1) Camp on the hills above mainstage. Anyone camping in the dip deserves to drown. Tent openings face downhill if you're bright.
2) Baby wipes are your friend.
3) As are wellies.
4) Take at least two bog rolls - if you have to go, you need to line the seat in addition to the traditional use.
5) Eat veggie - much less chance of food poisoning.
6) The beardie weirdys near the acoustic tent do a great brekker - just don't engage them in conversation (serious wackjob fundies)
7) You can never have enough bin bags.
8) Don't take anything you can't face losing.
9) It's just rain.
10) Enjoy yourself.

things. This list I did of what to take to Glastonbury has proved popular (although the papers are full of such things)
I should just have a good time and don't worry you'll miss more than you'll see.
http://www.divshare.com/download/951802-d4a

after years of going to gigs, this is the first time i've been to an outdoor festival, and I can't wait.

Must admit the ever growing line up, much of it good, is giving me a problem though. Is it worth making a mental list of all the bands I want to see, then try and get to see them, or should I just go with the flow? There are numerous bands i would love to see, but the advice given seems to say, 'dont rush round like a madman trying to see every band as you won't really enjoy yourself'?

Congratulations DrJ, hope you have a great time

Lose yourself in the faraway fields. It shouldn't be a list ticking exercise for the bands, it should be a list ripping up of your expectations. Away from the hurly burly it will seem more avalonian and less rock concert at oxford circus in the rain.

Will you be missing the Virtual Glastonbury on this blog? No chance of mud or sunstroke and perhaps that nice Mr Ellen might give us a song this year.

selling "erm" biscuits, avoid! Avoid! Avoid! It's neither the real Maradona or real biscuits.

Completely agree with Retropath on the main stages. Find your own festival without chasing some timmings on the programme.

make sure you have a hat for the day, and do go up to the stone circle as darkness falls. Enjoy!

If it's hot and sunny make sure you've got plenty of Factor 25 and a good hat. You might find that visiting some of the indoor venues will give you some respite from the heat, so check out the Cabaret Tent, Astrolabe and Circus Big Top in the Cabaret and Circus Fields. Other indoor venues such as the Avalon Tent and Acoustic Stage and Dance East or West are worth a visit. Interestingly, the same ploy applies if it is pissing down with rain - those venues become a great refuge.

Once the sun goes down it gets pretty chilly, so if you're out and about a woolly hat and a few extra layers are worthwhile. There's some great all night stuff going down at Shangri-La and Trash City, as well as The Rabbit Hole up in The Park. The fire show in the theatre/cabaret area can be pretty good, too.

See in the dawn up by the stone circle if you can cope with the amount of smoke generated by countless campfires.

Check out the green fields and theatre/cabaret end of the festival - it's less crowded and more chilled.

Don't try and see too much, otherwise you'll be rushing around the whole time and only catching the last few minutes of each set. Just go with the flow and prepare to enjoy the most unexpected things en route.

Foodwise - I like Manic Organic (between Jazzworld and Greenfields) and Henry's Beard Cafe (has live sessions) in the Greenfields.

My biggest tip would be to take it as easy as possible... Theres nothing worse than running yourself into the ground early on at a festival and then not having the energy to stand for the rest of the weekend.
As I am sure you're aware Glasto is HUGE. So give up on the idea of catching the whole set of a band on the Pyrmaid Stage and making the dash over to the John Peel stage for another act that is starting 10 minutes after....it won't happen!
As a matter of fact, I'd advise avoiding the John Peel Stage altogether as it is miles away from anything!
It's heartbreaking making that choice and choosing between two of your favourite bands, but its far worse hating every minute of the band you have been looking forward to most because your legs won't hold you up anymore.

Unlike most other festivals, the camping at Glasto is actually inside the fence and is deliberately designed to be as far away as it's possible to be from where the steward directs you to park your car. Therefore you will have to carry everything you need to camp for the three days with you - including tent, wellies, drink etc. It can take up to 3 hours round trip to go back to your car for that forgotten but essential item.

You'll see that folk have devised ingenious means to carry as much as possible without killing themselves if they want a modicum of comfort or as little as possible if they don't care how they look and feel by Sunday.

Over the years I've upgraded from carrier bags to rucksacks to sack trucks to my current marvel - a 4 pneumatically-wheeled steerable gardening trolley with drop-down sides that draws envious looks from all at Gate B every time! (£54 from ebay if you're tempted).

