Queue into Gate D on Wednesday

[west49th]

Hi everyone,

It's my first time at Glasto this year & we're planning on camping in the Dairy Ground. Looking at some of the messages on this site, it looks like the worst of the traffic & longest waiting times to get in are on the west side of the site.

My boyfriend's had the idea that we could park in one of the east carparks then take our gear through (we've got trolleys for our heavier gear so hopefully it won't be too bad although a bit of a trek). My thought is that by the time we've done that, we may as well have queued on the west side & done a shorter walk.

So what does everyone think? Should we head east or west? We're driving down from Birmingham and are looking to get there on Wednesday about 7am.

Any advice would be really appreciated!

[p.pete]

There were terrible queues at both B (east) and D (west) last year for many hours from when the gates opened. Then a few hours later I think gate C was packed (east). You could end up miles away on the East, face just as bad a queue, but have your stuff further away if you need to pop back to the car at any point.

Some people who contacted the festival to complain last year have received word that they'll try to avoid what happened last year, but I have no idea what their plans are, or whether they'll work out or not. I think the general conclusion is that there's no guarantees in anything, you can plan based on last year but it's likely that something else will happen.

I think we'll be going for East again this year because we're coming from a SE direction and we plan to camp that side of the festival, but I'm praying we don't get put in car-park E2 again, but for all I know things will work fine there this year and the problem will be somewhere else. Prepare for the fact that there could be a huge queue, try to have water with you and try to just carry what you need on that first trip. And if there is massive queues don't rush back to the car for a second load of stuff, relax for a few hours and enjoy the site and take a wander.

[cerv]

Hi everyone,

It's my first time at Glasto this year & we're planning on camping in the Dairy Ground. Looking at some of the messages on this site, it looks like the worst of the traffic & longest waiting times to get in are on the west side of the site.

My boyfriend's had the idea that we could park in one of the east carparks then take our gear through (we've got trolleys for our heavier gear so hopefully it won't be too bad although a bit of a trek). My thought is that by the time we've done that, we may as well have queued on the west side & done a shorter walk.

So what does everyone think? Should we head east or west? We're driving down from Birmingham and are looking to get there on Wednesday about 7am.

Any advice would be really appreciated!

[glasto-worker]

It does not matter how many times a person has been before as its impossible to know in advance about traffic flows - gate queues etc etc - all anyone can do is guess and even then that estimate could be out by ten or so hours .

What I do know about that is not a guess is if your planning to camp in Dairy Ground { or the west side } then it makes no sense at all parking in the East.

In fact I can predict that if you did enter from the East you would soon be ditching your bags - even with the best trolley in the World its still a very long slog - I would not do it when the site was empty.

Getting from A to B may not look all that far on the map but when you are on the ground there is no one way streets { well not daytime anyway } so people are coming at you from all directions so trying to shift bags is a complete nightmare.

Below is Gate D - this image was shot just a few minuets after Gate D was opened up to ticket holders last year on Wednesday morning - I cant say why there was no mad rush as I was already onsite as I work for the WBC Crew so I did not walk though Gate D - I think they were checking tickets and bags which delayed the flow.

At least if you enter by Gate D at least at the start everyone will be going the same way the path you see is the path that goes directly up to Dairy Ground but of course it did get far busier later on but by then I was busy.

Its years { over two decades } since I camped in the normal camping areas but if I had to I would camp as close to Gate D as I could - sure its a longer walk to the stages but that is not a problem - its shifting gear that is the problem.

[cejx]

Hi everyone,

It's my first time at Glasto this year & we're planning on camping in the Dairy Ground. Looking at some of the messages on this site, it looks like the worst of the traffic & longest waiting times to get in are on the west side of the site.

My boyfriend's had the idea that we could park in one of the east carparks then take our gear through (we've got trolleys for our heavier gear so hopefully it won't be too bad although a bit of a trek). My thought is that by the time we've done that, we may as well have queued on the west side & done a shorter walk.

So what does everyone think? Should we head east or west? We're driving down from Birmingham and are looking to get there on Wednesday about 7am.

Any advice would be really appreciated!

[KryziF]

Hey,

I'm thinking of doing that trek. I'm coming from Cov and my advice would be don't go down the M5 and then the A39, A361, last two years we've queued 12 & 9 hours basically nose to tail all the way from the M5. We arrived slightly later at about 10am though. We were moving so slowly in 2009 I had enough time to get out of the car buy cans, crisps and go to the loo in one pub we passed and still we hadn't moved. Once we finally got to the pedestrian gates we didn't have to queue to get in though.

