Mud - a spotters guide.

Rain + 900 acres + 177,500 people = mud. And in many interesting forms.

First, you get the liquid mud. It's runny and slippery, but on the whole,'s not too difficult to maneuver (although this is what I fell over in.)

Then it dries a little, and gets lumpy. This is pretty dangerous mud, as it's unpredictable. You can't be sure if it's going to slide away under your welly, stay in place and support your weight, or splatter all over someone in a pink tutu.

But it's when it dries out further that things become really bad.

This is sticky mud, and it's deadly. If you stop moving for even half a second, it will claim your wellies mercilessly, leaving you with something of a dilemma - try and pull your whole leg out, boot included, try to wriggle around and risk falling over, or the worst thing in the world - yanking with all you've got, only for your welly to stay where it is and your foot to continue on it's journey, a bit like when a band breaks up and the lead singer goes solo.

This is the stuff that breaks ankles, twists knees and leaves you hanging onto complete strangers, apologising profusely and begging them to haul you out.

To be fair, and living up to it's 'friendliest festival in the world' reputation, most people will make a grab for you and hold you up if it looks like you're going over. I got wedged in the ooze somewhere near Webbs Ash Bridge and two drunk guys with florescent face paint gently eased me out by the elbows, with no account for their own safety. 

It's little things like that that make all the difference here, and make the mud seem incidental.

...a pretty big incident, but sort of..dwarfed by friendliness.