Getting Out & To Bristol Airport Monday Morning

[SoCalMusicLover]

I might need to fly out of Bristol at 10:30 AM Monday. Any ideas on how early I should be planning to get up and start leaving the festival. I'm guessing it's approximately 90 minutes travel, so to get there by 9:30, I'll need to be on transportation before 8:00.

Is it that difficult leaving the site around that time, and will I need to be much earlier for public transportation options.

Also, do certain buses offer advance reservations, so I guarantee a place on the bus?

[incident]

The Monday rush tends to start just after 8am. Leave the festival site before then you'll find roads are fairly clear, and once you're on the road there shouldn't be any problems.

Looking at the coach schedules, the direct service is scheduled to leave the festival site at 8am, and arrive at the airport at 9:15am. I can't decide whether or not that's suitable.

If it departs on time then it'll miss most traffic congestion and probably arrive at the airport early, but any delay longer than 30 minutes would cause you problems. On the other hand, the journey time on a clear day would be much shorter than that so they've clearly built in a certain amount of flexibility.

[SoCalMusicLover]

Looking at the coach schedules, the direct service is scheduled to leave the festival site at 8am, and arrive at the airport at 9:15am. I can't decide whether or not that's suitable.

If it departs on time then it'll miss most traffic congestion and probably arrive at the airport early, but any delay longer than 30 minutes would cause you problems. On the other hand, the journey time on a clear day would be much shorter than that so they've clearly built in a certain amount of flexibility.

[tinkerb]

Thanks, I found that info after I posted. I guess anybody who has experience with leaving via National Express, could give insight as to whether they are reliable as to leaving ontime, and if it is really congested at 8 AM which would cause a significant delay. I think there is also a public bus service which goes from downtown Glastonbury to the airport, but I don't know how long it takes to go by foot from the site to downtown Glastonbury to catch it.

[tinkerb]

It's 6 miles from pilton to Glastonbury town. Might be a bit of a trek with your kit and tired legs!

[snipe]

Really dont risk it. Looks like the NE service this year is different as last year there was a changeover for National Express to the Airport Express at Bristol bus depot which could add a lot of time. This year the tickets claim its direct so if this is true it MAY be possible to do it but our National Express couch was about 20 minutes late last year. Considering the issues we had getting out in 2007 this didnt bother us at all but in your case this may make a big difference especially with the early morning traffic rush and you needing to be checked in on the plane. If the NE confirm there is a changeover at Bristol depot again then definetly don't risk anything more than a 7am departure but I'd say keep that in mind as your departure anyway to be sure.

[SoCalMusicLover]

There does not appear to be anything leaving Glastonbury before 8 AM via National Express to Bristol Airport. Are there any other options to get out of Glastonbury Festival, to say a train station, where I could catch something to Bristol-Meads station. Surely I won't be the only person without a car, that wants to leave the festival itself prior to the 8 AM rush.

[wosman]

You could always catch the shuttle bus to castle cary train station, would recommend booking a train in advance from castle cary to bristol and then get to the airport from there, trains should start around 6am i would guess so you should have plenty of time that way

[hazey_jane]

You could always catch the shuttle bus to castle cary train station, would recommend booking a train in advance from castle cary to bristol and then get to the airport from there, trains should start around 6am i would guess so you should have plenty of time that way

[SoCalMusicLover]

There is a 7:43 AM train from CC to Bristol Temple-Meads, that gets there just after 9:00. I assume that it's a fairly quick shuttle from there to the airport. Any recs on whether if I get to the shuttles prior to 7:00, if that's enough time, or do I need to be even earlier? What time do the shuttles to CC start, or are they 24 hours on Sunday night/Monday morning?

I guess another option is taking a late evening shuttle to CC, and getting a room there, so I'm able to be at the train station, or perhaps leaving even earlier, so I can catch the last train to Bristol on Sunday night. Are things at the festival quieter after the stages close on Sunday night? Do most people crash because they're so tired after the long weekend, and because they want to get an early start on Monday?

[paulo999]

If your flight is schedule to leave at 10.30, I'd recommend being at the airport for 8.30. British airports can be a very slow affair, even for domestic flights. (although I'm guessing Bristol will be a little easier than the London ones).

There's a train leaving Castle Cary at 6.38; then a change at Westbury, to go to Bristol. From there, there is an airport bus, arriving 8.25

That should sort you.

The other possibility is booking a taxi. What I'm not sure on at the moment is whether taxis will be able to pick up at Gate A. I'll see if I can find out, although the policy may not be decided yet.

[incident]

I really can't see the point of getting a shuttle to Castle Cary, then a Train to Bristol, then a Bus to the Airport. It's a very, very long way round.

If the National Express service to the Airport is too risky (I can't decide whether I'd chance it or not), then the Festival organises a semi regular bus service to Bristol Temple Meads Station, starting at 6am Monday. You can pick up the Bristol Airport bus from there. They'll be much less frequent than the buses to Castle Cary, but overall they'll save a huge amount of time and hassle.

If you ask at the info points during the festival itself, they should have a better idea of timings by then. Worst case scenario you can aim to get on the first one, leaving 6am or sometime not long after, and you'll be at the Airport with a couple hours to spare.

If your flight is schedule to leave at 10.30, I'd recommend being at the airport for 8.30. British airports can be a very slow affair, even for domestic flights. (although I'm guessing Bristol will be a little easier than the London ones).

[paulo999]

Ah yes, forgot about the Bristol shuttle.

(edited... removed comment about not being sure it will be running: Incident's link confirms it. Doh!)

Edited February 16, 2009 by paulo999

[incident]

Ah yes, forgot about the Bristol shuttle. New last year wasn't it, as a feeder for the bundled train tickets? No guarantee yet they'll do it this year, but that should be confirmed by about May-ish I'd reckon.

[Sam Crawley]

I defer to the other posters about local routes, but one suggestion I would make is that you might want to have a good weather and a bad weather exit strategy - in the unlikely event of terrible weather (ahem) then getting out will be much slower.. something you can take a call about Sunday night as to whether you'll get to see sunrise before heading off