Camp GT 2008

[PaulX]

I guess it's time to start a camp thread. Hmmm, Graham Norton. No, not that kind of camp. The "where are we gonna camp at Glade" sort of camp.

Our location last time was pretty good really - perfect view of the main stage, right in the middle of the action.

But the big problem then - and it'll be the same this year - is that so many people arrive first thing now that it's a major nightmare holding space for people. So either people need to be very organised - or we get a team of 'bouncers' to get there first and guard 'our' area.

Anyway, suggestions, anecdotes, advice... bring it on!!!

[Con]

think i was near yous!!! near the big blow up castle we camped beside good spot, we didnt get there until 5pm so im glad of gettin the spot we did.

you cant save spots for campin, if ya get there first take it.

[buzzingtalk]

your locatiom last year was horrible! downstream of the toilets and in the crap bit with no shade.

this year i shall be gewtting there mega early and setting up camp under a tree of some sorts

not near toilets and under shade for protection from sun/annoying sound of rain dropping on your tent all night

[baldmosher]

We usually camp up on the hill behind ID Spiral, there was plenty of room last year until about 6pm (mainly cos it's a long bloody walk to get there) and the view down the valley was incredible when it was all going off on Saturday night. Nice and fairly quiet, and were it not for all the mud, it would have been a pleasant walk down to the arenas. Also you're near to bed if you love having a nice chai latte at 4am!

CampGT had a very good spot though I reckon. Problem with bogs and taps is you're never certain which way is downstream until they flood

not near toilets and under shade for protection from sun/annoying sound of rain dropping on your tent all night

I'm bringing some white camo netting and a space blanket which will surely aid the shade problem.

[Jemo]

I camped between the Breaks, Overkill and Vapor Stage, plus near the ciggie store and general store, and the coffee place ...


fuck, it was a good spot lol.. .at the front FTW

[ThE99THReDBallooN]

I camped between the Breaks, Overkill and Vapor Stage, plus near the ciggie store and general store, and the coffee place ...


fuck, it was a good spot lol.. .at the front FTW

ye this was pretty much where we were aswell, grand campige

[beep]

I camped between the Breaks, Overkill and Vapor Stage, plus near the ciggie store and general store, and the coffee place ...


fuck, it was a good spot lol.. .at the front FTW

Yeah we camped around about there too. I'm thinking of camping up on the hill near idspiral this year for a change though.

Last year one of our tents got a load of shit stolen from it too which was a shame. What was the crime like further down the site as a few people around where we were camped got things stolen too

Cheers.

[casiokerry]

Ye who campeth near ID spiral, beware!
Never shall ye sleep, for the sub bass shaketh thy tent all night and day for four score and ten hours.

[PaulX]

Ye who campeth near ID spiral, beware!
Never shall ye sleep, for the sub bass shaketh thy tent all night and day for four score and ten hours.

Are you sure it wasn't my infamous snoring?

[barnett]

I camped up by the ID Spiral which was perfect in my opinion... It was close to toilets, a water point and when I needed sleep the nice chilled tunes from ID spiral helped

[Daft_Funk]

Camped near to the smelliest toilets known to man. Dear god it was bad.

[PaulX]

I camped up by the ID Spiral which was perfect in my opinion... It was close to toilets, a water point and when I needed sleep the nice chilled tunes from ID spiral helped

Ah, we (as in me and some friends, as GladTalk didn't exist then) camped round the back of ID Spiral in 2005. It was indeed a fantastic place to camp. The downside was that it was the furthest distance from everything except ID Spiral, it was where all the thefts happened that year and it was a bit too much of a trek for most people.

In 2006, the first GladTalk camp was held in that area too but wasn't terribly successful, partly because it was just too far for a lot of people, who decided to pitch where they dropped their stuff instead.

So that's why Camp GT was in a more central location last year. Yes, it was too close to the toilets - but that was basically because people were looking out for stuff I was bringing along (flagpole etc) rather than setting up a camp themselves. Unfortunately for me, I had all my stuff searched ridiculously over-zealously by some complete twat on the entrance and by the time I got there, that was the only space left that was anywhere near large enough - and even then it was disappearing fast, so a quick decision had to be made. Nobody actually had any problems from the toilets that I can remember anyway, we were lucky in that respect.

So basically, if people want a big organised camp this year, we need to get our thinking caps on and work out tactics.

[Beatmonkey]

Just need nuf people who look scary to get there early. I don't know what I'm doing travel wise this year but I will endevour to be there as early as possible (mainly so I start drinking ) and I'm not adverse to staying with you GT lot, I think about 3 of my mates are going so far, don't know how many others I'll be dragging in my wake.

[PaulX]

I think now that we know the Glade site layout, it would be a good time to bump this thread up.

Now, can those who want a Camp GT get their thinking caps on?

Last year we camped near the top of the hill on Church Paddock. Absolutely perfect in terms of being close to all the action - but it was a nightmare holding on to space for people and we ended up being a little too close to the toilets as a result...

The thing is that the Church Paddock area fills up very fast on the Thursday. One reason why everyone is in such a rush is that the only times you're allowed to bring in your own booze are between 12 noon and 6pm on the Thursday.

So basically if people want to camp in such a premium spot, they really do need to be there right at the start as the competition for spaces there is fierce.

[shakyjane]

The best place for me was camping just up from the breaksday, close enough to hear the music but far enough not to feel like we were camped where everyone was walking by (2005). The Id spiral camp (2004) was a nightmare because of the music keeping me awake and the huge walk, up at the back near the toilets was horrible (2006) and last year was not too bad but I was too close to the overkill for my liking.

