A weekend in Liverpool might not sound like the most glamorous weekend getaway but it was one I had wanted to do all the same. I love exploring other UK cities and I hadn’t been up North in awhile. James took a little bit of convincing to come with me but with cheap train fares and promise of some Beatles history he caved in and came along.
Its that time of year again – the first May bank holiday. When we have our first day bank holiday in months and the few first rays of warm sun shining through the UK weather. As you know I often try to make the most of my bank holidays but after our adventures in New York we weren’t quite ready for another trip away so we spent the bank holiday a little closer to home and explored the UK.
Along with two friends Lisa and Simon, James and I hired a canal boat from Kate Boats based in Warwick. We headed up on the Saturday morning and picked up our boat ‘Rebecca’. A long houseboat with with two ‘bedrooms’, a full working bathroom and kitchen. It was the perfect way to do something new while exploring more of the UK.
I’ve been so lucky in the time I’ve been living overseas that I’ve had people to come and visit me but I am even luckier that my both my immediate family and extended family all decided to come and visit at the same time. A cross-continent family reunion can’t happen just anywhere so we decided to really make a time of it and hire a cottage down in Devon.
We found a lovely place called Dunsford, just 20 minutes from Exeter where we found two cottages close by to each other, where we could while away the hours in the Devon countryside. Barnfield Cottage where we stayed was the perfect mix of modern amenities and old english charm and was a great base for us to explore all the area had to offer.
It was that time of the year again – August Bank Holiday weekend! This time of year is often met with equal pleasure and delight – a day off work followed by the aching depression that means its the last public holiday until Christmas. Similar to those other travellers desperate to squeeze as much travel and sunshine into my life during summer, I was desperate to go away for the weekend.
The minor hitch was that I had left this one up to James my wonderful – but not always the best planner – boyfriend. As the weeks crept up to the August bank holiday I kept hinting at places I’ve always wanted to go both in the UK and in Europe and it wasn’t until 2 weeks before the date I realised he hadn’t actually planned anything. Well, I’m not proud to say it, but there was a bit of a tantrum with an ‘its not faaaaiiirr everyone else is going awaaaayy’.
So after lots of whining at my end, an exasperated James finally booked us our getaway and I am pleased to say it was a fabulous UK weekend away. Our journey started bright and early on the Sunday morning as we caught the train from London Bridge down to Broadstairs – a seaside town in Kent. It was exactly how you would imagine a British summer seaside town that actually has a beach. And by beach I mean sand – not the uncomfortable pebbles of Brighton.
Not only am I working my way through the London Top 100, I’m also trying to see as much of the UK as I can with daytrips out of the city. So Oxford was on the to do list. The tickets were only £6 and just another reason I love travel within the UK. Trains are so quick, clean and cheap and such a comfortable way to travel. Well we thought so – the middle aged guy stuck at a table with us and having to listen to all our gossiping probably disagreed.
We arrived at Oxford to a sunny day so we made our way into the town centre to see what was going on. We had planned to catch up with an acquaintance who was studying there but unfortunately she wasn’t around so we thought we would get a walking tour by a Oxford resident thinking it would be the best way to see the city and get into some of the famous colleges. Turns out we probably chose the wrong tour for us. Our guide was a very very posh lady who was terribly boring and we spent most of the tour at the back chatting away and taking photos. The benefits of having her around was she did get to take us into a couple of colleges and we got to see their quads and courtyards as well as dining hall or chapel.
After an amazing weekend in Budapest I was suffering post long weekend depression and dreading heading to work and was already looking forward to the next weekend. Luckily for me I had something to look forward to and was up bright and early to get the train to Leeds on Saturday morning. Lauren and I took the two hour train and were picked up by her friend Di who she had worked with in Australia. We quickly dropped our bags off at her gorgeous house in Weatherby before driving straight to York. Once we were there we wandered through the town centre, checking out some markets, walking along the river before grabbing a quick bite to eat. We ventured down the tiny little cobbled crooked streets and checked out the ‘Haunted’ pub for a beer. It was still pretty chilly outside so it was good to get away from the breeze for a little bit.
