Glastonbury 2023: The Yorkshire Post's Steve Teale swaps National Trust gardens for Elton John, Arctic Monkeys and Debbie Harry

But guess what? I’m enjoying it.

My must-see list already includes Debbie Harry (77 and still delighting the crowds) and Toyah Willcox. They were key sounds of my youth and it’s fantastic they are here. Arctic Monkeys, of course, will be good to see and Sir Elton John will be a headline to remember.

Plus many of the lesser known acts will capture my attention between now and Sunday night.

It’s not all about music as Glasto veterans will testify. Comedy, theatre and cinema are a big part of the draw. Stephen K Amos, James Acaster and Nina Conti are on my to-see list and I’m looking forward to broadening my artistic knowledge with some poets I have never heard of.

More importantly, the facilities are good. I say facilities but I mean toilets. Stories abound of the horrific lavatories of old but they are wide of the mark this year, it seems.

I am here by chance. My sister Alison is with her stepdaughter Lily and Lily’s friend Liby. It’s Lily’s 18th birthday and Ali invited my partner Lynne and I to join them.

We never imagined she would get tickets because they famously sell out in minutes. But against all the odds she did.So here we are in a hired motor home (£2,000 sounds a lot but between five it’s manageable).

Tickets were £335 each, so it’s around £1,000 each excluding food.

Not cheap but for such a wide and varied event, it’s decent. And we have brought enough food and drink to avoid paying festival prices, which actually are cheaper than we expected.

Most of the events are afternoon and evening but a dawn visit to the stone circle is essential.

Morning yoga might also ease already stiff legs (14,000 steps on the first day according to Fitbit).Everyone told us the site was huge and we wouldn’t see all of it in the five days, and they were right. It’s more of a festive city than a village.

But the staff are amazing. Always smiling. Always helpful. The organisation is brilliant and there is no end to the choice of food and drink and so many outlets that queuing is rarely an issue.

The Bath and West motor home park where we are based is civilised. Better than the wilder camping areas closer to the stages by all accounts. But you do have a bus ride each day to the site proper to navigate.

So much so that this once in a lifetime experience may well become a twice in a lifetime experience. That’s if we can get tickets for 2024, of course.