Arriving on Friday? Then take a VERY small tent and an entirely readjusted personal space criteria as you'll be pitching in the odd three or four feet left twixt pop-ups and ill-stretched yurts.
Seriously, I last went in 2007 and - arriving late on the Wednesday night, my earliest EVER - spent an age trudging up and down trying to find a corner. We watched in disbelief as those arriving 24 hours later flung themselves despairingly under hedgerows and pitched on Pilton's answer to a Penny Black. I woke up on Friday morning with my elbow in someone's back. Next door.
So, accept the challenge or befriend an 'advance party' to jealously guard a couple of square metres of turf until Friday.
That's about it on the practical front - otherwise, take a few quid, good boots, some clean socks and no plans whatsoever.
No. Plans. At. All.
None.
And have a huge amount of fun.

Me? Sigh.
Latitude and its kid-freindly scale these days (although that, too, is fantastic and by far the most interesting/adventurous in terms of line-up)
But I'm still very jealous.
Maybe I'll earn enough Brownies for 2010...

Have a big load of fun. See some things, wander around a lot, feel free to start off conversations with random people, and make sure to pay a visit to shangri-la/trash city/stone circle after hours: don't just retreat for an early night!! These areas are particularly good after the main stages finish.

It's a shame you'll miss the friday, as Ray Davies happens to be playing then. Oh well. A fine memory of mine from years ago was wandering into a tent where some band, no idea who, were playing an elongated version of Waterloo Sunset, and they were clearly enjoying it very much! As were the audience. So if something looks or sounds interesting, go for it!

But most of all, don't be put off by foolish horror stories or worries, relax, and have a fantastic time at the biggest and best festival in the world!

Most of what's said here I'd echo. I'll add:

You can't see everything. Don't try. You can't even see everyone you want to see, even if the timings work on paper. Choose 4 or 5 bands you can't miss, make sure you make those, and don't sweat the rest. You'll end up not getting there because you hear something interesting / find the way blocked by hundreds of people anyway.

Camp up a hill. This is going to be very difficult if you don't get there on Wednesday or Thursday, but make it priority #1. But don't pitch your tent across other people's ropes, it's infuriating.

Take earplugs if you want to sleep. Dismiss me as a grandad if you wish, but it made all the difference on my last few visits.

Food gets cheaper (and arguably better) the further you get from the two main stages. I highly recommend the tea tipi although I can't remember where the heck it is. Buy food there, don't take it with you, no point missing bands to go and cook (although if anyone's going on the Weds/Thurs, I always take disposable barbeques and cook for those days)

Arriving on the Thursday it usually a bad idea, so prepare yourself for camping problems if you turn up on the Saturday. Avoid camping close to the stage amongst the chavs.

Familiarise yourself with how to get between the various stages. Give yourself plenty of time to get from one stage to another, as you may come across crowds all moving in the opposite direction.

Performances can be re-scheduled at the last moment for reasons that are not immediately clear, so you may find out that the band you particularly wanted to catch finished their set two or three hours before you arrive to see them. There is an SMS service you can subscribe to that gives out some of the last minute schedule changes - check the programme on arrival.

Any plan you have to see specific bands with probably fail, unless you stay just at one stage. Also be prepared for extremely long sound checks, particularly for the last act of the night. I spent 40 minute one year sat in a tent waiting for an act to finish their sound check, only to find that the act in question were awful.

The best act you'll see all weekend will be some novelty act on a minor stage somewhere.

On the way back, prepare yourself for long delays waiting for the shuttle service at Castle Carey station. It may be best to not even try to travel back until the Tuesday.

I usually manage to see everyone I plan to, but just make sure that there is a decent gap between them.

If you don't mind watching a few people from the back, take a small portable camping chair. You can get them for a £5 and they make it a much more relaxed experience.

Take cans if you can carry them, you'll save a fortune in both money and time at the bars. If you pack a small bag, you can take it out with you each day (I generally put in some compact waterproofs, a few cans, a bottle of water, sun cream, loo roll and anti-bacterial handwash).

See you there!

Avoid the Welsh Young Farmers selling magic mushrooms around the campsites. They're not magic (and possibly not mushrooms either). Mind you, I haven't been since 1985, so things might have changed a bit since then.

Work out the most you think you could possibly spend, triple it, and that's how much you'll actually need.