This year we're going to follow the instructions in the fine guide from the Midlands, which is M40, A34, A303 which brings you out in the east car parks. If we're feeling lazy on the day we might try cutting through the back roads into Glastonbury and then along the A361.

Edited June 16, 2011 by KryziF

[Ginganinja]

Hey,

I'm thinking of doing that trek. I'm coming from Cov and my advice would be don't go down the M5 and then the A39, A361, last two years we've queued 12 & 9 hours basically nose to tail all the way from the M5. We arrived slightly later at about 10am though. We were moving so slowly in 2009 I had enough time to get out of the car buy cans, crisps and go to the loo in one pub we passed and still we hadn't moved. Once we finally got to the pedestrian gates we didn't have to queue to get in though.

This year we're going to follow the instructions in the fine guide from the Midlands, which is M40, A34, A303 which brings you out in the east car parks. If we're feeling lazy on the day we might try cutting through the back roads into Glastonbury and then along the A361.

[precious_lillywhite]

Traffic is bad no matter which direction you approach from, they're tiny little country lanes not designed for the amount of traffic!

Head for the carpark nearest where you want to park, carting all your atuff across site is pointless, and you've not guarantee the traffic will be any better from another carpark anyway

[Lucanesque]

Last year we spent a good hour or so in slow moving traffic on the A303/A37, whizzed in to the car park (E11 I think), and then finally got in about 2-2.5 hours later after a mega queue to get to Gate C. You've also got the Hill of Death on the way out, which to be honest is just a hill but it can be hard going if you are either carrying the weight of a small pony on your back, or dragging one on the floor!

Our gang is aiming for Dairy Ground as well, but are going in on the West car parks, despite the risk of a queue, because it is at least half a mile difference walking in from the car parks (use Google Earth & Glasto Earth overlay to map out the path).

Although that said, feel free to use the East, it's one fewer car in front of us

[foundacure]

"Below is Gate D - this image was shot just a few minuets after Gate D was opened up to ticket holders last year on Wednesday morning - I cant say why there was no mad rush as I was already onsite as I work for the WBC Crew so I did not walk though Gate D - I think they were checking tickets and bags which delayed the flow".

Fab picture but I know why there was no mad rush at Gate D just after opening time....we were all penned into the West carparks being drip fed into the main Gate D area 2 by 2 - nightmare!!

Edited June 16, 2011 by foundacure

[Pipine]

Our party saw the massive penned in queue at D and 2 of us went up to A while the others stayed at D... the A gate was much quicker and alot less stressful by the sounds of it. Will assess the situation this year ... its always a bit of a gamble.. I'd rather walk further than be stuck in a penned in queue tho.

[foundacure]

Me too, I'm still prickly about it grrr! I'm going to do exactly the same as you're suggesting, friend of mine did it last year and worked a treat, happy days

[KryziF]

Has it really got that bad?

I haven't been since 2002 and always went M5, A39 route without any major queues. We are planning to arrive between one and two on the Wednesday afternoon using the usual route, but I've heard horror stories about massive queues to the west car parks. Should I break from tradition and go down the A37 instead?

[Helsbels]

Dairy is very very close to Gate D. There is no way on earth I would go intentionally to the East car park if I was planning to camp there it is such a massive trek. There were some problems at Gate D last year but hopefully lessons will have been learnt for 2011. Have a good festival

[Spindles]

Fab picture but I know why there was no mad rush at Gate D just after opening time....we were all penned into the West carparks being drip fed into the main Gate D area 2 by 2 - nightmare!!

[glasto-worker]

Fab picture but I know why there was no mad rush at Gate D just after opening time....we were all penned into the West carparks being drip fed into the main Gate D area 2 by 2 - nightmare!!

[cejx]

Last year we spent a good hour or so in slow moving traffic on the A303/A37, whizzed in to the car park (E11 I think), and then finally got in about 2-2.5 hours later after a mega queue to get to Gate C. You've also got the Hill of Death on the way out, which to be honest is just a hill but it can be hard going if you are either carrying the weight of a small pony on your back, or dragging one on the floor!

Our gang is aiming for Dairy Ground as well, but are going in on the West car parks, despite the risk of a queue, because it is at least half a mile difference walking in from the car parks (use Google Earth & Glasto Earth overlay to map out the path).

Although that said, feel free to use the East, it's one fewer car in front of us

[timespeedsup]

^

Gate C could be a Royal Mudbath amongst other things then.

Have been weighing up the East vs West options tonight, given a trek into deepest Pennards afterwards. West is better but not by a massive amount. & now to see how long it takes to cut across to West, plus there's usually a bit of a car queue that end.

Hope I'm feeling mellow Wednesday.....