Once we had recouped we decided to have a wander around the roman walls that surround the inner city. The York Walls are a great way to see parts of the city as you can look down on the streets and sidewalks as well as out to the wider York City. The ‘climbing’ of the York walls tired us out so then it was onto a cute little Tea shop for some scones and a nice warm cuppa.
The afternoon was spent tucked up in Di’s couch with another warm cuppa watching TV while she pottered around. Its always nice to go and visit someones ‘home’ rather then a shared flat and it was so nice and peaceful in a smaller town.
Once her husband had finished we worked we met him down in their local pub for a quick pint before dinner at the local italian. The dinner was delicious and we were all pretty decadent having starters, mains, desserts and lots of wine. It was a perfect evening to finish of a great day exploring a new city and we crashed into bed pretty quickly after getting home.
We were treated to a cooked breakfast the next morning before heading off for a wander around some Estate home grounds not too long a drive from Di’s place. We spent a couple of hours wandering through the woods, across fields, passing by streams and up and down hills. It was refreshing to be out in the clean air and even though it was chilly spending some time in the sun. Once again after all the ‘hard’ work we deserved a drinks so we found a cute little pub nearby and spent the afternoon chatting over a cider and packet of crisps. Just another thing I loved about the area is the local watering holes!
I am now a massive fan of York and it was the perfect cure for my post holiday depression. A little bit of sunshine and a great chance to stretch my legs and explore a quieter place was brilliant and I hope its not the last time I get to check out the place.
It has started coming to that time in my London Life where I have to start saying goodbye to some really good friends due to visas, different travel plans and people not wanting to suffer through another English winter. Sadly these reasons mean I have to say goodbye to three of my topdeck family members. It had been so long since we had been on a ‘family’ holiday with the Topdeck crew that we thought it was about time we went on another – a perfect way to party together before we had to say goodbye. The trouble was we couldn’t settle on somewhere that 14 people with a passion for travel hadn’t already been before.
We tossed up between Liverpool and Isle of Wight before Candra just made a command decision to go to Nottingham. I’m glad she did because we got the chance to explore somewhere we might not have usually picked. After doing a bit of research we found that Nottingham is not only famous for the adventures of Robin Hood but also has England’s oldest inn and apparently a pretty awesome nightlife. Which is exactly what we were in the need of!
We headed up to Nottingham on the Saturday morning which is only an hour and a half away and we were all pretty chuffed because we had scored first class tickets! (Oh how we love train special deals) So we did the trip up in style and arrived just in time to dump our bags at the hotel before heading into town to go to the oldest inn in England for lunch. The Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem is built into the side of the wall surrounding the castle and was established in 1189. We were lucky enough that it wasn’t too busy and since it was a sunny day we grabbed two tables outside, grabbed some drinks and had some food while we all caught up and chatted. Sean had bought some of their traditional Ale which I had a sip of and it tasted like it was from 1189. Yuck.
From there we went on a wander around the town and first stop was the statue of Robin Hood right outside the castle. We all took this chance to get a few funny photos and muck around before heading up through the castle gates. By this time it was getting later in the afternoon and none of us were really in the mood for history (shameful I know) so we opted out of visiting the castle and instead visited the gift shop where we bought felt hats and bows and arrows. This meant there were more photos in front of Robin Hood before heading further into the city centre to check out down town Nottingham. The city of Nottingham is pretty much similar to the centre of most English cities with all the shops, a main square and a few bars and restaurants around. After a quick sticky beak we went back to the hotel to have a few drinks and get ready for a night out.
