caravan ?

[guitarbhoy1888]

might be in the wrong place

next year will hopefully be my first glasto

were thinking of getting a touring caravan (not a camper van)

are these allowed?

are there certain sites you have to go to ?

do you have to buy a different ticket ?

[eFestivals]

Yep, caravans are allowed. They are lumped in together with campervans in how the festival deals with them.

You'll need to buy a campervan/caravan ticket along with your entrance ticket.

There's now two 'sites' for the campervans/caravans, the 'East Campervan Fields' and the 'West Campervan Fields' (which were used for the first time last festival) - so take your pick. Both are outside of the main festival site (camping is within the main festival site), meaning that you have to go thru the entrance gates to get from your accommodation to the festival (most people are already inside in their tents, so there's not big queues).

Hopefully someone who has used the West fields will be able to give you a comparison with the East fields for how they thought they were.

[guitarbhoy1888]

cheers

is the caravan sites far from the main arena

normally go to T and its obvious that glasto is a lot more vast :

would you recommend a caravan instead of camping :/

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Here's a copy of the map of the place, although it'll not give you true scale;

http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/data/image/map6june11.jpg

I would personally recommend camping because you are in amongst it that way, in my opinion. However there will be others who rate the luxury of caravaning over anything else. It's really a personal choice. Remember though that you'll have to go out of the gates every time you want to go back to your caravan. This therfore means you have to go back in through the gates every time you want to get back in. I only mention this in case you are trying to get some 'medication' in each trip as you'll increase your chances of getting caught.

[eFestivals]

cheers

is the caravan sites far from the main arena

normally go to T and its obvious that glasto is a lot more vast :

would you recommend a caravan instead of camping :/

If you've never been, I strongly recommend that you camp and get the full experience.

There is no "main arena", there is only the festival site with everything (except car parking, and camping & caravans, and pre-pitched camping) within it.

The places to camp that are the nearest to the stages are probably the worst places to camp (tho i guess some people might choose them). The best camping places are a walk away.

It's certainly possible to be in a campervan off-site and be nearer to the places you like on site than you might be from camping in a tent on-site (as I discovered last year), but as a general rule the campervan/caravan fields are further away than if camping.

[Neville Street]

We have always camped in the middle (Kidney Mead for last 5 festivals) but last time we put our Camper Van in the East Van Fields for my father in law to use and we camped in Kidney Mead as usual. We ended up going to see him or whatever most days, and it was fine, and we have pretty much decided to camp in the van fields next time. An extra few minutes walk but a proper bed and don't get baked out of your tent in the morning/flooded.

[guitarbhoy1888]

how much are the camper van tickets ?

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Taken from the Glasto site;

In 2011, Campervan / caravan tickets cost £75 and were sent by Royal Mail Special Delivery at a cost of £4.50 per order.

There's been no word of the prices for this year as far as I'm aware.

[grumpyhack]

We've done Campervan East for the last couple of years with a trailer tent but earlier this year I bought an old lightweight touring caravan specifically for festivals. It's a 2 berth but with an awning that doubles the size.

Used it for the first time at Wychwood and was delighted and will be taking it to two more fests this summer. However when I booked for the IoW I discovered that they didn't allow caravans - though motorhomes and campervans were permitted.

Mind you I won't be going back to the IoW anyway - see the IoW thread about a total fiasco of a festival,

[dingbat2]

Depends why you are buying the caravan. If it is specifically for festivals to avoid slumming it then I wouldn't bother, spend you money on a largish tent, which has sleeping pods and a separate area to sleep. Then camp in one of the outer fields. You still get the full experience, and you get loads of space to pitch your tent. And you can still find room for a few creature comforts such as a stove, chairs, etc. need a wheelbarrow to carry all your stuff to your pitch though, but it's definitely worth it IMO

We bought a caravan a couple of years back after we had kids so we could go away more often, more cheaply, and caravanning itself is a great experience, I personally wouldn't take my caravan to a festival because it might get messed up and muddy, and more importantly half the fun is camping in the fields with the other festival goers

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I've stayed in one mobile caravan and quite a few static ones over the years. I've had nothing but fun in them. Part of me would like to experience that bit of luxury at Glasto and part of me (currently the bigger part) wants to stay camping. I'm sure the vibe is good up in the caravan fields but feel it can't quite be the same as being in amongst a shed load of other revellers packed in like sardines in a tin.

