As you drive into the village, helpful people, often sporting uniforms marked "Police" will guide you towards the entrance to the Festival. They are your friends, and will welcome a joke or two. A note about the police appears later, but for now, just know that they, like you, chose to be here. Nobody forced them, they want to be at the Festival, saves buying a ticket, and they get paid to listen to the music. They think it's a good deal.
Once you get to the entrance, you'll find a parking space if you need to buy a ticket. If you have a ticket, show it to the person on the gate. In return, you will be given a rubbish sack and, possibly, a note from several worthy groups in the village stating where local people will be cooking breakfast (to raise funds for a good cause) or where a boot sale will be held (to raise funds for another local amenity).
A quick word about the rubbish sack. If you put the detritus from your tent in it, it will make clearing the campsite really easy when you go. Simply knot it at the top when you leave, discard it in a nearby skip. Easy, ain't it? And so simple, yet so well thought out. You'll find that this festival features lots of well-thought-out ideas.
As you drive through the entrance, smiling marshalls will indicate where to go. If you have small children and prefer silence at night, you'll be directed to the family field, where music is not welcomed after 11-ish. If you have arrived on a motorcycle, you'll be directed to the bikers field - experience has shown that bikers like to be together. If you are in a motorhome, or towing a caravan, there's a special field for you, too. Camper vans are welcomed on the tented fields.
Hopefully, you're reading this on the FC list FAQ. (If not, royalties are due!) FC listmembers like to camp together, so we organise a convoy so that we all arrive together. This way, we all get directed to the same area. Details of the convoy usually appear on the list in early August.
Right, you're in a field, the tent is set up, the liquid refreshment of your choice is in your hand, what next? Go and get some water, you'll need it. Taps are nearby, and a note on them will tell you if the water is safe for drinking, or if it is for washing/boiling. If it's not yet 6-ish on Thursday, have a wander around the field, chat to neighbours, or take a walk down to the village (of which more later). Nothing else is happening, until the tent near the entrance to the main field opens. If it's open, there will be a queue outside it.
The people in the tent will exchange your ticket for a wristband. Showing the wristband will get you into the main field. Try not to lose it, it will be impossible to get another without paying again.
Shall we head off to the main field? Why not.