What's your exit strategy?

[FuzzyDunlop]

4 hours ago, T-Mouse said:

Get absolutely off my lip on Sunday night. Sleep thru till around 2 pm Monday. Tidy up and leave by 4ish. Done for the last 10 years.

This. 

[gooner1990]

11 minutes ago, Mr.Tease said:

Yeah, even in my days of overindulgence I had to have at least an hour of sleep just to draw a line under the partying and try to reset my brain - don't know how people manage with no sleep whatsoever 

Yep I’m the same, even if it’s only a couple of hours I need to sleep a little bit.

we were on see coaches in 2015 and the return to Oxford was 7.30am on the Monday....which meant waking up at 6am to pack up and walk to Ped gate A...even with four hours sleep I struggled!

worse still walking along the paths and coming across people who were still high and gurning whilst I was coming down and on my way home with a rucksack was depressing!

[JoeyT]

I'm fortunate to live close to the festival and get a lift in / home with my friend and his family. A great arrangement for the 11 years I've been going.

Usually chip on as soon as we get up on Monday. Home, showered and curled up in a ball crying by 10am.

[Upside down frowner]

Wake up Sunday in the caravan, having breakfast and pack the (bone dry) awning away & as much shut that is not essential.

Get messy early, drink wine then move to water early afternoon. After main acts have a wander around the naughty corner and leave my mates to it. 

 

They come back at 5am and I get the caravan ready to move 6:30/7am...away to the KFC service north of Bristol or Gloucester for breakfast- they sleep.

Either power through to the East Lancashire or stop after the middle for a power nap. They all get out and I clean the caravan...sounds fair?

[DarrenVonBoathook]

3 hours ago, 4519dennis said:

Normally pack up tent and stuff Monday morning at 6.00 am (usually in Pylon Ground) and amble over to car park. Always drive straight out without any queues. Only varied from this once when we left around 8.30 am and found massive queues to drive out as exits close whilst locals so their school runs (I think that was the reason). Best to go before or simply wait till later mid morning.

Regretfully this seems to be the norm for all of our Glastonbury's (except in a CV field). Regretfully, because we are on our way out of the festival when some are just coming back to their vans for a couple of hours sleep on Monday morning and I always feel like I'm missing out.  I could be happily wandering around for another few hours as it all winds down. However work/ pet care/ something else always means we have to leave early on Monday.

The only exception was 2016, when you booked a  'get pulled out by a tractor' slot in a muddy CV West and our tow arrived up 3am Monday morning and I have to admit by then, I was happy to go.

[stuie]

2 hours ago, Mardy said:

We’ve got a coach back this year at 10am, don’t think I’ve done that before. Due back in Canterbury at 3ish, then another hour to get home from there, I guess. Hopefully can just kip/stare out the window

I didn’t realise you could get a coach from Canterbury.... I thought the closest was London. Or is it not an official coach? I’m from Ramsgate but working this year and driving up on Monday. 

[MilkyJoe]

Usually leave around midday to 2pm on the Monday but last time 16 was my first solo one. I had taken most of my stuff back to the car on Sunday morning so only had the tent to pack up Monday. Arrived back at my tent around 4am and decided just to pack it up and head out. Spent an hour in the car parks searching for my car then got on the road to avoid the A37 traffic. I made it to Michaelwood services before I had to stop and sleep for 3 hours. This year I’ll just see how I feel according to weather/tiredness etc and make a decision Sunday night.

[Gnomicide]

2010 - mates were staying on Pennard Orchard, dead posh like,  a golf buggy ride (I shit you not) passed what is now Worthy View. I was out lateish Sunday night, packed my stuff up at around 7am and carried it up the hill to meet them. Nearly died. Drove home, no queues.

2011 - Coach home at 8ish, spent Sunday night at the old Arcadia (actual bands on) then wandered back calling in at Fluffy Rock Cafe. Made the coach.

2013 - Caberet tent until the early hours, drove home leaving at around 09:00, no queues

2014 - Caberet tent until the early hours, coach home leaving at 07:00. Driver was a fucking muppet, took us through Bristol city centre. Not the best route to Liverpool. 

2015 - Went up the hill after Ryan Adams finished his Park set, stared in wonder at the festival, felt a little sad. drove home leaving at around 09:30, no queues

2016 - Caberet tent until the early hours, drove home leaving at around 09:00, no queues.

2017 - What @Quark said, back to Camp Ralph for a little fire, coach home at around 13:00, no queues.

[zero000]

3 hours ago, Sasperella said:

Ambulance?!

Maybe we need a thread for WORST exit stories...

I recall a rather graphic story about someone shitting into a bin bag held by their girlfriend whilst stuck in a queue in the carpark. One for the wedding speech.

[Quark]

16 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

2017 - What @Quark said, back to Camp Ralph for a little fire, coach home at around 13:00, no queues.

