campervan - getting on and off shambles

[Dexie]

"Website claimed that fields / access were being improved; hence delay in opening.  This is a lie.  There was no attempt to improve access and boggy tracks were still boggy after they opened.  All I saw was marshalls sitting around talking"

 

You were parked in E20, so you didn't see the ground works and track way being laid in E14, the fields were actually opened at 4.30pm, and the staff were sitting  in the fields all day in case it was opened earlier. The managers of the East and West campervans were out there towing and parking c/vans till 5am Wednesday morning then back out at 7.30am, to try and get the queues down

Edited July 1, 2016 by Dexie

[grumpyhack]

The wisdom of hindsight is a wonderful thing.  Lots of people are jumping to conclusions based on limited information.  Yes it's true that not all stewards had the full picture but not all were on radios.

I think that most people did the best they could considering the conditions and resources available,  And most people (punters, volunteers and staff) were incredibly patient and helpful.

Rain happens, mud happens.  If you don't like that stick to indoor concerts not festivals.

[HalfAnIdiot]

9 hours ago, muddychick said:

Our camper got tractored out Monday morning. Gave the driver a tenner for his trouble (he asked for a fiver as he was volunteering to assist) and we were off site in ten minutes.

Honestly I think it was all handled very well given the circumstances.

The festival tweeted on Mon morning that tractor drivers asking for payment should be reported to nearest traffic officer.

I'm assuming that was because they were being paid by the festival which makes the 'voluntieering' story from your tractor driver a little suspect.

[bsolxiv]

8 hours ago, 504329lt said:

And cars don't use fuel?  

Yes cars use fuel, but motor homes use significantly more. 

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

I find the debating of the green credentials of camper vans tedious, the whole festival has a massive carbon footprint and the greenist thing to do would be to not hold it at all. If folks want to come in their campervan then they should be able to do so. Far more cars drive to the festival so if they are going to ban camper vans they should ban cars full stop too.

[getmeoutofhere]

19 hours ago, gorfield said:

it WAS a shambles - we queued from 5am until 12 for a tractor to get us out of there.. and the queue behind us was massive

all they needed was to have put some tracks down and most people could have got out.

Have to agree it did become chaotic, we queued 05:30 -14:00 for a tractor in the lower field nearest the festival access gate with masses waiting after us, tractors were clearly prioritising the other field near the lane and anyone in our field offering cash, marshals couldn't care less when raised with them. At one point it got quite heated at the queue as we had just 1 tractor operating in our field with 4-5 in the other, both fields were meant to have the same queue system.

If they had simply put trackway down on the exit route Tuesday or Wednesday (which I was told was the plan by marshals when we arrived) most of the problems could have been avoided and would have been much cheaper. Once tractors started to drive on the exit route during the course of week the ground was so trashed even the site's Land Rovers were getting stuck by Thursday.

[JanieM28]

2 minutes ago, getmeoutofhere said:

 

If they had simply put trackway down on the exit route Tuesday or Wednesday (which I was told was the plan by marshals when we arrived) most of the problems could have been avoided and would have been much cheaper. Once tractors started to drive on the exit route during the course of week the ground was so trashed even the site's Land Rovers were getting stuck by Thursday.

Most of the trackway was stranded in the mud at Download, otherwise there would have lots more of it.

[stuartbert two hats]

5 minutes ago, getmeoutofhere said:

Have to agree it did become chaotic, we queued 05:30 -14:00 for a tractor in the lower field nearest the festival access gate with masses waiting after us, tractors were clearly prioritising the other field near the lane and anyone in our field offering cash, marshals couldn't care less when raised with them. At one point it got quite heated at the queue as we had just 1 tractor operating in our field with 4-5 in the other, both fields were meant to have the same queue system.

If they had simply put trackway down on the exit route Tuesday or Wednesday (which I was told was the plan by marshals when we arrived) most of the problems could have been avoided and would have been much cheaper. Once tractors started to drive on the exit route during the course of week the ground was so trashed even the site's Land Rovers were getting stuck by Thursday.

If they had simply laid down expensive trackways they didn't have, because some of it was still in Download, things would have been fine?

[glastonburynoodles]

I was in West and whilst there were delays and some miscommunication, I think the majority of people in the queue for the tractor thought that it was a price worth paying for a fantastic festival. We were in the queue for 5 hours between 9 and 2 and I only heard one person complaining.

 

Edited July 2, 2016 by glastonburynoodles

[getmeoutofhere]

4 minutes ago, glastonburynoodles said:

I was in West and whilst there were delays and some miscommunication, I think the majority of people in the queue for the tractor thought that it was price worth paying for fantastic festival. We were in the queue for 5 hours between 9 and 2 and I only heard one person complaining.

 

I'll have a guess you were in the top field near the exit then?

[glastonburynoodles]

No, were about 50 metres away from the burger van in the first field. I thought it was an improvement on 2007. We managed to drive off once the ground firmed up at the top of the hill.

 

[Aliandsas]

This happened in E25 on Monday afternoon which didn't help as a queue of vehicles got stuck behind it. Although the mud and ruts were horrendous in that field we felt lucky to be so close to the exit.

[Avalon_Fields]

Just as a perspective, we had absolutely no wait for a tractor to get us out of E18 (OK we were lucky) so not everyone was in an organisational  'shambles' 

[JanieM28]

39 minutes ago, Aliandsas said:

This happened in E25 on Monday afternoon which didn't help as a queue of vehicles got stuck behind it. Although the mud and ruts were horrendous in that field we felt lucky to be so close to the exit.

