Where do you camp and why?

[blazingstars]

I'll be a first-timer this year so am interested to gauge a bit more 'on the ground' info on the campsites. 

I've taken a look at GlastoEarth but it'd be cool to hear from others too.

I'm hoping to camp somewhere that has a fun atmosphere and isn't too far from the action without being too loud at night (grandma alert but I need at least a bit of beauty sleep). So not near the Naughty Corner I've heard of!

So why do you camp where you do? Which campsites fill up fastest in your experience?

[faymondo]

Bushy Ground as it was close to gate D in 2010 when like Glastonbury virgins we tried to bring all the gear from the car in one go !!!

Been there every year since. Not noisy and decent toilets. Bit out of the way of things but nice to clear your head in the morning on the walk into things.

[jyoung]

Oxlyers. No idea why.

[shuttlep]

South Park 1 or 2

it's as far out as you can get from the pyramid stage, but not too far from the park and south Eats corner. the only passers by that you get are going to the campervan field really . there is room for a big group.

 

we have always camped on the outskirts , in 2004 we camped where the park is now and that was by the fence , we have just followed the fence really. tried other sites and always gone back to what we know. too old to be rushed and queueing to get in early and get somewhere popular

[Bovla]

Always Oxylers. Not too far from coach drop-off but far enough in to be close stuff. Although right by silver Hays can be annoying and the other stage soundchecks in the morning

[djdavejohnson]

I aim for Big Ground but usually end up in Kidney Mead as the former has normally filled up by the time I manage to get in. Close to the WG bit which I quite like and not too far to travel to West Holts, generally not too noisy either. Nice to have a very short walk each morning to the back of the Pyramid field to take it in pre-entertainment.

[Crazyfool01]

there is  quite a bit of detail on http://www.glastoearth.com/the-faq but for us we camp near jp ... which for us is easy walking distance for other and pyramid ... not too much of a drag from gate A with all the kit ... near the quiet jp toilets for early morning relief .... but give a distance wherever you are from the paths ... you will always get people cutting past wherever you camp but dont want the constant traffic which will wreck your tent. 

[FakeEmpire]

I've been Oxylers for a while now.   I come on the coach and it's a pretty short walk from  Gate A.   It feels in the atmosphere but not overbearing like some of the other party areas.  It's also easy to pop back to the tent if I need to.    

I've done Bushy Ground before as well and it's much quieter for beauty sleep but a bit of a further walk to and from each day and not so easy to pop back to between bands (particularly if it's a muddy year).

[Stokesy10]

Park Home Ground (or is it Dairy Ground now?). Always have, and for the 6th time this year I will again. Couldn't go anywhere else, it would mess with my mind! It's got everything for me. Good distances to my most visited areas, not overly loud at night, viewpoint of Other Stage.

Only joking it's shit don't camp there.

[Hugh Jass]

Worthy View, because I don't like being surrounded by the riff raff.

[MrHew]

It'll be my first time taking little Hew this year. Which of the family camping fields do people recommend? 

[Ayrshire Chris]

Usually lime kiln or Hitchin Hill. Decent people and close to John peel and shortish walk to pyramid. Also nicest long drops on site! Disadvantage is that’s is a long hike to the SE corner but doesn’t concern us.  

Though this year it’s worthy view! 

[Hugh Jass]

FWIW before I sold my soul to WV it was always Pennards, Park or Dairy.

[ivan]

10 times in Big Ground I reckon , quite often inches from where we were before according to my mate

Mainly for the view of the site as you can see virtually all of it and its always amazing to sit by the tent on the first night just as the sun goes down and see all the lights come on.

And when we finish the night at the Stone Circle we get to walk back through most of the site having a bimble on our way back home , which can take us hours due to unplanned stop offs to just watch something interesting !

Even in the bad mud years it never gets too bad where we are as there is not much foot traffic and the water just goes past us down to Pyramid Stage

[Hot rocks]

We camped up in a corner bit of oxlyers in 2013 and loved it, tried to get the same spot the following year and put the tent up next to what looked like an abandoned farm trailer, went Exploring for a few hours and returned to the horrific realisation the trailer had been transformed into composting loos... still have nightmares.

were going in the camper van fields this year thank god ! 

