Glastonbury 2016: Wandering around The Woods, the festival's newest area
What The Woods lacks in entertainment, it makes up for in being a shortcut to the Pyramid
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Your support makes all the difference.Every year, Glastonbury seems to get bigger and bigger; notably, over the last three years, Arcadia has seen the biggest change, having transformed from just being a gigantic spider opposite the Other Stage into its own, fully formed arena, filled with its own bars and superset stages.
This year has seen the introduction of The Woods, a wooded walkthrough, tucked away near the newly relocated John Peel stage. This in itself is a problem; the 'new bands' stage is now so tightly squeezed into its new area, leaving from the sides has turned into a huge struggle due to compact fencing.
Thankfully, if you're at the back and looking to shoot off to the Pyramid, things have been made that much easier. For what The Woods lacks in entertainment, it makes up for in being a shortcut.
Walking directly backwards from the John Peel is the biggest off all The Woods' entrances. As you enter the quite literal woods, a circle of wooden stools, chockablock with tired festival goers, greats you. From this point there are three paths, directing you to different parts of the festival, two of which are ideal in cutting through to the main stage.
So what's actually in The Woods? Not a whole lot. Each path is nicely decorated, with wooden structures swooping overhead, while art installations - from wooden badgers to light orbs - appear on either side, tucked away in the greenery. There's also a bar pumping out music, another feature more beautiful than practical seeing as there's not a huge amount of room.
Eventually, if you come from the John Peel side, the paths leads to a pond, surrounded by “No Swimming” signs and security guards; yet more multicoloured lights shine in the area, but why would you come here at nighttime to see it in all its glory?
Continue along a different path, yet more installations hang from the trees, each one offering a moment of beauty before you move on to the next minor attraction.
Having walked The Woods, it's fair to say the main attraction is that it works well as a cut-through - a very calm and beautiful cut-through at that.
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