. Glastonbury is the place to go to for a little escapism from reality – Somerset’s very own Never Neverland…I can’t wait until 2011!


By Diana