We played a few drinking games before heading to a nearby Wetherspoons for a cheap meal and cheap drinks before heading straight to Oceana nightclub. We had found out this was the place to go by a random stag night and I would have to say their recommendation was pretty good. It was a pretty cheesy place with a light up dancefloor and lots of old school music but it was exactly what we wanted for a night out. It meant we could drink and dance and sing along in a big group, not annoy anyone and just enjoy a good night out.
The next morning we were up bright and early to head to the walkabout to watch the grand final of the Rugby World Cup. As you know I have lots of Kiwi friends so they were excited that they were in the final and wouldn’t have missed it for the world. We grabbed some cooked breakfast and some snakebites and settled in to watch the match. It was quite a close game and was so suspenseful to watch but in the end the Kiwi’s pulled through and they won. Leaving all my friends pretty happy! We spent the rest of the afternoon chilling in the walkie and wandering the shops before getting the 3pm train home.
We had intended to check out Sherwood Forest after the match but due to the Sunday time table we weren’t able to make it back in time to catch our train. I was pretty disappointed we didn’t get to do much of the touristy stuff however I had a great time just hanging out with my Topdeck Family (plus new members) and spending time with Sean, Toni and Clare before they had to leave. Sadly they have all now left us for bigger and brighter adventures and while I am sad to see them go, I am extremely jealous of their upcoming travel. I will miss them heaps but we have a few new members of the London family so I don’t have to worry about being a loner just yet!
The last weekend in August is a bank holiday in England to give everyone one last chance to grab a day of summer (I’m not actually sure its the reason but thats exactly what everyone does). People flee the city to sunny destinations and try and wangle the last of their annual leave to fit in one more holiday. I on the other hand had to stick around London which was great as it gave me a change to go on a day trip to Cambridge, which I had been dying to do all summer.
We were lucky that since it was the long weekend there were a few things going on in Cambridge one of which was local markets in one of the town squares. We wandered these and checked out the fresh food, knick knacks and clothes before continuing on through the little streets and via some of the oustide of a few colleges.
Before James headed off to Japan for a year to teach English we decided to have a weekend away in the UK together. I had wanted to go to Cornwall for ages as I had heard it was stunning down there and since we were going in July we thought what better time to attempt going to a beachside place. James organised the whole trip which meant I was in for a surprise!
James had told me that I had a surprise waiting for me the day we went to Cornwall and even though I had been nagging him to tell me for weeks he didn’t give in. By the time 11pm came around I had sort of worked out what the surprise might be and was really excited to find out we were going on an overnight train. Little did I know the surprise went further and he had actually booked us on a first class sleeper! The little cabin was so cute! Each little room had its own sink, bed, tv and came with a toiletries bag. We had a personal attendant who we could call at any time and we were welcome to go dine in our own dining cart. The best part was that we got breakfast (bacon sandwich and a cup of tea) bought to us first thing in the morning. The train goes slower with very few stops so when you wake up about 7am for breakfast you have an hour to freshen up before arriving at your destination. It is my new favourite way to travel and when you consider you get your transport and nights accommodation included its pretty cheap!
Once we arrived we had to wait to check in but we dumped our bags and went for a walk along the promenade. About five seconds into our walk it poured down with rain so we decided to give up on our stroll and find somewhere to have a cuppa and a snack. As it was still pretty early and not much was open we found a little place to sit and wait out the weather. It started to clear up a bit and a lot more shops opened up so we wandered the cute little streets and checked out a few of the shops. There were lots of cute little op shops and fresh fruit stores as well as a few of the usual stores. We killed time until about 11am when we were due to get the bus out to Minack Theatre.
As we were walking up to the theatre from the bus stop it started pouring with more rain. My sunny beach weekend hopes were dashed by this stage and it was all we could do to just stay dry. We were determined to check out more of the area though so we soldiered on through the rain and wandered up to the Minack Theatre. The theatre is built into the side of a cliff which over looks the sea and beaches nearby. Unluckily for us they weren’t showing anything the night we were there and while we were there they had blocked it off so they could set up a new show. That meant we didn’t get to see the whole thing but the views from up there and just checking out the theatre were amazing – especially as the sun had finally come out!
