Victoria Coach Station

[joleen]

Hi there

Has anyone been to Glasto from Victoria Coach Station? My friend and I are wanting to know if there is any kind of police presence and whether you get searched or if there are sniffer dogs.... ;-)

Thanks!

[posthuman]

I would say that anything's a possibility. Given that there can be sniffer dogs at the entrance to Glasto, then I'd suggest that may be a bigger concern to you...

[CCCheese]

Hi there

Has anyone been to Glasto from Victoria Coach Station? My friend and I are wanting to know if there is any kind of police presence and whether you get searched or if there are sniffer dogs.... ;-)

Thanks!

[adamski]

Hi there

Has anyone been to Glasto from Victoria Coach Station? My friend and I are wanting to know if there is any kind of police presence and whether you get searched or if there are sniffer dogs.... ;-)

Thanks!

[fishyfate]

Victoria Coach Station is right next door to Belgravia Police Station...

[HurrahBrother]

I've not seen/noticed the police and sniffer dogs at the coach station.

Based on previous years.

One big queue.

Busses rolling in, loading up and heading of in batches of 2, 3 or 4, turn around between batches, about 15 minutes (so around 8-12 coaches an hour).

I'd advise getting there an hour early as the queue can be that long.

Maybe a couple of officers walking about but mainly its national Coaches staff looking flustered (and a bit jealous!).

[Sam Crawley]

As one of the busiest transport interchanges in Europe, there is always a reasonable police presence at Victoria.

[joleen]

Ooh no not a question of going without... know this sounds lame but normally my friend sorts it out but now we're two girls going alone so trying to work out the best method...as it were!

[bigtitt]

I've not seen/noticed the police and sniffer dogs at the coach station.

Based on previous years.

One big queue.

Busses rolling in, loading up and heading of in batches of 2, 3 or 4, turn around between batches, about 15 minutes (so around 8-12 coaches an hour).

I'd advise getting there an hour early as the queue can be that long.

Maybe a couple of officers walking about but mainly its national Coaches staff looking flustered (and a bit jealous!).

[HurrahBrother]

If anything, i'd say a little less disorganized. They are a little more rigid on the times, dividing people into coach loads. but if a coach is leaving with seats going, they will put out a call.

[nina3d]

I'd be prepared for it - had an incident with police at Victoria coach station years ago, and it wasn't glasto, I was just on my way to liverpool. My rollies caught their eye, and after they'd searched through my tin with no success they thought I might have knives in my rucksack. Fools. As if I didn't have enough to carry already. They were about to take me away to search me because I wouldn't empty my bag (because I didn't want to miss my coach), but then they got a more important call on their radio and ran off, not before telling me I'd got away with it this time. Which made me really indignant, because I didn't have any drugs or knives. Knives! For goodness sake.

Anyway. They had police with sniffer dogs at Paddington rail station last year.

[G1T]

They have dogs at Paddington all throughout the year anyway.

[joleen]

Thanks. Gonna have to get inventive with the hiding then... ;-)

[Oakridge]

Can confirm that old bill + sniffer dogs were @ Paddington station last year before the festival.

Can confirm that old bill + sniffer dogs were not @ Paddington station this year on Cheltenham Gold Cup day.

Edited June 19, 2009 by Oakridge

[PennardHill]

Anyway. They had police with sniffer dogs at Paddington rail station last year.

[G1T]

For as long as the police are assessed in part on the quantity of drugs seized, it's a free win for them to pick up as much personal possession as they can when people likely to be carrying drugs congregate together. Same reason Isle of Wight and Bestival have dogs all over them.

Oddly enough, Avon and Somerset police put out a press release in 1998 saying they weren't going to be looking for personal possession of weed on the way into glasto that year. The policy's since changed.

[TomHodder]

For as long as the police are assessed in part on the quantity of drugs seized

[sprocketrocket]

They have dogs at Paddington all throughout the year anyway.

[HandFedFred]

Same reason Isle of Wight and Bestival have dogs all over them.

[al_coholic]

Makes me a little angry, I know its the role of the police but it just seems a little heavy to be searching people in London on their way to a festival in Somerset.

[PennardHill]

Strange it being the law. What are you suggesting the police allow you on the train as long as you smoke all the sh*t before you get to somerset

Edited June 21, 2009 by PennardHill

[travelling mr pastry]

yeah but event policing is only about being seen to be doing something rather than actually doing something. ofcourse the really big dealers take their stuff down in cars or vans but getting the intelligence on serious gangsters and quantities moving about is hard work, whereas putting a snifferdog next to a place where you know there is going to be a crowd, some of who will have drugs is very easy. it makes them look and feel like they're doing something and helps with the drugs stats, which is all the cops really care about.

[luckys7777]

hello,

just found this thread so joined this site to fill you all in...

i was on a national express coach today

(thurs) lunchtime going from brighton to london victoria, the coach stopped outside london for a while, and then when it turned the corner it was surrounded by police.

the police came on board with weird raygun looking ghostbusters device and scanned above every passengers head and our bags and were told to stay seated as they did this to everyone.

then when we get off the coach they also grabbed random poeple and spilled bags out over tables etc.

it looked as if they were doing every single coach going into the victoria.

i felt lucky as normally my riucksack would be full to the brim bulging with green but i turned over a new leaf a year ago and gave all that up. seems i was right in doing so.

cheers

[markeee]

wow didn't know they do that

can they do that too? search you for no reason?

[redmad1971]

wow didn't know they do that

can they do that too? search you for no reason?