Camping. Where and why?

[MikeEssex85]

stayed in Spring Ground before which was good, good view of the site, got lucky with neighbors. Big problem is that it was too far away from much of the site so ended up walking so much, especially if you like the South East Corner / Shangri La, etc which my mates and I do. So on that basis, think we are gonna try Dairy Ground this year, looks centralish to all the locations, no real potential to flood unlike Pennard Hill Ground, and its not as ridiculously cramped as Pennard and Oxylers is. + Arcadia and The Park are on your doorstep.

[ghostdancer1]

same as above, i'm thinking the top of Dairy Ground.

close enough to Park/Other and not too bad of a walk to JP/SE Corner, without the madness of Oxylers

will probably wait until the lineup is out just in case there's loads on the JP/Pyramid that i want to see, but more likely to be stuff on Park/Other that i'm interested in.

Edited February 19, 2015 by ghostdancer1

[craigyb31]

Our first year last year and stayed in Pylon and will be doing the same again this year, perfect for gate A and close to the dance village and main stages and quiet on a night. Bit of a trek for the se corner but you cant have everything.

[The_Amazing_Oblong]

OP - Difficult to have both 'room' and not be miles from somewhere. All the centrally located camping fields will be rammed so I think it's either/or.

Have camped in a few places over the years but unless it's forecast minging wet we tend to camp in Oxlyers as it's close to everything and I am more an Other stage kinda guy. Need to get there as soon as gates open though as it fills up real fast.

[Michaels denim shorts]

We were just off the path in pennards, by Arcadia, we didn't quite camp together because it was rammed (2pm weds) but didn't care, I spent communal tent time at my mates tent (which got trashed) then strolled the 15m through tent city to my own tidy sanctuary only for sleep.

Woken up by the other stage at the crack of noon most days. Perfect central positioning, um, ish.

Previous years I've done by the jp,- quieter but a way out, dairy fields, better for older folk/kids but lacked the atmosphere & east campervan field,- way too far out, quiet & the hill is a killer

[Jimmyeatspeople]

Stayed in Dairy near the lockups 3x in a row. It's close to the Park, SW Corner, close to Other stage and has long drops pretty close and downstream of where we've been. Absolutely ideal spot. Arcadia being close didn't affect us much either. Am I right in thinking Arcadia stopped quite early up there last year?

[grumpyhack]

Always used to be the top of Big Ground for us - unlikely to be hit by rain, close to flush toilets and a 24 hour cafe. Also reasonably quiet at night, apart from the throb of generators, and not too rammed if you get there early.

But as I've grown older and gone for the caravan option it has to be CV East 23 or 24 if possible.

[Spindles]

Stayed in Dairy near the lockups 3x in a row. It's close to the Park, SW Corner, close to Other stage and has long drops pretty close and downstream of where we've been. Absolutely ideal spot. Arcadia being close didn't affect us much either. Am I right in thinking Arcadia stopped quite early up there last year?

Doesn't it sometimes get a bit, well....swampy?

[The Nal]

CV East 23 or 24 if possible.

How do you make that "possible"? Last year we went where we were told and ended up in East 17. Deep deep down in East 17 etc etc.

Fucking miles away! 20 minute walk from the pedestrian gate.

[Jimmyeatspeople]

Doesn't it sometimes get a bit, well....swampy?

Only ground trouble we've had there was in 2011 when it pissed it down all day on the Wednesday but the whole site was like that.

The pathway between the lock up and long drops has a tap/basin at the top of it and inevitably by the 2nd or 3rd day there's a stream of mud flowing down the hill but only on the pathway.

[JoeyT]

What time did you arrive Nal? We arrived 5.30pm ish on the Tues and got closer to the gate than we had when leaving earlier in previous yeas!

Edit: always say family camping...

Edited February 19, 2015 by JoeyT

[The Nal]

What time did you arrive Nal? We arrived 5.30pm ish on the Tues and got closer to the gate than we had when leaving earlier in previous yeas!

Edit: always say family camping...

Arrived at 5.30pm! Or close to it. Family camping it is

[Dog Burger]

Oxlyers every year from 1998-2013. Always happy with it. Nice and central, good proximity to main stages, dance village, Park, railway track and West Car Parks. Livelyish, and have never struggled to get a camping spot. Decided to have a change last year and went for Hawkwell, between Pyramid and JPT. Again, nice and lively, good proximity to Beat Hotel, Mandela and Cider Bus for drinks, had no trouble getting a good spot mid-morning Wednesday and it didn't get crazy busy. Would happily camp there again, and probably will this time round.