We wandered around the theatre and checked out the museum dedicated to the lady who built it and the past shows that had been put on there. One day I would love to go back and see ‘The Tempest’ which was the first show put on there. We were intending to take a walk along the coast front down to Lands End which would take us about an hour and a bit but by pure coincidence the bus that ran twice a day from Minack Theatre down to Lands End arrived as we were walking past the bus stop. We jumped on because we weren’t sure what the weather was going to do and it would mean we could get there quicker.
Once we got to Land’s End we wandered down to the famous signpost that signals that you are the very bottom tip of the UK. As we got there so did five antique tractors who had made the journey from John O’Groats in Scotland all the way down to Land’s End. There was also a black cab taxi who did the drive from top to bottom in 30 hours without using a GPS or highway. Crazy! We took the token photo underneath the sign before heading to a little shop to grab a cornish pasty. I had been told that they aren’t the same unless as you have one in Cornwall. I’ve got to say that I didn’t really notice the difference but it was really yummy all the same!
By this stage we had been out most of the day so we were ready to head back to our hotel and finally check in. By another stroke of luck with busses we managed to catch and open top bus back to Penzance. The weather had stayed bright and sunny which made for a really pretty bus ride home checking out all the countryside that we had missed on our first rainy bus trip there.
After checking in and freshening up we headed back out to dinner to a little restaurant nearby. It was an Italian restaurant complete with red and white checkered table clothes and a waitress with a heavy accent. We drank some really yummy red wine and ate a really yummy Italian meal before wandering into the centre of town to check out the nightlife in Penzance. Well, there isn’t really much of a nightlife as most of the places are just little pubs but we did find one bar and wandered in. We grabbed a drink and people watched around the bar. The funniest thing was about the place that there were very few females in the bar. At one point there were over 25 men standing in front of me and I couldn’t see another girl in the bar at all. Definitely a bit of a sausage-fest! As it wasn’t really a raging nightlife James and I decided to call it a night.
The next day we went and found a little cafe and had a Cornish cream tea and a Cornish pasty for breakfast – couldn’t have gotten any more Cornish food into that meal unless we had Cornish ice cream too! By coincidence James’s Mum was on holiday down in Cornwall too so we met up with her and walked along the beach down to St Michael Mount which is an island off the coast of Penzance that you can only walk to when the tide is out. We wandered over and had a quick walk around the grounds before taking cover from the rain in a cafe and having lunch.
Unfortunately for us the weekend went quickly before we knew it, it was time to get back on the train and head back to London. We stocked up on nibbles and jumped on the train and settled in for the 5 hour journey with a good book each. The weekend had been heaps of fun – I love checking out other parts of England and one day I would love to head back down to a different part of Cornwall and hopefully get to the beach!
‘I’ve always wanted to be a rockstar’ said Beyonce when she was on stage headlining at Glastonbury. It was one of the many moments that I experienced while at Glastonbury that I expect will remain locked in my memory for a long time. Some of these moments were unbelievably fun crazy and amazing others were a really scary, annoying and depressing. I had a fantastic time at Glastonbury and am extremely glad I went – but let me tell you it had its ups and downs!
We set off for Glastonbury armed with our wellington boots, rain jackets, tents, backpacks crammed with booze and food ready for a fun filled few days. We arrived to Pilton farm and were quickly knee deep in mud as we walked for 40 minutes across a farm feild just to get into the gates. Once we were through and our wristbands on our arms we set off on our mission to find the perfect spot to set up camp.
