In a few week’s time, thousands of music lovers will again descend on the small Somerset town of Glastonbury for the music festival. Local rumour has it that Paul McCartney might take to the pyramid stage this year. For a few days, a huge tented city will appear and ageing hippies and others will be able to escape their everyday lives.
However today I am going to introduce you to the town of Glastonbury rather than Michael Eavis’s farm. Tickets to the festival sold out long ago and you can no longer gain entry to Worthy farm by climbing the fence.
Glastonbury is situated on the Somerset levels a few miles from Wells. A round grass covered outcrop of sandstone known as Glastonbury tor rises to over 500 feet nearby and is visible for miles around. people have lived in the area since Neolithic times and one of the oldest roads ever discovered is close by. It is known as the sweet track after Ray Sweet who discovered it in the 1970s. Tree trunks that were laid to provide a track over nearby marshes have been dated by dendrochronology to 3,800 BC. The peat oil preserved the wood.
Glastonbury Abbey is the earliest Christian monastic site in Britain and by the time of the Domesday book it was the wealthiest abbey in England. In the 10th century one of its abbots St. Dunstan devised the coronation service that is still used today including that for Queen Elizabeth 11. It featured in Mathew Paris’s map of the world of 1250 and continues to attract visitors from around the globe.
Glastonbury, Myths and Legends
According to local folklore, the nearby camp at Cadbury was the Camelot of Arthurian legend. When Cadbury camp was excavated archaeologists found evidence that it had indeed once housed an important person. Glastonbury itself has been associated with Avalon where Arthur is said to have fought his last battle.
Monks at Glastonbury abbey claimed to have found the coffins of Arthur and Guinevere in the 12th century. However, this was shortly after a fire at the abbey and the more cynical among us might think that they saw it as a good way to raise funds for the restoration. Part of the myth is that Arthur is still sleeping and that if England is in danger he will awake to save the day. There was renewed interest in this myth during the second world war.
Another legend about Glastonbury is that Joseph of Arimathea the man who looked after Christ’s body after the crucifixion visited Glastonbury and where he touched the ground with his walking stick a holy tree grew.
The Glastonbury thorn is a hybrid Hawthorne tree and there is a specimen in the abbey grounds.
Not your average high street
Nowadays Glastonbury is a strange mixture of Christian and Pagan. You can still visit the ruins of Glastonbury abbey and say a quiet prayer in St. Patrick’s chapel. But in the high street, shops sell crystals and magic potions. When we were there this week a group of men dressed as Morris dancers were parading through the town carrying a tree trunk which was destined to become the new maypole. Many of the female onlookers had colourful long skirts, embroidered blouses and flowers in their hair and the men had long hair and beards. We climbed up the Tor and were accompanied by a group performing some sort of eastern meditation to the sound of a single drum.
May day is an important date in the pagan calendar and I felt Harry Potter and friends would have felt at home.
If you want to find out more I recommend this website Normal for Glastonbury
If you enjoyed this post, please leave me a comment.
33 responses to “Glastonbury more than just a music festival”
We lived in Cheddar for a year while on a Teacher Exchange back in the early 90s, a big adventure with 3 young daughters aged 3, 6 and 8 all the way from Australia! We discovered Glastonbury while living in Somerset and whenever we go back to visit (our daughter lives there today) we always do a stroll up the Tor, look at the Abbey and take a wander through the local streets and village shops. It never ceases to amaze me how it has become such a huge festival since the first time in 1970 as it is usually just a small, but very interesting, village. Your history and information was informative – I love all the history!
I think the tor is getting steeper. I struggled a bit to get the photo! Paul McCartney has just played at the festival, the oldest ever headliner at eighty.
Oh, very interesting. Thank you for sharing. I love the photos of the abbey and the tower.
This was a very interesting visit. I loved the photos. I mentioned once that I worked for many years in Glastonbury, Connecticut in the States. It’s an infant by comparison, but it figured in our early colonial history. It’s wonderful to be able to compare them.
I did not know you had a Glastonbury as well. I wonder if there is a connection.
I always joke that people left England to find a better life, but then named cities after the ones they left. Glastonbury, Connecticut is just south of Manchester, CT.
Interesting post! I love that tower on a hill and the narrow street of shops at the end! I’d love to visit Glastonbury some day, when we can be free to travel again!
I’ve read a number of novels that have Glastonbury in them, usually in connection with Arthur, so it’s quite interesting to me to actually see pictures of the town and the Tor. I, like Norm, like the colors in that first shot.
janet
I always imagined fairyland to be full of pastel colours.
I do love the colour combinations in that first shot 🙂
[…] from Bristol or Bath across the Mendips hills. You can also combine a visit to Wells with a trip to Glastonbury, home of the music festival, the Clark’s shopping village in Street or Cheddar caves. The […]
Glastonbury sounds like a very interesting place to visit! I love the historical value of that town. Your photos are great and I felt like I was on a tour! Thanks for linking up with us at the #WednesdayAIMLinkParty 38
Hi The Platinum Line,
Great review of Glastonbury and you are right, its so much more than the festival.
I have been to the festival and it was great but you don’t really get to see actual Glastonbury and some of the cider they sell at the side of the road as you drive in, well, I’m certain you could run cars on the stuff!
As a village it is has loads going for it and if you are a fan of UK history and lore, there is plenty going on.
The Tarot reader looks to be enjoying the sunshine in your pic, but I wonder if she foretold that she was going to have her picture taken! 😀
All the Best,
The Reverend
Thanks for visiting. Somerset cider can be surprisingly strong especially homebrew.
I had no idea about much of this, but then I’ve never really ventured to this part of the UK much – I love the fact there was a tarot reader out on the street though, that’s so cool! Great post, thank you!
As our eldest daughter lives in nearby Cheddar, we always make a trip to Glastonbury to walk up the Tor and take in the sights! It’s such an interesting place with so much history and many stories to tell. Thanks for the trip back to Glastonbury, it’s a long way to go from Australia 🙂
I would love to visit Australia. On the other hand I can visit Cheddar or Glastonbury using my free bus pass.
We had fun visiting the eccentric town of Glastonbury and enjoyed reading your take on it.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
You’re welcome😊
Even though I live in North Devon, I have never been to Glastonbury #grandmasbriefs
When I was a young teenager I fell in love with the tales of King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot and Merlin the Magician. I would love to visit this area someday.
It’s been years since I have been to the festival and the town and would like to visit both again but yes totally agree the town has it’s own identity beyond the festival
Laura x
Thanks so much for linking up at the #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty 37! Shared x 3 ♥
Thanks Dee. I hope you all like my efforts.
We have been to Glastonbury, not to the festival but just as a stop over and it’s gorgeous!
Love that purple shaded building at the top. I can just smell the wonderful aromas that are inside!!
The festival isn’t really my kind of thing but I would definitely like the history! Sounds like a lovely place to visit.
I agree about the festival. I could not cope with the mud.
As I am hoping to have many recurring trips to England (our youngest son lives there), I have added this Music Fest to my Bucket List. I greatly appreciate vicariously traveling through England with you, and look forward to more!
I just wish I could join you in Mexico
Wow, I had no idea about, well, pretty much any of the history if I’m totally honest. The theories around Arthur & Guinevere and other legends, like with Joseph of Arimathea, are fascinating! I really like the sound of Glastonbury as a place to visit, especially the diversity and colour and laid-back vibe. I’ve never been but it’s going on my bucket list of places to check out. Nicely covered in your post 🙂
Caz xx
Thanks for the compliment. I am not sure what the locals think but it is an interesting place to visit. I think the modern word is instagramable.