My introduction to the magic of eating flat peaches while stoned. A combination from the gods themselves.

[hmmmloddy]

2013 - Car. Stayed at WV. Pre-agreed with our group to be out till 3am-ish on Sunday, 4 hours sleep, lift back with the friends who drove us in. We took it in turns to be awake for the driver and try and keep his spirits up but frankly it was hellish for everyone. The poor bastard had to go via London to Norwich. Utterly heroic on his part but we all said: never again in the car.

2016 - We got the train down and back. Stayed at WV again. Didn't make an exit plan, went out at midday on Sunday with all our remaining drinks and supplies and the intention of 'seeing what happened'. By midnight we were all fully committed to pushing all the way through and called it a day at about 6am after an absolute belter. With every step up the hill the romantic goodbye transitioned to litter-strewn despair and the bleakest of mornings. I was a zombie by the time we packed up. Then we waited at least 90 minutes in the cold and drizzle for a shuttle bus to Castle Cary and I descended in to a full on existential crisis. I was truly terrible to be around and made everyone else's experience even worse. For this I am truly sorry. We did miss the worst of the queues but the train back to London was still rammed and really unpleasant. NOT a fan of this one.

2017 - Coach there and back but from Reading (we were gambling that it would be easier to get tickets from there than London plus it was as easy to get to Reading train station as the 02 in London). Stayed at WV again. Pre-agreed that we'd be out all night on Sunday, packed our bags before heading out for another 'big finish' day in the mid-afternoon and had another absolute belter (if slightly more measured than '16). Started heading back at more like 5ish and stopped to say goodbye to some of our favourite places. Everything was much better. There was still a long wait for the shuttle round to the festival bus station but once there generally a much nicer atmosphere than Castle Cary. Coach back to Reading was as pleasant as could be and then the onward train to London much easier to deal with.

This year: we just picked up return (Seetickets) coach tickets from Reading in the resale (PHEW!). We were very happy with our allotted return coach time of 6/7am last year but our experience suggested it doesn't matter too much which coach your return ticket is for with See tickets, they just want you on and gone. Plan A might be to try and blag on to a London coach, plan B to get the first Reading coach available and then connecting train. Plan C would be to bin off the return Seetickets coach and pay up front for a National Express one way to London at preferred time. I'm thinking Plan A with Plan B backup.

To summarise: coach > train > driving and 5am finish > 3am finish > 6am finish

[duke88]

4 hours ago, Mr.Tease said:

I only found out in the last few years that I shat myself in my mums womb due to the chord being wrapped round by neck--I didn't know such a thing was possible! Sorry mum... 

My son did that. Mucky little thing.

[kevbizarre]

Get back to tent just after Sunday headliner finishes and pack up car / clean up - in bed by 2 usually and then up at 8 to leave at 9 or 10 latest and home to the midlands by 2pm. I’m fortunate to have a good friend who does the drive back. He usually goes to bed early as the rest do the packing up. 

[Rufus Gwertigan]

Normally I work and don't leave until Tuesday. I am getting the 2am coach this year and was going to pack up and leave my stuff at the lock up. Sounds like there may be a bit of a queue at the lock up so I will pack up around lunch. It's going to be weird staying sober on the last night ?

[MetaKate]

Last 2 years I've got to bed between 5 and 6am, slept til 11-12, got up, packed up, trekked to the gate. 2016 we queued for 30mins to get the shuttle to castle cary... 2017 we queued for about 2hrs which was brutal. Im not sure if itll affect my plans at all this year, as I have a hard time leaving a party, and a hard time waking up in the morning. I do plan to make sure I have some water and snacks handy this year in case the queue is long. 

[Lubic]

16 hours ago, tumbles said:

But not all of us are actually going home. Just makes it easier to stay on longer in evening and then leave when we've had enough be it 10pm, 1am, 7am.. packing up is the worst so I get it out of the way early doors while little else is going on!

 

[rubick]

14 hours ago, LostHorizon said:

I can’t even imagine the stress of getting a flight on Monday...

We booked a nice hotel in Bristol and then spent Monday between our bed and the pool/jacuzzi/sauna. Same again this year, worth every penny

We've actually been dead on in terms of making our flights, the waiting around in Bristol airport is the worst bit. Well, that and the fear of getting stuck in traffic on the way out of the festival. We live about 20 mins from Belfast International Airport so we're usually ordering pizza within an hour of landing! 

What's really giving me the fear is the drive home from All Together Now this August - getting there will be the best craic ever as it is every festival you go to full of rave-potential and unbridled joy, but the five-hour trek from Waterford - Antrim might have to involve an overnight in Dublin! We can do the Picnic run in about 2 and a half hours which is grand, even on the Monday morning first thing. Hoping The Déise is kind to us!