The festival didn’t start officially until the Friday but we decided to go on the Wednesday so we could get a good spot, have a bit of a look around the festival and get up to mischief early. By the time we got there there were already thousands upon thousands of tents set up meaning we had to spent about an hour wandering through trying to find a space where we could set up 8 or so tents plus a gazebo. Sophie and I had tagged along with Lance and Sam (my flatmates) and all of Lance’s sister Rachel’s friends. In the end there would have been about 15 or so of us in the one little camping area which did make for good yarns but impossible to find a position. Luckily enough for us we found a spot not to far from the toilets, stages and food stalls with enough room to hang out!
Once we set up we got down to business of checking out the festival. Soph and I had a wander around for about an hour checking out the market stalls, food stalls, different stages (very silent and boring but still!) before heading back to the camp site to have a few drinks with the start of our crew. After a quick bottle of Pimms to share – it goes down so easily!- we were well on our way to starting that tipsy festival feeling.
Many of Rachel’s friends were arriving at different times of the day so once we had most people we decided to head up to the Park Stage that had the big Glastonbury sign (similar to the Hollywood sign) and have a look over the festival. It was extremely overwhelming! There were tents as far as the eye could see and I couldn’t imagine any more people squeezing into the area. There were already thousands of people out and about drinking and hanging out and it was incredible to see.
After sitting up on the hill for awhile we decided to head over to the Stone Circle which is where the festival originated. We got there in time to see the bonfire be lit and the fireworks go off. As we were standing there some guy started drumming and another guy jumped up on one of the stones and started playing the bagpipes. It was so cool to see everyone gather round and listen while we watched fireworks in the mud. But amongst all that I was thinking who on earth takes a drum kit and bagpipes camping?! We explored a bit more and then went back to then for a few more drinks before calling it a night in the wee hours of the morning. The first night was a hit – except for the minor downfall of the sole of my brand new Wellington boots coming off!
During the night it was quite hard to sleep because we literally had the smallest tent on the history of the planet and it was freezing cold so I was trying to combat the feeling of being suffocated whiles trying to wrap myself completely in a sleeping bag – not ideal! I have camped before and never had a problem with being in a tent but since we had a tiny little pop up tent that we could barely sit up in without hitting the roof – plus two adults, two blow up mattresses and two backpacks it was all a bit much. I ended up having to stick my head outside in the rain just to have a bit of air. Also during the night there was a commotion around another tent as someone found a stranger in their tent and people were screaming and yelling for them to get out. Combined with that and the noise of thousands of drunk people singing and talking it wasn’t easy to get to sleep – and I’m the kind of girl who can fall asleep during anything.
After a rough night all I was up pretty early and ready to head off to find myself some breakfast and buy a new pair of wellies. Soph was getting ready to come with me but couldn’t find her hand bag. About an hour of searching later after completely emptying our tent and backpacks there was still no sign of it. There was nothing else to do but report it stolen which was scary because we had both seen it in the tent the night before and been asleep with it in there during the night. It was weird to think that someone might have opened our tent and taken it out but we couldn’t really think of another way it got lost.
We walked down to the local security point and they told us that several bags had been taken in our area the night before and the best thing to do was report it to the police which we had to do anyway so Sophie could claim her travel insurance. Thankfully she had left her passport back in London but the bad had all her cash, her cards, her phone (borrowed but still!) and her camera (nooooo!). The other struggle was the police point was literally on the other side of the festival to us so it took us about an hour to walk there. Once we were there they were really helpful and friendly as they took all the details down before letting us use their phone to cancel her credit cards. They recommended popping across to lost property just to see if the bag had been handed in so we wandered across and started the whole process again.
Sophie had to write down a detailed report on what was missing before they went out and had a look. Once the guy we were dealing with had gone off to search some guy was like ‘I don’t want to get your hopes up but its looking good’. It was awesome to hear but could have also been extremely upsetting if it didn’t work out. Thankfully it did and Sophie got her bag back – including all the contents but the money (typical) and the phone which wasn’t such a huge deal. We were just relieved to get some of it back and were talking about how lucky she was as we were walking away. About two seconds later we heard someone running up behind us and grabbing us and asking us to stop and it was the guy from the lost and found telling us that they had her money too! They had just locked it away! This was another big win and we were even happier!