[ledwards]

Have parked in Dairy (or Paines? i think the names switched) and Pennard hill, but found a good in-between at this place in the screenshot. No throughfare unless people are going to tents, close to Arcadia so was pretty cool hearing them test. 

Does anyone know what it's called/if it has a name?

 

[bennyhana22]

Anywhere but Paines. Especially anywhere but that bit of Paines next to the Arcadia field. No Siree. Not there. Terrible area to camp. Massive slope, always floods (even in 2010). I've camped in every field and I'd never go back there again. Ever. Tell your friends. Tell everybody. I'd hate for a choice to camp there to ruin their festival.

Ben

[justperfect]

Pylon....one of the closest to coach drop off/bus into town

[BambooShanks]

It depends on what time we get in but we always go towards Park Home / Paines (sorry Benny, I'm a risk taker) / Dairy Ground / South Park and camp where ever we can fit our group in.

I like the (relative) space in those areas and if it is a dry year, the distance from everything isn't really a problem.  

They don't tend to fill up as quickly as others, so more likely to get a space.

From my recollection, Pennards Hill fills up pretty damn quickly and for good reason too, it is the most centrally located camp for the majority of areas (especially the late night entertainment).  The only time our group managed to get a spot there was because my friend and I had been onsite for a couple of days earlier so were literally at pennards at the crack of dawn, waiting for the ok to pitch a tent.

It's one of the more rowdy areas but given the amount of traffic it has, that's hardly surprising!

[The Nal]

Hitchin Hill/Michaels Mead.

Nearish to Gate A, few mins walk to the Pyramid, great view, clean toilets, quiet at night, milk truck in the morning and on a hill so no floods/mud. 

[bennyhana22]

2 minutes ago, Kinkyinuit said:

It depends on what time we get in but we always go towards Park Home / Paines (sorry Benny, I'm a risk taker)

 

Either you're being a brilliant foil to my cunning plan, @Kinkyinuit, or you might have very slightly misinterpreted my motivation here...

Ben

[Wilfko]

Paines Ground. Always have and always find my way home no matter what state I'm in.

[grayfitz]

Last couple years I've camped in Lime Kiln Ground. 

It's pretty close to Gate A (for Coach arrivals), is never too full so you've got a bit of space to yourself, has an amazing view when you wake up (and get back to the tent in the small hours - we usually all sit out and look out over the site while having one last drink)

It is a long way from South East Corner, but honestly the walk back is one of my favourite parts of the whole thing - you see all kinds of sights and stumble upon a lot of good stuff as you walk the entire width of the festival.

[Hotchilidog]

This year will be my second in Worthy View simply because all of my friends want to camp there. Given that it is outside the fence it is surprisingly handy for all things just off the railway track as long as you do not mind a walk up the hill.

When camping inside the fence I have twice camped at Pylon purely because it was close to Ped Gate A and the coach station. The pros are, short walk from the bus, plenty of room no matter what time you arrive on the Wednesday or indeed thursday. It's handy for Silver Hayes, JP and The Other.

My personal favourite spot was Hawkswell where I camped in 2011. It's nicely elevated, you can see The Pyramid from your tent and a great view over the site in general. If I were camping inside and could get in early enough I'd probably go there. Pyramid and JP both adjacent, Acoustic and Williams Green accessible within around 10 minutes.

To be honest the last two times I came by coach I had all sorts of ideas about where to camp, but I just ended up in Pylon for convenience sake and it was absolutely fine, thus proving that even the least glamourous campsites can be pretty good.

 

[ledwards]

21 minutes ago, bennyhana22 said:

Anywhere but Paines. Especially anywhere but that bit of Paines next to the Arcadia field. No Siree. Not there. Terrible area to camp. Massive slope, always floods (even in 2010). I've camped in every field and I'd never go back there again. Ever. Tell your friends. Tell everybody. I'd hate for a choice to camp there to ruin their festival.

Ben

sounds like we're neighbours!