[Spindles]

Yeah, I always thought anyone camping the other side of the path from the lockups was mad. It was 2011 that made me think it looked just as bad at times on the lockup side, to be fair. I liked Dairy, good mix of people from groups of late teens to middle aged and family groups, I'd heartily recommend it to anyone who was trying the festival for the first time.

[donthaveacoolname]

Mi always head for kidney mead, bit of a slope so never any flooding issues, close enough to gate b or c good for WH Theater and circus, acustic and pyramid with Williams green at the bottom of the hill. Bit if a treat to JP Other dance and park but you can't have everything. It's not too bad for SE either.

[Badlands]

Only ground trouble we've had there was in 2011 when it pissed it down all day on the Wednesday but the whole site was like that.

The pathway between the lock up and long drops has a tap/basin at the top of it and inevitably by the 2nd or 3rd day there's a stream of mud flowing down the hill but only on the pathway.

We've parked behind the lockups up by the tap/basin for the past 4 years. Always just off the path so you don't have to trip up other tents on your way back. I'd be reluctant to camp next to a path normally but it's not really a busy throughfare so you don't get a great deal of traffic.

There was a group of Aussies who pitched up right next to the toilets last year even though there was plenty of room. Deary me, how they managed to put up with the stink I don't know.

Arcadia was finished about 3 if I remember but had no problems with noise if you were in bed before that. Its arranged so you only hear music when your within the speakers. Other than a muffled explosion, we couldn't hear a thing. I thought it was a great location last year.

[pie_and_a_pint]

Im hoping to put four tents in Big Ground. Does anybody know how fast it fills?

We only just got space for three little tents at 9am last year. So yeah, fast.

I've not camped in the busier parts but walking through some when it has rained it gets pretty bad. Big Ground seems to get bad when there is rain and the obvious edge of camping areas, Lower Mead springs to mind, gets boggy due to foot traffic.

Anyone had any really bad experiences with mud/water where they have camped?

I wouldn't camp too close to the toilets at the bottom of Kidney Mead. Of all the loos on site, they're the only ones that ever seem to smell...

[The Nal]

There was a group of Aussies who pitched up right next to the toilets last year even though there was plenty of room. Deary me, how they managed to put up with the stink I don't know.

These sorts of people should be castrated so they can't breed. They are fucking up the human race. Every year theres a gang of dribbling chimpanzees who set up camp right beside the flushing toilets up by the Big Ground. A stench of piss and shit for 5 days and the noise of the slamming doors every 5 seconds too.

Edited February 19, 2015 by The Nal

[sheffieldlady]

I have never bothered with central camps - mainly because I never get there early enough / get the coach. Always gone for the further away camps, usually Bushy Ground, lot's of space, quiet at night and close to the dance village / JP.A trek from SE corner though. I always regert and moan not camping nearer if I've ventured that way on an evening. Think I would rather that then the walk on the Monday morning to the car / coach. Getting the cough this year so will likely opt for a similar area.

[LondonTom]

Thinking I might return to Park Home/Dairy this year after spending last year in Hitchin Hill, the walk up the hill at night is a slog and I think you see more being on the otherside of the railway track as you pass more.

Park Home/Dairy is ideal as it doesn't super super packed like Penards/Oxylers but you are still not that far away from most places that and found it pretty easy to pop back in the day for extra supplies.

[ChrisTGA]

It's sounding like Oxlyers is going to be a good bet!

[donthaveacoolname]

I wouldn't camp too close to the toilets at the bottom of Kidney Mead. Of all the loos on site, they're the only ones that ever seem to smell...

Plus the ground levels out at the bottom of the field so in wet years I've seen some very messed up pitches, just sitting in water.

but if you go up the hill a bit its great IMHO

[home to you]

We camped at the top of Pennard Hill Ground (just up the hill from the other stage, by the ice cream truck). Loved it there and definitely aiming to head to that spot this year. The atmosphere was good and everyone was friendly! The location was ideal too as it was close to most of the areas I was interested in (other stage, the park, WH, glade, silver Hayes, charging tent...) I wouldn't recommend to anyone trying to sleep well though as the noise from Arcadia is quite noticeable

[dirtymookie]

It's my first time this year and it's just me and my 13 year old, we're going in a campervan and was wondering on people's opinions between East and west van fields?

[cornish hick]

If you think of Glastonbury site as a small city (which basically is) :-

The centre is the Pyramid / Other / WH etc

the 'inner city campsites' areas are more cramped and noisy

the 'suburbs' have more room and are quieter.

I've been in South Park last couple of years - quiet and plenty of room but bit of a commute