Sophie couldn’t believe her luck and I was just so relieved that it was all behind us and we could get on with our day. We FINALLY got our breakfast and I got my new wellies so I was a pretty happy camper. This whole process had taken about three hours so by the time we got back to our camp site it was late enough to have a much needed drink. I sat in the sun, read the programme while I had a strong but deserved vodka and orange. More of the crew had arrived by this time so they had gone off for a wander around the festival to check it out so it was good to have a bit of time out. As we were sitting there I got a text on my phone telling me that a phone had been handed in up at the lost property. Soph was such a lucky girl! We then headed back up there to collect the phone before meeting Sam and Lance at one of the bars to have a few drinks. The sun had come out by this stage and it wasn’t too cold so it was starting to look like more of a festival!
The next day was the first day of music and it was long awaited! Two days at a music festival and not really hearing any music was the strangest thing really. We headed over to the pyramid stage to check out Metronomy and Wu Tang Clan. We also then hit up Tame Impala before walking over to the Park Stage where the ‘secret’ guests were. It was a pretty well kept secret up until about two hours before when the rumours were confirmed and everyone knew it was Radiohead. I am not the most massive fan of Radiohead but even I was impressed that such a big name was the special guests. Lance and Matt decided to wait in the crowd and watch a couple of acts before so they got a good spot for Radiohead but as it was pouring down with rain me and Soph decided to head to a bar close by and stay undercover and get out of the cold slightly. While were there we met up with one of Sophies friends Jaharn and her friend Kat and had a good yarn while we waited for Radiohead.
When they came on they played a pretty long set but it was most of their new stuff so I (and most others) had no idea of what songs were playing. We were also up in what you would consider the ‘nosebleed’ section of the festival because we were on a hill so far away we had to squint to maybe make out a member of the band. That’s what you get for dawdling but it was still good to be amongst the crowd. After Radiohead we had an hour wait until the next band Soph wanted to see was on. As neither of us were massive fans of U2 (and by that we are not fans in the slightest) and the two other acts we wanted to see were on the the same time as Radiohead we were a bit lost as to who to see. In the end after staying undercover out of the rain and mud for an hour we gave up and headed back to the tent.
The Saturday was our best and busiest day music wise as most of the artists I wanted to see where playing so we made a plan to pretty much just stay at the one stage all day so we armed ourselves with a few sly vodkas in water bottles and went and began our day of music. We saw Tame Impala, followed by an amazing set by The Kills and then a few ciders at the bar before heading up to the Park Stage for another secret show. There were a few rumors around but it ended up being Pulp. I hadn’t heard of them but they were pretty famous (if you haven’t already realised I’m no music buff – just love listening to anything!) so everyone around me were pretty psyched. They played a good gig and once they played ‘common people’ i knew who they were!
After that we just checked out a few more gigs before heading over to the Pyramid Stage to see Coldplay. I had never been a huge huge fan of Coldplay but my friends who had seen them assured me they were amazing live. The many people who told me this were right! It was one of the best gigs I’ve seen in my lifetime. We had managed to get a pretty good spot so we could see the stage and both of the screens without being too smushed so I was happily comfortable while I stood and sung along to their songs with 175 thousand other people. We heard a bit of their new stuff as well as a few of their older classics with the encore being ‘fix you’ a personal favourite. I was so glad that I had the chance to see them live and now I must say I am a converted fan!
