How to enjoy on a budget

With the Glastonbury gates opening many thousands of people will be travelling to one of the biggest festivals in the world.

Known for big-name artists and sparkly outfits, it is also infamous for its cost.

The tickets are pricey, and hundreds of pounds can be spent while staying at Worthy Farm. But it is possible to do it cheaply.

So here’s a rundown of how you can save those precious pennies.

The best way to do Glastonbury on a budget is to volunteer and get a free ticket.

It has plenty of added perks with easy access to showers and some free and discounted food.

Oxfam, Greenpeace and Wateraid are the main volunteer providers, with many others to choose from.

Volunteering with Oxfam typically involves working three eight hour shifts over the course of the week and you will receive a meal token with each session.

It may be too late to volunteer for this year’s Glastonbury but you could consider it for 2025.

Many seasoned Glastonbury goers say the bread and butter of festival-budgeting is bringing enough breakfast bars and alcohol to sustain your stay.

One attendee last year recommended a cereal bar, satsuma and a fruit jelly pot for a balanced breakfast.

The Glastonbury Festival site houses 100 bars with the average pint costing £6.50.

If drinking is on the cards you can cut costs by bringing in cans and bottles and buying mixers there.

Worthy Farm will have every type of cuisine under the sun but there are some spots that boast an affordable £6 meal deal.

A cheap eat can be found at Hare Krishna tent in Green Fields where they offer vegetarian food for free at any time of the day.

In the permaculture area nearby they also offer a cheap meal on a plate “plus the best pakoras”, a previous attendee said.

“They’ll fry them up in front of the campfire while you wait.”

If you have an ideal spend in mind it could be a good idea to stick to a daily budget.

Previous attendees recommend taking a little cash, in case the card machines go down, and you could take the full intended spend in notes and lock what you don’t need for the day with your back-up cards.

Festival Lockups are free of charge to use and open 24hrs a day – they can look after everything from wallets to bicycles – and you can find one of the 15 locations across the festival by following the Property Lock-up flags.

It can be quite tempting to wait till Glastonbury to buy the full festival outfit but you could easily spend into the hundreds of pounds on clothes.

Why not thrift a special outfit at a local charity shop before you travel? You can pick up a few gems for a couple of pounds and give to a charitable cause in the process.

And remember to bring a jumper or two for the cooler nights rather than finding a late night hoodie at a stall.