A Glastonbury fan who has been to the iconic music festival 15 times in a row has shared his top tips - including where to shower and how to navigate the toilets. Dan Thomas has attended every Glastonbury festival since 2002 and is heading to Worthy Farm in Somerset again next week to see this year's headlining acts, such as the Arctic Monkeys and Elton John.
When it comes to making sure you have a good weekend, Dan insists the preparation begins weeks before. His must-pack item is an s-shaped hook to keep his bag off the floor in the toilets.
He also says Wednesday is the best day to arrive and urges festival-goers to use the showers in the kids' field, to never camp next to a pathway and to always choose a compost toilet over a long drop. The festival enthusiast stresses it is best to avoid leaving the site on Monday lunchtime.
The content creator from London added: "I personally think having a shower is one the best ways you can start your day. If you've had a long tiring day as you will at Glastonbury it makes you feel like a million dollars.
"There are six ways to get a shower there. There's a single gender free communal shower and free cubicle showers in the kids field. If you're in a glamping site they will have them, but if you're not shy there's a naked sauna and campfire on site which you can pay £15 to go into and they have showers.
"Other options are using a solar powered shower or a rechargeable USB pump shower or you can effectively sponge bath with a large Tupperware box." Dan continued: "In terms of toilets there are several different kinds. There's long-drops which are essentially cubicle seats over a large box.
"They're open air so people can see the top of your head but there's ventilation which is good. There's female urinals and compost toilets too.
"My advice would be to skip the long drops and head for the compost toilets. People are put off them because they smell like portaloos but once your inside they're bigger, deeper and generally less smelly because the compost has a neutralising smell."
As well as an s-shaped hook, Dan says another essential item people should bring with them is a four wheel trolley. He also encourages festival-goers to bring plenty of their own snacks, but to enjoy the "amazing" food on sale there too.
"People don't realise that Glastonbury is the only festival that you can bring all your own food and drink everywhere with you - it just can't be in glass." He said. "The biggest way to save money is to bring it all yourself.
"I always bring cereal bars, Peperami and pitta breads with some peanut butter as they all hold together well. I rarely buy drinks there but a pint is around £6. I would say though that Glastonbury has some of the best food around - so definitely try a stall or two if you can."
He recommends in terms of finding a camping spot the most important criteria is to not settle "at the bottom of a hill, near a path or next to the toilets." Once the festival is in full swing, Dan claims it's "impossible" to see the whole site but urges people to "not be lazy" and explore.
He said: "Although Glastonbury is the best music festival in the world, it's also the best place to do just about anything else. Some people treat it as a food festival, some people treat it as a cultures festival. No single individual person will see all of Glastonbury - not even the owners.
"It can be easy to feel intense FOMO because there's always something going on but the most important thing is to follow your gut and do what you want to do. The first year I went right to the front of the pyramid stage and it was amazing, but now I don't mind popping in and out.
"Glastonbury is logistically very hard work. Once your on the inside, of course don't be lazy, but if you need to take a nap or have an early night do it. No matter what you'll do you'll have the best time."
Once the fun is over, Dan says the worst time to leave the site is Monday around lunchtime. He once spent 16 hours travelling from the car park to his home in London - 12 of these being spent getting out of the car park.
He added: "Either leave very early or late on Monday, but don't try and tackle the middle. Most importantly, love the farm and leave no trace. If you feel tempted to leave things behind, don't. There are plenty of bins on site and make sure you take your tent with you."
Dan's full list of Glastonbury tips are:
- Make a packing list weeks before you go
- Bring an 'S' hook so you can hang up your belongings in the toilet
- Get to the site as close to Wednesday morning as possible
- Don't attempt to see the entire festival - go with your gut and rest if you need to
- Get a shower at one of the two free showers, pay to use the naked sauna ones or bring your own portable shower
- Take plenty of food and snacks - including pita bread, cereal bars and peanut butter
- Remember you can bring your own alcohol anywhere on the site.
- Don't attempt to leave on Monday around lunchtime
- Use the compost toilets over the others if you can
