Glastonbury 2025: do these five things to have the best time
The gates for Glastonbury 2025 open in 48 hours’ time. If you’re going as a newbie or just need some inspiration for ways to approach the festival differently, here are five ways to get the absolute best out of the UK’s most famous knees-up in a field.
Glastonbury 2025: go further than the main stages to get the best of the fest
Don’t stick rigidly to plans
The worst thing to do at Glastonbury 2025 is stuff your days full of acts playing on different stages and rigidly try to see them all. Walks between areas of the festival can be over half an hour without crowds, and way longer when there’s a scrum. The best way to do Glastonbury is just to enjoy the atmosphere of the festival without worrying about trying to catch everything. Remember, these bands all play at other events so the worst case is you can see them somewhere else. Watch a band for sure, but then go and discover a part of the site you never knew existed, then sit and take in the view. Remember the best experiences are often the spontaneous bits you can never plan for.
Avoid the South East Corner after headliners
When the headliners finish on the Pyramid Stage and The Other stage half the crowd heads straight to the festival’s most famous nightlife area the South-East Corner. It is a long walk, and the sheer volume of people pilgrimaging in that direction means it can take an hour or more to get down there. There are plenty of other nightlife areas, including at The Park stage, where DJs play until the sun comes up again, so the South-East Corner isn’t the only option. But if you are bent on getting down there, have a drink somewhere more relaxed after the headliners and let the crowd clear. It’ll be way easier – and there’ll be way less queues — around 1am rather than at midnight.
Make time for all the other stuff
BBC coverage tends to prioritise the music, but there is so much else going on at Glastonbury 2025 that requires your attention. There is world-leading theatre and circus, wellness areas, charitable initiatives, and incredible food. Allowing free time in your weekend schedule means you’ll have the time to explore the huge site and all of its surprises. Don’t forget just how massive the place is. Even if you spent all five days wondering you wouldn’t see it all, so get away from the music and bed into something totally unusual.
Read more: Why Glastonbury festival isn’t about headliners
Hike up to the Glastonbury sign
Sitting looking at the view of the whole festival sprawled down in the valley below is totally unmatched as a Glastonbury experience. The famous sign spelling out the festival’s name is located on a hill offering an incredible view. Go up there and take some pictures and soak up the lights, thoroughfares and main stages that temporarily turn this patch of Somerset into a mega new metropolis. From certain perspectives the festival is all you can see across the whole horizon.
Be open to new connections
In an increasingly digitised world where most of us admit we’re spending too long staring at our phones, Glastonbury 2025 offers the chance to get offline. There’s a wonderful chemistry among punters that makes it easier than you think to go over and say hello to someone you don’t know and strike up conversation. If you spot an outfit you like or someone singing along to a song you love, go over and introduce yourself. Research tells us these micro-interactions in everyday life can improve our happiness levels overall, plus you might make a new friend for life.
If you aren’t at Glastonbury 2025 then the BBC will be screening live coverage the whole weekend on iPlayer and BBC One.
Weather: Glastonbury looks like it’ll be gorgeous
Finally, how sunny (or rainy) will it be? As for the weather, Glastonbury 2025 looks like it’ll be another blissfully sunny year. Temperatures are forecast to go into the high twenties, with mostly sunny days. There will be patches of cloud but it looks as if the rain will hold off for most of the weekend, other than some light showers on Wednesday and Thursday, which is brilliant news — and means you can hold off from lugging those wellies in the car with you. That’s one less thing to worry about packing…
Read more: 15 amazing Glastonbury 2024 moments including Coldplay and Dua Lipa