Off the beaten track at Glastonbury 2007

United Kingdom | by Jonny Rocket | 29 June 2007

The UK was suffering its rainiest June since records began but even that didn't dampen spirits at this year's Glastonbury.  This vast festival of contemporary arts is an absolute treat for the spirit - so your body better do what it's told.

Sure, the main focus of most reports concentrate on activity at the main stages (the Pyramid Stage, the Other Stage and the vast swamplands that form the Dance Village) but some regulars of the UK's biggest annual gathering choose to completely avoid the main areas of the site; the areas which have become known to them as - Babylon.

Babylon is a tradition.  It's Babylon that hosts the main stages, markets, stalls and sundry entertainments.  But it's beyond Babylon where you'll find some of the best of the fest. Babylon begins just after the Jazz World Stage, as you're walking down the hill. You can tell when you hit it: people around you change slightly, crowds grow larger and it feels a little less friendly.

You see, where Babylon isn't, the heart and soul of the show is.  These areas: the Tipi Field, Acoustic Stage, Permaculture, the Stone Circle, Crafts and Green Futures aren't just ad-hoc add-ons - they form the heartland of the site. A whole weekend spent exploring them can give you the satisfaction that you've got your money's worth.  You wouldn't even think that you've missed anything on the main stages.
 
Outside Babylon you'll see woodcarvers carving beautiful sculptures using a chainsaw; you'll find the perennial candle-powered boat stall; you'll stumble upon the Circus To Iraq people and speak to them about their brave attempts to bring a little laughter to the children of that beleaguered country.

You'll find appetising food at reasonable prices - a vegi-burger orgasm at Delilah's or a full plate of Indian Thali at the Thali Cafe.  For just a pound many buy and send a postcard home directly from the site.  Some try their hand at stone carving; scores grab a sauna, and hoards enjoy lyrics and libations at the Bimble Inn.

Revellers are able to explore every form of healing; they can take part in ceremonies around the world famous fire in the Tipi Field or, if one chooses, become part of a show by cycling furiously at the bicycle-powered stage.

This is the place to find your soulmate and meet the greatest and most interesting of people.  It's a place to have your mind switched on and your body switched off.  It's free of the stresses of the outside world, a slumbering silence yet a humbling buzz of human passion.  Every Glastonbury goer can climb to the top of the Stone Circle field for the best view on site. Not only does it show how truly gigantic the festival is but it holds the most breathtaking dawns one can ever experience.

You could lose days, weeks or years but here, if only we could.  Open your mind away from the mainstream - explore, experience, learn.  It's the most romantic of havens.