Edited April 30, 2019 by rubick

[Ruth1980]

My preference is to leave at about lunchtime on the Monday but in 2016 I was outvoted and we left on the Sunday night after the headliner. Spent half of Sunday packing up our stuff and missed loads of the last day of the festival. Got to the car at midnight and the battery had died and nobody would stop to give us a jump start. Vowed never to do it again but then in 2017 I had a job interview on the Tuesday morning so had to leave on the Sunday night so I could prep on the Monday.

This year we’re definitely not leaving on the Sunday.

[Doug85]

2016- The year of the mud. However it was my first one so we were out until 4/5am in the SE corner. Had a few hours sleep and woken up by people packing up and leaving. We decided to make a start around 11am and start packing up and going. Journey back to the car was horrific due to the mud. Car wasn't stuck though thankfully, we made 2 trips to and from the car though. Stuck in traffic on way home to Newcastle. Got home at midnight. Broken. In work on Tuesday at 8am....

2017- I was working so had a shift until Midday and we had to then pack up around 2/3pm once we were sorted. As we had arrived early and the ground was much better than the year before we managed to get to the car in good time. Traffic was not as bad at this time however it was a tough journey back after doing a 6 hour shift as we were so tired. So 2019 as we are working again we will be leaving on Tuesday morning after a "decent" nights sleep.

 

[theDandy]

2 hours ago, Ruth1980 said:

My preference is to leave at about lunchtime on the Monday but in 2016 I was outvoted and we left on the Sunday night after the headliner. Spent half of Sunday packing up our stuff and missed loads of the last day of the festival. Got to the car at midnight and the battery had died and nobody would stop to give us a jump start. Vowed never to do it again but then in 2017 I had a job interview on the Tuesday morning so had to leave on the Sunday night so I could prep on the Monday.

This year we’re definitely not leaving on the Sunday.

Did you get the job?

[Lubic]

SE corner on Sunday night as it's less busy, few hours kip, then the morning packing and trip to the coach station. Same every year.

Love the Thursday, but I guess I'm old school, and still see the main 3 days/nights of Glastonbury being Fri-Sun. Can't imagine ever wanting to leave on the Sunday, or spend part of that day packing etc, unless I had a very good reason for needing to be back early on Monday.

It feels people are increasingly eager to get there early and start queuing from Tuesday, but then just as keen to leave on the Sunday.

It's like the people who turn up an hour early for a football match so they can park close to the ground, and then leave before the final whistle to beat the traffic. Yeah you can stand around the concourse, having a pre-match pint of cooking lager with your mate. But it's not worth missing that 93rd minute winner, just so you can get home in time to watch Pointless celebs.

[Johnnyseven]

These days I get a lift to/from the festival in my mates' camper and I camp next to them. This year they didn't get tickets in the main sale so I was going to have to come up with an alternative plan, however I managed to get them festival tickets in the resale on sunday so we're back to the regular plan!

We normally all meet for a final few drinks around midnight on Sunday then head back to CV East, get a few hours kip and up at around 7 or 8 to pack up and drive out. Normally we're straight out and on the road. This year though I realise that i've been missing loads of fun in the SE corner so may stay out partying until sunrise (I last did this back in 2008 and it was a blinder) and get a couple of hours sleep before leaving with them. I just hope he doesn't ask me to do some of the driving.

When I used to drive I would get up around 6am, walk back to the car and would drive straight out. Apart from 1 year when a mate of a mate asked if i'd give his brother (and his girlfriend) a lift home and I stupidly agreed. I had to wait, what seemed like hours, for them to get their arse in gear and get to the car, then I got stuck in the car park for hours in the searing heat before I could even get on the road. Never again!

Edited April 30, 2019 by Johnnyseven

[clarkete]

Not really an exit strategy as such, but thus far it seems I'll just eat fatty foods and smoke too much until I cark it.

[Keithy]

I always find Sunday afternoon/evening a bit sad if you pop back to camp and see empty spots where people have packed up. Always a jolt that the festival is ending.

Not sure what my exit plan is this year. Normally stay in Bristol the night before and after Glastonbury so its normally just a short queue and get on any coach to Bristol. Now I'm in Salisbury, the logical thing to do is shuttle to castle cary and then train....but unless I get there early, it's a huge queue at CC.

Do you know if you're on a booked train, can you just march to the front of the queues and get on your booked train? Or does all order breakdown and it's just packing people on any train?

[Ayrshire Chris]

So this years plan, staying in WV though beginning to pine slightly for my fav spot in lime kiln, we’ve decided to have a blast on Sunday bearing in mind how difficult tickets are to get and so treating every year as if it’s our last. Will get back to tent around 2ish, 4hours Kip then up for the 450 mile drive home. We will console ourselves chatting  with fellow zombie like festival travellers we meet in the M5 and M6 services. Of course this all might just go tits up so we might end up fast asleep in a lay by in cheddar gorge!