Mud, mud, glorious mud! The swampy boglands of Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

I think it’s fair to say that the Glastonbury festival of fifteen years ago wasn’t one of the best.

After a promising sunny start, the site swiftly degraded into a depressing brown landscape of sticky mud, quagmires, small lakes and boggy marshes. By heck it were grim –  and here’s the photo evidence:

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Lagoons were created and rivers had to be crossed to purchase essential supplies.

Wellies were at a premium, but given the conditions, slipping into a pair of dry boots was probably a more enjoyable experience than snorting a bumper line of the finest marching powder known to man.

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Can you feel the fun?

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Much of the festival was spent trudging through deep mud.  some were ore prepared than others.

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Seating areas became non existent, so you’d find yourself standing all day, unless you were unfortunate enough to overdo the beer/drugs and find yourself falling facedown into a gloppy abyss.

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

It really wasn’t flip-flop weather.

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

The never ending muddy trudge.

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Some campers were woken up in the middle of the night to find torrents of water flowing down the hillside and into their sleeping bags.

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Some tents were nearly entirely submerged, while some portaloos were reportedly upended in the height of the storm, spilling their grisly contents into the brown mix.

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Abandon ship!

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

This was a bit like  watching a lo-fi version of ‘Escape To The Country.’

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

A hug in the mud.

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud everywhere.

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

There’s only one who dives into the mud.

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud as far as the eye can see.

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

A gazebo lost the will to live.

Venturing out into the night.

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Mud, mud, glorious mud! Glastonbury Festival in photos, June 2005

Naturally, the sun came out on the last day.

Despite the grim conditions, I still found plenty of pockets of fun and returned a couple of years later, full of optimism for better things. Sadly, I was proved wrong again.

Update to add this grim video

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