[baldmosher]

Hmm. Still in two minds about joining CampGT, as I was last year, since I will be going with a load of good friends (albeit a fraction of the size of last year's rabble) and they won't appreciate me going off and camping elsewhere! However, let's face it, since everything is 5mins walk from everything else at Glade I might just do something different this year. It'd be nice to go out on a limb for a change!

I could attempt to place our camp near to GT if I got there early enough, like a GT overflow if you will, but as I tend to get down there later than others I usually don't have much choice on our camp location. I might be first down this year though, as our regular location-obsessive isn't going.

We usually camp up on the hill behind/above ID Spiral which is a superb location, and far enough from the annoying IDS 24/7 bass drone. Was almost full up by 7pm in '07, but in '06 we had absolutely loads of space. It is a very long walk from the car park though. Going back down it's OK but carrying your stuff up the hill is frankly a fucking nightmare especially if you need two trips. The hill can be rather steep up there, and I slide downhill during the night. This is only a problem if there's a puddle of water collecting in the bottom corner of your tent...

Hopefully I can persuade my lot to camp nearer to the stages, the "quiet camping" bit where the teepees were seemed to remain fairly spaced out all weekend last year but maybe that's just cos it was quiet camping...? It was certainly the only place you could find grass by Sunday, although the main path was a total mire.

I've still got half an eye on the Sawpits if they're open, as location should be good (top of hill, fairly level, quiet, not as far to walk) but I suspect that area will probably fill up pretty quick as it's only small.

The NSB.co.uk camp is usually pretty well signified and cordoned off, do they have an arrangement with the organisers?

[fletcher]

Boldmosher - we must have been close to you then.

Camp Roadkill(TM) has been on the top of the hill near ID Spiral since 2005 - although last year was the first year we had got sorted out with a flag....

Prime location with toilets DOWN the hill, nearby water pipe, and far enough away from the main stages for a bit of peace if you need it...

[baldmosher]

Probably not far, we were camped about 30 feet from the security platform, with an inflatable Mr Happy perched on a fishing pole. He stayed there the whole time! Approx 50 yds from toilets but unfortunately directly downstream from the water tap overflow

My mate on Facebook has about 6 albums from Glade, chances are your flag appears on one of the earlier albums.... what's the flag look like?

[fletcher]

Probably not far, we were camped about 30 feet from the security platform, with an inflatable Mr Happy perched on a fishing pole. He stayed there the whole time! Approx 50 yds from toilets but unfortunately directly downstream from the water tap overflow

My mate on Facebook has about 6 albums from Glade, chances are your flag appears on one of the earlier albums.... what's the flag look like?

A lot like this

With the genius wording of "road kill" written half on each side so whichever way the wind is blowing you can still read half of it..

Think i need to re-paint it after last year, not suprisingly, some of the paint ran in all the rain...

[boki]

It was an Italian flag to suit the green, white and red colour scheme of the old board, so maybe it'll change this year(?)

[baldmosher]

If it ain't broke......!

[PaulX]

It was an Italian flag to suit the green, white and red colour scheme of the old board, so maybe it'll change this year(?)

I dunno about the flag, we'll see. I'm bringing one of these though:



And this time it's a bigger one, like the one in the picture, not the tiddler we had last time.

I think one of the mistakes last year was to rely on one person (i.e. me) claiming the space. What happened of course was that almost everyone who was near the front of the queue got searched thoroughly (to ridiculous levels) under the watchful eye of plod. I got seriously delayed by this while about a thousand people strolled past. So by the time I got to where we planned to camp there was hardly any space left, so we had to choose a less than suitable spot (poor Becca and Darren ).

So... this year, several people need to bring something identifiable with them (and a mobile that works at the Glade), so that whoever gets in first can start claiming space and establishing a camp.

http://www.skyblueleisure.co.uk supply useful telescopic flagpoles and stuff to hang off them. Or, as a cheaper alternative, you can get a cheap fishing rod kit from Argos and use that (you'll need something like a mallet and cold chisel or similar tool to make a hole for the rod handle to go into).

Perhaps everyone who's getting there early can post up a picture of something they could use as a landmark when they get one?

[baldmosher]

the Italian flag was REALLY easy to spot.

NSB have a cordoned-off area in front of Breaksday, I dunno how that works in reality but I suspect most people will avoid a cordoned area out of simple politeness unless they know they're supposed to be within the cordon. You could use blue string and make a cordon bleu.

I doubt I'll be camping with GT this year, although I will make a more conscious effort to say hello and stick around for longer than 20 minutes this year

[PaulX]

the Italian flag was REALLY easy to spot.

Yeah, well apparently not any more as I can't find it.

NSB have a cordoned-off area in front of Breaksday, I dunno how that works in reality but I suspect most people will avoid a cordoned area out of simple politeness unless they know they're supposed to be within the cordon. You could use blue string and make a cordon bleu.

I don't approve of people cordoning off areas, to be honest. Everyone's bought a ticket, everyone has an equal right to pitch wherever they like within the camping areas. It's one thing for people to save a bit of space for a couple of mates, but bang out of order to cordon off an entire area.

[youllneverbe]

I like the idea of a GladTalk campsite... it's gonna be odd this year for me cos our numbers (by which I mean the campsite I'm in) have been steadily decreasing each year - 10+ in 2006, 5 in 2007, and it looks to be just 3 this year... it'd be nice to join a bigger campsite. I guess I'll see what happens.