Those who have never been inside the super-fence of Glastonbury will see mud and music – with arguably poor line ups – but this renowned festival holds so much more. Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts is, as its title suggests, more than just a music festival. For five days in June, the fields around Pilton transform into a small city with an eclectic mix of live music, comedy, poetry, literature, a circus, a cinema, an enormous market, places to make crafts and reflect on life and the environment – not to mention a whole field dedicated to kids!

You will find something to do, see or take part in, no matter what your tastes. If you are new to the festival, or want to get more out of your experience, here are some tips from a seasons Glastonbury goer:

Get lost! (but find landmarks for your tent)

The festival site is enormous and a lot of walking is involved (comfy shoes are a must!). But one of the real ways of getting to know the festival site and coming across unexpected things is to go out there and explore. Be it finding the wishing tree in the Green Fields, with hundreds of people’s wishes tied to the branches, or seeing some performers roaming around the Circus fields, there is always something out there to find. Planning your days full of wall-to-wall music isn’t necessarily the best way to get the most out of your Glastonbury experience (although of course the music is a part of it – just be aware the stages are not very close together). But, please make sure you know where you are camping – tents that look like yours keep on springing up all the time!

Visit the sacred space (also known as the stone circle)

The sacred space is a large field when people sit and chat around a fire and soak up the atmosphere. The overriding sound from here will be drumming; from dusk to dawn, people are drumming away around the stone circle. At night your view will be of twinkling lights across the site and hundreds of small fires, enhanced by fire jugglers. In my five years of going to the sacred space, I have not yet managed a sunrise, but it is apparently very special at dusk and through the night. If you can manage to stay awake it is apparently worth seeing this spectacle. But you can get a good view across the site at any time of day from here.

Eat somewhere different everyday

Who said festivals means living on burgers and chips? There are so many places to buy food at Glastonbury and such a huge range of choice and prices. Prices, as you would expect, are more expensive by the stages, and they tend to be cheapest in the Green Fields. But there is plenty of choice for everyone to eat something different each day.

Go and see something different

If you have been to see your favourite band and there is nothing on that you want to see for a few hours, what do you do? Why not have a wander around the theatre, circus or caberet areas. Or, go over to the healing fields where you can take part in yoga or get a massage – last year I even saw a group of people sitting in a line and just laughing!

The music

I know so this article hasn’t focused on the music much, but the line up and the many stages tend to speak for themselves. The iconic Pyramid stage will host acts such as Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Blur, Madness and Lilly Allen this year. Or the slightly ‘more indie’ Other stage will feature Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand and Prodigy among others. The John Peel Stage is under cover, more intimate and full of smaller, up-and-coming bands mixed with some more well-known artists including Echo and the Bunnymen and Javis Cocker. There are many more stages scattered throughout the site: the dance arena, the Park, the Avalon stage… I could go on and on… But instead, I will leave you here with a taste of what is to come and I will see you in a field soon!