[dingbat2]

Absolutely, I love cAravanning, and more importantly my kids love it. Just being somewhere different, outside, is great and the fellow caravannrs are usually the same, always helping each other out and chatting

But I wouldn't do caravanning at a festival myself, half the fun is camping in a big field with fellow minded festival goers for a few days. Still escapism, just a different type of escapism. Both great, but in different ways

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Another thing with me is that unless all my mates had caravans / campers then I'd miss out on having so much fun being away from them. Mind you there was a splinter group forming last year who said let's get a tipi. Fortunately I don't think it'll get off the ground as once again it'll mean sleeping away from the main block of friends.

[abdoujaparov]

Depends why you are buying the caravan. If it is specifically for festivals to avoid slumming it then I wouldn't bother, spend you money on a largish tent

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I guess your going to have fun regardless of whether you are in a tent or caravaning / campervaning.You might have a bit more security though in a caravan / campervan as you'll have locks on the doors. Then again, I know someone who had their whole caravan nicked at Glasto ( now wondering if I've said that before on this thread. Loosing my memory this end!).

[Douzeper]

I'm sure the vibe is good up in the caravan fields.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

From what I have experienced in the campervan fields the three or four times I have stayed there, there is no vibe whatsoever.

[Douzeper]

Oh dear, that doesn't sound good. I thought everybody would all be getting on like a house on fire. Even more reason to camp then.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

Maybe it was just where we ended up, but it was very hard to get a "good morning" out of anyone never mind a conversation. I would go back to a tent if I was younger

The worst experience we had though was the MyHab camping. A totally lifeless area, what prompted me to ever book a posh camping area I will never know.

[abdoujaparov]

I guess your going to have fun regardless of whether you are in a tent or caravaning / campervaning.You might have a bit more security though in a caravan / campervan as you'll have locks on the doors. Then again, I know someone who had their whole caravan nicked at Glasto ( now wondering if I've said that before on this thread. Loosing my memory this end!).

[dingbat2]

But taking a caravan is no different to taking a tent. You don't leave anything you don't want to lose in the caravan, not that you would want to take something valuable to Glasto anyway. And put a lock on the caravan wheel

Scumbags are just as likely to roam the caravan field as they are the camping fields I would imagine, just a posher sort of scumbag

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

we used to have a VW camper van that was less secure than a carrier bag...you could get in with harsh language. I once unlocked the driver's door with my front door key

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

But taking a caravan is no different to taking a tent. You don't leave anything you don't want to lose in the caravan, not that you would want to take something valuable to Glasto anyway. And put a lock on the caravan wheel

Scumbags are just as likely to roam the caravan field as they are the camping fields I would imagine, just a posher sort of scumbag

[grumpyhack]

It has to be each to their own. We go as a group of five and have had tents in the main site and a trailer tent in the CV fields. Next year (tickets willing) we'll have a caravan in CV East with a couple of small sleeping-only tents alongside.

Our group gives us all the companionship we need over a late night mug of cocoa and a good brekkie fry up. We actually got on very well with our CV field neighbours and went round to theirs for a few beers and vice versa and didn't find anyone in the CV fields 'stand offish.'

We also regularly meet up with other friends at Glasto who often also don't stay in the main camping fields - one, for example, works for Festival Medical Services, who have their own camping area and another stays in stage crew quarters. So, even had we been camping we wouldn't have all been together.

In part it may also be an age thing. I'm now a Glasto 'oldie.' I don't go there to get pissed and spend the day nursing a hangover. I go to bed at a sensible hour (usually about 2am), have a decent night's sleep, so I can walk miles each day and really enjoy all that the festival has to offer.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I don't go there to get pissed and spend the day nursing a hangover.