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Glastonbury in a wheelchair (Summer 2026 - Forward)

After popping her Glastonbury cherry in 1994 and last going in the mid-noughties before her spinal cord injury, Lizzie Tench shares her experience of the festival after attending last year for the first time as a wheelchair-user

After many years of failure on ticket release days, my brother and I would jokingly ask, “same time next year for some more disappointment?” as we wondered how on earth some people managed to bag tickets every single year when we couldn’t even get a sniff of the cherry, let alone a whole bite. But, in 2025 it finally happened! We managed to secure our long-awaited tickets to Glastonbury!

If you too, are lucky enough to win the Glastonbury lottery, then you might be wondering how it is to go as a disabled person, and if I’m honest, I was terrified.

Tickets

To be in with a chance at the Glastonbury ticket sales, you must register by their deadline way in advance. Only then are you allowed to attempt to buy a ticket. Once you’ve secured your ticket, if you are disabled, you can then apply for a free companion ticket if (and only if) you have a Nimbus Access Card (www.accesscard.online). If you are allowed a companion, they can sit on the viewing platforms with you (they need to take their own camping chair for this purpose as chairs aren’t provided). They can also use the short cut routes with you. If you’re in a larger group, other members won’t be able to sit with you, and they will have to walk the long way around the festival.

As well as a companion ticket, you can apply for access to viewing platforms, accessible toilets, and short cut routes to make passage around the site a bit easier. You can also apply for accessible parking, and there is a free shuttle bus to take you to and from the car park. The shuttle bus also runs a timetable around some areas of the site during the festival, but it wasn’t very frequent so we didn’t use it a great deal other than getting to and from the carpark – one shuttle bus takes three hours to complete a circuit of the vast site.

Camping

We camped on Spring Ground campsite, which is the accessible campsite. There is also Wicker Ground for accessible campervans. Spring Ground is on a hill, so you might need a push up, but there is always someone around, so I never found this to be a problem. You can camp with your companion and up to two other people. We camped with my brother and sister-in-law. The staff at Spring Ground are friendly and helpful. We had two tents and plenty of help to pitch them.
Insert pic map of accessible site in this bit pls.

You can charge powerchairs, add-ons and mobile phones on Spring Ground. We took a high-capacity power bank for our phones – Vodafone works best since they sponsor the festival. I bought a Pay As You Go Vodafone SIM for the occasion. There are two urns of hot water running constantly on Spring Ground so you can have hot drinks at any time of day or night and use it for porridge pots, soup, etc.

TOP TIP ROUNDEL: I would recommend labelling everything with your name and contact details in advance of the festival.

Getting around

When I arrived on Wednesday, I initially felt overwhelmed going around the site as I hadn’t remembered it being so hilly. Things looked different as a wheelchair user to my former able-bodied self. I used a power add-on and knobbly tyres to get around the festival. Even so, I had to get pushed up the hills. Due to crowds, you often can’t achieve any momentum or gain traction on the rocky tracks. The grass is actually easier than the paths in many places. I would not attempt this festival without power or you will be 100% reliant on others to push you around. To try to self-ambulate around the site would be too much for even the fittest athlete – I cannot stress this enough.

As a wheelchair user, light yourself and your chair up like a Christmas tree at night. I had a very bright headtorch that flashes red and green lights. This made the difference between people moving out of my way or tripping over me.

Top Tip roundel: Your PA/companion should ensure they have boots that won’t rub. My companion walked thousands of steps every day and suffered from painful blisters.

GLASTONBURY ACCESSIBILITY access map

Showers

There are showers on site (with massive queues unless you go in the evening when bands are on or in the very early hours of the morning). It was so hot while we were there, that I sometimes showered using a portable shower that I took to the festival, sitting on the grass in my bikini. I used the accessible showers twice, but I got very hot and sweaty trying to get dressed in there afterwards and the queue took over an hour. My own portable shower was cool, but refreshing, and I didn’t get sweaty afterwards. Companions and guests are not allowed to use the accessible showers.

There are two ‘Changing Places’ facilities at the festival, typically featuring an electric bed, toilet, sink and celing hoist – though users must bring their own hoist slings. One is on Spring Ground and the other is over the other side of the festival site. Access is very strictly controlled and you must apply in advance of the festival to be able to use them.

Toilets

As well as the ‘Changing Places’ (see above), there are accessible Portaloos around the site which are kept locked with combination locks – you must keep the combination codes secret to preserve these facilities for those that really need them. There are also many unlocked Portaloos at each of the viewing platforms.

At night, a head torch is a necessity when using Portaloos because you will need to be hands-free. I also wore an indwelling catheter with a flipflow valve for the entire festival. Self-catheterising in dirty toilets with unclean hands is likely to result in a UTI. You also want to avoid transferring to those toilet seats. There is regular cleaning, but you can’t rely on it.

Top Tip roundel: You won’t fit in the Portaloos with one of the hired mobility scooters so bear this in mind unless you can walk a few steps.

Weather

We were incredibly lucky with the weather so the ground stayed intact. There isn’t much shade around the site, so you need SPF50, a good hat, sunglasses, and something to cover your shoulders. I have endured three muddy Glastonbury festivals in the noughties and it was exhausting as an able-bodied person. Add one line about whether getting around would be possible in a very muddy year.

You play Russian Roulette with the weather Gods when you buy your ticket, and then you pray hard.

Music

Arrive at popular acts well in advance because the viewing platforms fill up. Woodsies stage, which is in a tent and has limited capacity, is the nearest stage to Spring Ground, so there were too many access customers competing for the same platform space there. Crowd control at Glastonbury has improved from previous years, and they will close areas that have reached capacity.

Summary

If you fancy Glastonbury but you’re scared, don’t be. Access-wise it’s one of the best. Nothing is perfect as it’s farmland, but if you go with a ‘can do’ mindset, forward planning regarding your bowels, bladder, mobility, and sleeping arrangements, the right people, and a love of live music you will have the time of your life.

This article was featured in the Summer 2026 issue of FORWARD, the only magazine dedicated to the spinal cord injury community.
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