Around Glastonbury - combine this legendary festival with the myths & Roman heritage of Southwest England and the striking underground scene of Bristol & Cardiff. On this unique round trip, explore medieval architecture as well as urban street art. Head to the idyllic & mythical English countryside before enjoying the best in Rock and Pop music on one of the world’s most iconic festivals.
subTOURING isn’t about mainstream sightseeing. It is travelling inspired by music. A hand-picked guide from passionate music lovers for enthusiasts of Rock, Indie, Metal, and Punk tunes. Offering a unique music travel experience from Around Glastonbury.
Get your authentic music experience on this road trip.
EXPLORE THE MUSIC MAPSCheck out the venue and city guides on the way from Around Glastonbury. They focus on what to do before and after the concert. Get our best tips for day activities including record stores as well as bars and restaurants.
Get the most music out of your trip. Hit the road. Follow your band.
GET YOUR GUIDESightseeing inspired by music
On this round trip Around Glastonbury Festival, follow the traces of Rock, Pop, and Indie legends. Enjoy some days in vibrant urbanity, historical places, and truly mythical spots.
Explore hidden music gems when on tour. Discover music stories beyond the common sightseeing spots. Where history of Rock is revealed and brought to life again.
Glastonbury Festival in Southern Britain is not only regarded as one of the must-sees for any festival fan, but also iconic as one of the world's most famous music happenings. To make it an unforgettable experience, combine it with a round road trip around the festival surrounding area including Wales. A ground boasting with live music venues and bars.
On this subTOUR, discover the historical importance of places like Bath and Wells. Walk on cobbled pavements and explore the greatness of impressive medieval buildings such as Tintern Abbey. Enjoy the vibrant city life in Cardiff and Bristol. Finally, learn about the myths around Glastonbury. Further highlights along the way include super-funky record stores for shopping vinyl, comfy pubs, and sightseeing spots with music history appeal.
Our recommended subTOUR includes 3 to 5 nights during the round trip.
Cities, festivals and venues on the subtour
In this section, find useful information about the festival you are heading for on this road trip. Try our recommendations for what to do before and after Glastonbury Festival.
On your way in between, also check out the city guides below to get our best tips for accomodation, day activities as well as bars and restaurants. Why not experience a gig in one of the other live venues on this subTOUR?
Get your authentic music experience on this road trip with subTOURING.
Use the map to discover the venues from Around Glastonbury with surrounding places to enjoy before and after the gig.
When heading to Glastonbury Festival, it’s probably all about this final destination in your mind. But why not already explore some live music on your way to the festival ground? When in Bath, head to The Forum, one of the best live venues in town. For great music evenings in Cardiff & Bristol, Motorpoint Arena and Colston Hall are the right spots whereas Clwb Ifor Bach offers small but incomparable live acts. For more live music experiences, explore our full list of cities, venues, and festivals.
Pop Rock from Bath
90s Britpop superstars
Trip Hop pioneers from Portishead
Rock meets anything from Wales
Rock band with Welsh roots
Welsh Rock formation
Post Hardcore from Wales
Former Rock combo from Wales
Bristol Post Punk
Trip Hop from Bristol
Electronic duo from Bath
Bristol Hardcore Punk
Brief history of Glastonbury Festival and around
The music scene of the Glastonbury, Bristol, and South Wales area is thriving and significant. Numerous notable bands were born in this region.
With its incredibly varied music scene, Bristol is said to be one of the most musical cities in the UK. It is typified by its urban culture and is most associated with the Trip Hop genre by artists such as Portishead or Massive Attack in the 80s. Also strongly connected to the city: a group of artists who emerged during the 90s, defining the so-called Bristol Sound. This sound can be described best as possessing a darkness that is uplifting. A joyful melancholy. The style was perfectly typified by the song Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack. Since ever, Bristol has also been home to bands combining Punk, Funk, Dub, and political consciousness. More recently, a new wave of Bristol-based left field bands such as Idles have been promoting themselves across the UK underground, standing for Post Punk and Hardcore. Not to forget: the city also has a popular Jazz and Blues scene and is home to numerous record stores as well as live music venues including Colston Hall or O2 Academy alongside smaller and more intimate locations.
Bristol city maintains an active and diverse underground urban scene characterised by a strong relationship between music and art. Especially graffiti art can be seen throughout the city. A founding member of the band Massive Attack, Robert Del Naja, was originally a graffiti artist, and local graffiti artist Banksy has become world-famous.
Cardiff and Southern Wales are not less famous for their music scene. From being the home of the world’s oldest record shop, Spiller Records originating in 1894, to producing world-famous bands like Stereophonics, Super Furry Animals, Funeral for a Friend, and Manic Street Preachers, there's no surprise that the city offers very popular live music venues around. The music in the Welsh capital has been dominated mainly by Rock genre since the early 90s with later trends developing towards more extreme styles such as Heavy Metal or Metalcore. But also Folk and Indie up to Jazz are present.
Glastonbury Festival finally is a huge five-day festival of contemporary performing arts, annually attended by around 175,000 people. The first festival took place back in 1970. In addition to modern music, the festival hosts dance and comedy sessions, lectures, movie screenings, along theatre, circus & cabaret performances. Glastonbury Festival is deeply inspired by the ethos of the hippie and counterculture movement, attended by all kinds of people, of all ages, nationalities, lifestyles, faiths, and musical taste.