The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
This film is part of Free
Glastonbury Festival and the First Pyramid Stage
Glastonbury ley lines for iconic pyramid stage to heighten a festival-goer’s experience
In partnership with:
Overview
TV reporter John Doyle joins the beginnings of the Glastonbury Fayre which is in its second year and very much rooted in the hippie culture of peace and love. It is the vision of Michael Eavis who owns Worthy Farm in Pilton and who was inspired by a Led Zeppelin concert he saw in Bath in 1969. Glastonbury is near Stonehenge and steeped in myth and legend and the festival changes days to join with the pagan summer solstice of June 20 in an attempt to harness positive energy.
Andrew Kerr and Arabella Churchill plan this original festival envisaged as a freer and less traditional gathering. Theatre designer Bill Harkin designs the very first pyramid stage and builds it above the Glastonbury Abbey and Stonehenge ley line, believed by some to give the whole festival a positive energy or vibe. The Pyramid Stage is a scaled down version of one of the giant pyramids at Giza in Egypt. Every decade the now iconic Pyramid Stage is revamped into a larger more powerful structure with an ever-increasing eclectic mix of music groups and stars that have performed on it. One thing is for sure, when you make it there on the Pyramid Stage, you have reached a career capstone!
Related
Watch for free
Travelling for a Living Travelling for a Living
Documentary 1966 45 mins Location: Kingston upon Hull
This "musical profile of the Watersons" is a precious document of the British folk revival, much of it shot in their hometown, Hull.
Watch for free
The Bardney Pop Festival The Bardney Pop Festival
News 1972 22 mins
Fly your freak flag high with this far-out film shot at the Great Western Express Festival in muddy May 1972.
Watch for free
The Adventures of the Son of Exploding Sausage The Adventures of the Son of Exploding Sausage
1969 13 mins
The Bonzo Dog Band freak out at the farm and strange sounds abound in this cheery, charmingly childlike stream-of-consciousness music short.
Watch for free
Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles
1973 7 mins
Prepare to be freaked out big time by a thoroughly theatrical 1970s psych-prog-folk-rock fairy tale from English eccentrics Jethro Tull.
Watch for free
Red Red? Red Red Red? Red
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1971 34 mins
Communal life is idiosyncratically portrayed through a series of theatrical happenings.
Watch for free
Byker Song Byker Song
News 1974 2 mins Location: Byker
Two musicians lament the changes taking place as part of the Byker Estate re-development in Newcastle.
Watch for free
Journey home to Canterbury Journey home to Canterbury
Amateur film 1930 7 mins Silent Location: Glastonbury
Join the Blighs on their homeward journey through the Southern counties - calling at Glastonbury and various ancient landmarks east
Watch for free
The Way to the West The Way to the West
Travelogue 1947 17 mins Silent Location: Cheddar Gorge
Hitchcock went the wrong way! Head south by southwest with this travelogue from Bath to Cornwall.
Watch for free
Cheddar Cheddar
Travelogue 1916 1 mins Silent Location: Cheddar Gorge
Pure tranquillity in rural Somerset, a world away from the war raging on the continent.
Watch for free
Cine Scrapbook Cine Scrapbook
Amateur film 1930 20 mins Silent Location: Harewood
There are some visual rarities in this fascinating compilation spanning three decades - featuring air raid shelter antics, switchback rollercoasters and aerials over Oxford.
Watch for free
Where the Cheese Comes From Where the Cheese Comes From
Travelogue 1926 12 mins Silent Location: Glastonbury
Blessed are the cheesemakers of Somerset in this tour of Cheddar and nearby Glastonbury.
Watch for free
One Summer in Somerset One Summer in Somerset
Travelogue 1968 19 mins Location: Weston-super-Mare
Hitch a ride with a glamorous blonde in a convertible sports car, and take a spin around the seaside town of Weston-Super-Mare and its surroundings.
Watch for free
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
Watch for free
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Watch for free
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.
Watch for free
Edgar Wright on The Running Man Edgar Wright on The Running Man
Inside Film 2025 28 mins
The director talks to Mark Kermode about putting Stephen King's dystopian life-or-death gameshow thriller through its paces.
Watch for free
Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 69 mins
Richard Linklater discusses his remarkable and wide-ranging body of work, including Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague.
Watch for free
Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 73 mins
Daniel Day-Lewis, the ultimate actor’s actor discusses his career in conversation with Mark Kermode.