Yes, we saw that - they were still at it two hours later when we finished packing up and left. Luckily, we were in the pre-hired caravans area right near the exit so we're able to scoot out without a problem.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

16 hours ago, mooro said:

 he became the ring boy for Coco!

Do you know if he experienced job satisfaction in this role?

[Ohinever]

7 hours ago, Yoghurt on a Stick said:

Do you know if he experienced job satisfaction in this role?

Does a clown smile or cry?

 

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

38 minutes ago, mooro said:

Does a clown smile or cry?

 

Definitely cry.

[Sawdusty surfer]

OK, sorry, but I haven't read all this thread...only got home an hour ago after two weeks on site.

Nightmare boggy build and horrific conditions on exit. 

 Then folk complain that they were inconvenienced when leaving. 

 What do people expect when voluntary attending a green field massive event on a clay soil festival in a valley in Somerset? A tarmac road taking them mud and delay free to the nearest KFC? Get a fucking grip. A mate of mine did a 19 hour shift SUN night/ Mon morning towing campervans out. Lots of thanks and some grief from twats. He didn't sign up for that. Spoke to the site manager this morning....longest tow out shift on a tractor Sun night.... 26 hours.

 Got a problem with the shit this year?

  1) Don't get a job as site crew.

  2) Don't buy a ticket next year.

  3) Fuck off.

[JanieM28]

1 hour ago, Sawdusty Surfer said:

OK, sorry, but I haven't read all this thread...only got home an hour ago after two weeks on site.

Nightmare boggy build and horrific conditions on exit. 

 Then folk complain that they were inconvenienced when leaving. 

 What do people expect when voluntary attending a green field massive event on a clay soil festival in a valley in Somerset? A tarmac road taking them mud and delay free to the nearest KFC? Get a fucking grip. A mate of mine did a 19 hour shift SUN night/ Mon morning towing campervans out. Lots of thanks and some grief from twats. He didn't sign up for that. Spoke to the site manager this morning....longest tow out shift on a tractor Sun night.... 26 hours.

 Got a problem with the shit this year?

  1) Don't get a job as site crew.

  2) Don't buy a ticket next year.

  3) Fuck off.

Big Hugs! You've had a shit year, Dusty. Broken arms, and a leg etc...

It was the first time I met you, this year, but I can assure you that, as a punter, you are bloody magnificent. You were so kind and helpful to me, chatty to my 'slightly-scared-of-meeting-efests-peeps' husband, and - as I've said before - providing a safe haven at your welcoming table.

Hope you finally got home safe and sound after helping everyone else to get out of the mud. Sleep well, spend a few days recovering, and then start cleaning your truck so it is beautiful enough for me to sit in next time!

Thanks again for being so kind to us.

All the best

Janie

 

[HalfAnIdiot]

1 hour ago, Sawdusty Surfer said:

OK, sorry, but I haven't read all this thread...only got home an hour ago after two weeks on site.

Nightmare boggy build and horrific conditions on exit. 

 Then folk complain that they were inconvenienced when leaving. 

 What do people expect when voluntary attending a green field massive event on a clay soil festival in a valley in Somerset? A tarmac road taking them mud and delay free to the nearest KFC? Get a fucking grip. A mate of mine did a 19 hour shift SUN night/ Mon morning towing campervans out. Lots of thanks and some grief from twats. He didn't sign up for that. Spoke to the site manager this morning....longest tow out shift on a tractor Sun night.... 26 hours.

 Got a problem with the shit this year?

  1) Don't get a job as site crew.

  2) Don't buy a ticket next year.

  3) Fuck off.

Spot on post. This isn't a Thomas Cook weekend break, it's (thankfully) something a little more raw.

Sawdusty, I wish you well. I saw your truck and you but didn't realise it at the time. Will say hello next year.

[SERRIDGER]

I heard from 3 completely different and unrelated sources that M Eavis normally has a contract with local tractor companies to help out if required, that contact wasn't taken out this year so when the chaos started there was a shortage of available tractors to assist. a call to arms was sent out for additional tractors but all the tractors that would normally be on standby were doing work elsewhere and where therefore unavailable to assist.  

[Sawdusty surfer]

25 minutes ago, SERRIDGER said:

I heard from 3 completely different and unrelated sources that M Eavis normally has a contract with local tractor companies to help out if required, that contact wasn't taken out this year so when the chaos started there was a shortage of available tractors to assist. a call to arms was sent out for additional tractors but all the tractors that would normally be on standby were doing work elsewhere and where therefore unavailable to assist.  

Were they 'informed' sources?

While I won't say it isn't true, I'd be amazed if it was. I didn't hear that once.........and was rather involved right up until yesterday.

 

[SERRIDGER]

1 minute ago, Sawdusty Surfer said:

Were they 'informed' sources?

While I won't say it isn't true, I'd be amazed if it was. I didn't hear that once.........and was rather involved right up until yesterday.

 

one was a famer normally used 

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

I think it was genuine, somebody on here posted a response from a local tractor group saying it was disappointed and they hope Glastonbury get lucky with the weather. I seem to remember them being possibly volunteers rather than paid but there was definitely something that wasn't renewed, it was in one of the threads about the ground or the campervan fields.

[bekimo]

At the time, the queuing to get in to the campervan fields on Tuesday was literally the most horrible thing ever. As someone who suffers from anxiety I had 4 panic attacks during the 6 odd hours it took us to travel the 5 miles to the site. 

But even I with my mental issues took the time to smile and thank the stewards that helped us. 

On the way out on Monday, my mother even made packed lunches up for the 4 stewards on out campervan field who had been there since Sunday night helping people out of the mud! 

Bit of courtesy is all it takes. The mud and queuing and the waiting is certainly not the fault of the volunteers and workers who were trying their best to help.