One of the best things about Glastonbury is even after all the acts are done there is partying well into the night. One of the places where you can go to continue the party is to the Shangri La which is an area up in the corner of the festival that opens only after the last gig on the main stage has played. We decided to check it out after Coldplay and ended up waiting in line for an hour just to get in but it was so worth it! When we got it in it was incredible. It was like there had been an apocalypse and we were the last people on earth. There were cars crashed into the ground, air planes up in trees that were bars, robots shooting fire and lots and lots of crazy people around. I was not drunk or high (like many of the people there) but even I was having a bit of a freak out the place was so mental. Fun but mental. There were DJ’s playing in heaps of different tents (there was a rumour Fatboy Slim was going to play but we couldn’t find the tent) and just bars everywhere. We also checked our Arcadia and Sector 9 which were similar sort of places with even more crazy stuff followed by the fairground which was a creepy carnival kind of place. I wasn’t sure if the people there were dressed like that because they had been paid to or they were just festival goers but at 2 am walking through a creepy carnival wasn’t my idea of fun. I know its probably lame to say as so many people I spoke to LOVED the Shangri La but I think you have to be in the right mood to enjoy it. I was slightly hungover at this stage (as my mid day drunkenness had worn off) I was tired and my gumboots were giving me blisters so I could barely walk. Even though we had a tiny tiny tiny tent all I wanted to do was go back and sleep.
The next day was the final day of the festival and our first day of sunshine! It makes such a difference when the sun is out! Even though you still had to wear your wellies it was so much easier to walk around and have places to sit and basically everyone was just so much happier! We started the day by checking out Foster The People who I hadn’t heard of but are now my favourite band (I am even going to see them again in November) which was a great start to the day. After that we were pretty much just waiting around to see Beyonce with a few bands in between so we headed over to the Greenfields which we hadn’t yet checked out.
The Greenfields are run by Greenpeace and it is basically just a place where you can go to chill out. They have awesome garden bars, healing tents with pillows, free tea places, fresh fruit stalls, jam tents where people just go to play music together. They also have heaps of artwork and sculptures made out of recycled materials and just basically a really relaxed chilled out area for all the hippies. It was one of my favourite parts of the festival and such a different vibe from many other areas. While we were there we saw Foster The People walking around which was a highlight as they are absolute babes.
After that we wandered over to the John Peel Stage to see The Vaccines before meeting up with Sam and Sophie’s friend Jaharn to get our spots for Beyonce. We quickly grabbed some food while we sat on the outer edges while Pendulum played before trying to worm our way close for her show. We managed to score a pretty good possy right next to the screen with a pretty decent close view of the stage. Unfortunately over the course of an hour while we waited we had a few very very tall and very very rude people push through and get in our way. Its always going to happen at festivals but it just stinks when it ruins your view! It didn’t matter too much though because the minute she was on stage all eyes were on the screen and the stage as we danced along to ‘Crazy In Love’ and ‘Single Ladies’. We got to hear some of her new stuff (which of course is now top played on my Spotify) and all the old classics including some Destiny’s Child. She was the first solo female head liner for Glastonbury in 20 years and she rocked it. It was a good end to a good festival and as we walked our weary bones back to the tent I was pretty happy.
The next morning we were up bright and early to pack up our tents and do the big walk back over to the bus. This time the backpacks were a bit lighter which made it easier but it was still not the best start to a morning! I was happy to be on the way home even though I had a pretty good time. I am no princess and have enjoyed camping before but after a busy few days dealing with thousands of people, tiny tents, air mattresses, ever changing weather and hangovers and stall food I was looking forward to getting into my home, having a very very very long shower, eating a home cooked meal and sleeping in my own bed.
I had a great time with lots of highs (singing along to Beyonce with 170 thousand other people) and with a few lows (creepy bag thieves) and it is something I recommend that everyone should do in their lifetime. Its a dirty fun crazy tipsy blur of days and nights with some good music in between. You can walk from one end to the other and see some totally different sights. People watching is amazing because people of all ages are here enjoying themselves. I am glad that I was lucky enough to get a ticket and be able to attend it with the perfect partner in crime Soph who made her way from Australia to come with me. Its also great that I got to attend one of the most legendary festivals in the world and tick that one off my bucket list!
Eat Well Travel Often 