The Left

---

to take

For the majority of the Glastonbury Festival 's 50-year history, which was not payment for a ticket is the only way to get them - if they were ready to take a few risks, get a bit dirty and Run fast in The Dark . Adam Bloodworth speaks four gate Crashers About their dramatic experiences with The Fence .

You either go over or down and under.

On The Other side of The Fence , you will reach no-man's-land, or-more precisely-a large, free-lying ring road is patrolled by security personnel 24/7. Make it over, and it's still a Fence - Plus There is bound to be thick with mud and pouring with rain.

It is a little different now, But historically, for the legions of Glastonbury participant, the entry into The Festival without paying, was a rite of passage, an essential part of the Glastonbury experience.

In the 1990s, as The Festival increases in popularity rapidly, burglaries were particularly widespread. In 1995, it is estimated That the 80,000 bought Tickets and as many again gate crashed.

Weak fences, corrupt security teams, and The Sheer number of revellers arriving at The Site led to something in the vicinity of anarchy, and, perhaps surprisingly, Michael Eavis , founder of The Festival , actively promoted it. A year to The Farm owner woke up in The Night and with fork lift trucks moving a Fence to allow to get to 2,000 revelers. A devout Methodist, Eavis religion teaches tolerance and acceptance, explain it.

But after an incredibly turbulent year for the burglary in the year 2000, the Eavis saw a monetary penalty for violation of license conditions, his team built a "super-Fence ", when The Festival back in 2002, an end to mass break-ins.

"The Fence That we had, at That time [in 2000] was a Mickey Mouse affair," Eavis wrote in his book, Glastonbury 50: The Official history of the Glastonbury Festival , in the Last Year have been released. "In addition to The Good weather we enjoyed this year, large crowds of people came and just walked in. "

He had the design of a new "super-duper-Fence " from the Monday after The Festival , and not to give up started, even if The Price increased from £300,000 to £1m.

"I knew I had to build it," Eavis wrote. "In truth, I had never realized, whether people are Paid or not, as long as we have enough Tickets sold to go to. But it was clear we had to be able to pay taxes and keep it Safe . "

not to say The punters don't try to Break In . I stewarded for Oxfam on a vehicle, the entrance gate of The Festival in 2011, and risk-takers would Run past us Once or twice per shift. We were often soaked in the Delirium to stand up and frozen by The Night - and sometimes also the runner made.

Another Time , a Security Guard , a Maglite flashlight, threw in a runner's feet. After a few more steps, he was slowed by the mud and fell as the security Caught Up with him.

technology has also contributed to the intruders to deter. Gate crashing now requires feigned to be, bracelets or photographic identification, or borrowing of a friend and pretending to be.

I spoke with some people who have managed, under or over The Fence in The Last three decades.

Julie, 1993: "It was, as a girl among boys over The Top !'

I first skipped over The Fence in 1992, But my memories are a little blurry.

In 1993, we went to the bottom in Auto-convoy. Only God knows where we parked. We went through some of the fields in the vicinity of the Stone Circle late in The Night , and through some dense trees and came to a clearing in the vicinity of The First Fence .

It would be a security patrol every 15 Minutes . The People would scream That you come and we had to wait, under tree cover, with maybe 40 people, all trying to Break In .

It was very well organized. For one thing, it was clear who is to pay £10 "entrance fee": a young man in a high-vis jacket. He was a corrupt guard who had cut a hole in The First , outer Fence .

I was a bit nervous, But we could see There were Other People . I thought, "That 's fine. "

She could see searchlights in the air, high up on poles. You had to wait in a queue to go through The Hole in The First Fence . It 30, maybe 40 people were in a queue, as you could only go through one at a time.

In The Second , a larger Fence , I remember thinking, "How do I get over That ?" Someone said: "the girls go through a hole, and the guys over The Top . "It's been About 12 ft tall must.

It was chaotic and it was a bit of fear. But I thought, "This is what everyone does, so it'll be fine. "

My girlfriend, Susie, was a little bigger, so they decided over The Top with The Boys , and you twisted your ankle, as they came to The Other side. I always remember That - She spent drunk the whole weekend.

I did, and it was a high feeling. Everyone was excited and shouting: "yay, we did it! We are in! We are in!"

Everyone knew That you could break at That time. Late in The Night , She would with another human, who had come over The Fence . You would ask where you had it done and how much they would be Paid .

There were so many more people, the toilets were even worse, because so many people just jumped over The Fence .

It's true, The Festival its edge, lost after the 90s. It was more of a difficult time Back Then , But it is a much better festival now for everyone. Safety is important, and There is now the correct number of people. Everyone looks to each other, the food is amazing and it does a lot for charity.

Martin , 1998: 'a 12 ft Fence to rest on her stomach feeling'

Me and my best friends Otto and Baz (a proper Essex boy) were on the smash on a caravan holiday in Newquay. At The End of the week it was in Glastonbury, so we clamped a tent, if we dreamed of back stop on The Way .

We decided to go for it. On Friday afternoon we headed in the direction of The Festival in Baz's Astra, registration number BAZ 132Y. I remember it was World Cup 98, England against Colombia this afternoon. We arrived at The Festival at eight o'clock in The Night and began to walk to the main gates.

We met some people That break were in the steered to The Left in the direction of Some Trees .

We saw Security Guards on foot and in Land Rovers around The Perimeter of The Fence , and a lot of dodgy-looking people.

Martin (far right) and friends

We thought of "Bloody hell, we want to ambush us. "In Those Days , The Money was in their pockets. At The Time , we didn't have a lot of money - we would have lost, we would have Lost Everything .

If you stand next to The Fence , you realize How High it actually is. And That was The Fence in front of The Super , was built for the year 2002. You high must have been at least 12 ft.

We found a gap. There was a hole under The Fence . There were Other People in the vicinity, and this guy near us got a ground sheet and pushed it through The Hole , and The First man went on his back, head back, and his buddies by pushing his legs.

I was up next. Imagine yourself lying on The Floor , on a floor-sheet, the mud coming over the edges, so you basically lie in the mud. It was horrible, horrible. And absolutely you tighten it down.

I lay on my back, As If they were on a slide, But go ahead down and to the back of the head. Imagine There is a wall Behind You : you have to put your head under the wall.

As it has up To My waist it was tight. They are looking up to this Fence right in front of you. You have 12 feet of Fence That is effective on your gut feeling. But I came through, and The Other threw on The Bags .

Otto got his hips and got stuck. And he began to panic. It's 11 o'clock at Night . I told him to breathe in, stop and start, you are deep, because he was in a panic. But all what I hear from The Other side of The Fence Baz was laughing. All he could see was Otto's legs wiggle About in the mud. None of us could stop laughing.

finally, Otto went on, Baz followed and we would use it in The Festival

Martin (far left) and friends, Ruth, 2000: 'I tent broke, But my punishment was camping at the 24-hour-techno-'

I jumped The Fence a couple of times, I feel pretty guilty, so I'll pay you back now by the recycling team each year. It can be Hard Work , But I love it.

In the year 2000, it was a choice to go to a really wobbly head, and the payment of some scousers or go through a hole in the "high security Fence " and the payment of, some of the Brixton boys. Both options were organized gangs, which looked Very Scary and organized. I opted for The Hole , because the head looked very dangerous. I think I Paid £20.

I would like to apologize for That .

glastonbury, music festivals, long reads, glastonbury festival

Source of news: bbc.com