Campervans

[Gilb]

11 minutes ago, stuie said:

Why didn't you use the lock ups?  They will take anything you want them to and it's not wasting camping space.

Plan was to sleep in it if any of us couldn't make it back (especially me when I'm out of it vs. the Hill of Death). Had it been muddy that would have been the case but we didn't need to in the end. Tiny tent. Plenty of space.

[Chef]

I've toyed with the idea and think will seriously consider it next year (tickets permitting) - we walked through the east cv fields this year from the car park and I was very envious of some of the setups. Friends of ours also tagged on a holiday along the south coast after the festival one year which seemed like a nice touch.

The one thing putting me off as some have mentioned is possible distance. Our car was a long way from PG-C and some of the camper vans were essentially next to the car park - a very long way to walk to site each day if you're out there. 

[Penrhos]

That's exactly what I did - I took a "crash-tent" into the festival and set it up in case of being too spangled to walk to the back of E16 (20 mins plus from PG-C). As it was nice a dry and I didn't overindulge too much it was only needed for some shade on Thur/Fri/Sat afternoons and I packed it up Sunday morning and left it in the lockup until I left at 4AM Monday...

The best of both worlds - pity about the 2 hour plus queue to get out of East CV on Monday and the 7.5 hour drive home...

[Fred Zepplin]

32 minutes ago, Chef said:

I've toyed with the idea and think will seriously consider it next year (tickets permitting) - we walked through the east cv fields this year from the car park and I was very envious of some of the setups. Friends of ours also tagged on a holiday along the south coast after the festival one year which seemed like a nice touch.

The one thing putting me off as some have mentioned is possible distance. Our car was a long way from PG-C and some of the camper vans were essentially next to the car park - a very long way to walk to site each day if you're out there. 

The distance would be the big decider for me, plus would it feel like you are doing day trips to the festival leaving each night. We've camped in big ground and I love waking up and seeing the pyramid stage. Will have 2 and a half year old and a 8 month old next year so the facilities of a camper van would be good be I know they have good facilities in the family camping which I would be using next year anyway, also might be good to have other families around. 

[Penrhos]

20 minutes ago, Fred Zepplin said:

The distance would be the big decider for me, plus would it feel like you are doing day trips to the festival leaving each night. We've camped in big ground and I love waking up and seeing the pyramid stage. Will have 2 and a half year old and a 8 month old next year so the facilities of a camper van would be good be I know they have good facilities in the family camping which I would be using next year anyway, also might be good to have other families around. 

OK - here's the low-down on East CV.

There is bugger all difference between East CV and East quiet CV from a noise/facilities point of view, there are water standpipes, turdises, a vat to empty the toilet cassette into and an expensive burger van - that's it....

In fact if you're in E19, E20 or E21 the amount of through traffic (as they're the route to all East CV and Blue car-parks) means the toilets are heavily used and there is a constant stream of people walking/wheeling stuff down the paths. The only advantage to East quiet is you're closer to PG-C.

From experience the back of E19 (after the turn for the gate to East CV), the back of E20 or E23 are the prime fields in East quiet, E24/25 are as far away from PG-C as E18. the toilets in E23, E24, E25, E17, E16, E15, E14 are usually OK for 90% of festival (Monday morning they were bad...) it depends on if some lazy git has dumped nappies or emptied the toilet cassette into them overnight.

There are more "Families" in East CV than East CV quiet - East quiet was mainly full of people who wanted to be near PG-C.

 

Edited July 9, 2019 by Penrhos

[eFestivals]

4 minutes ago, Penrhos said:

means the toilets are heavily used and there is a constant stream of people walking/wheeling stuff down the paths. 

the last 2 festivals there's been almost no queues for the loos (guess its cos of bogs in vans), and the foot/trolley thru traffic is only a bother if you're parked up next to the path, and then only really on Wednesday morning.

There's plenty of reasons why people might not do campervans, but those aren't it.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

4 hours ago, gmb1992 said:

That site looks good,

Yeah, I've looked for complaints about it, from an owners and renters perspective and couldn't find anything. The again it wasn't the most intensive of investigations.

[Peter_Quaife]

My tuppence worth for this year, and to qualify, I haven't actually been to Glastonbury (yet) !

 

We booked through motorhomehire.co.uk as they worked out the cheapest, £1299.99 for a 7 berth motorhome and they have a depot in Bristol. Well, Dodington which looks to be about 30/45 mins from Bristol. So if flying in, as we were, you have to add on extra time and taxi fare to get to the Dodington. This company requires a £199 deposit which is fully refundable up until the end of April ie allowing for the main sale and resale, which is handy. They also require a £1000 deposit about a week before commencement. Kitchen pack, line etc are all extra

 

I tried a few motorhomes through Camptoo, both for the Bristol and Southampton areas (can fly into both and not a million miles away). During the online discussions with the renters, when Glastonbury came up as the reason, they thanked us for our honesty and politely declined.

 

I've also went through this process with Camplify. Had a quote for a 6 berth through Camplify (Bristol area) for £560. Once the conversation stared and Glastonbury was mentioned, the price went to £1495 + a £1000 deposit ! 

 

I'd say we'll book again with motorhomehire.uk.com as they will return the £199 deposit right up until the end of April. Bare in mind though, it takes 28 days min for the deposit to hit your bank account after the cancellation. 

Will keep on trying through Camptoo and Camplify as the prices are so cheap compared to the big rental companies.

[Penrhos]

24 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

the last 2 festivals there's been almost no queues for the loos (guess its cos of bogs in vans), and the foot/trolley thru traffic is only a bother if you're parked up next to the path, and then only really on Wednesday morning.

There's plenty of reasons why people might not do campervans, but those aren't it.

I wasn't talking about queues, it's the state they're in - Having a VW T2 with no toilet in the van the ones in the CV fields are the main ones I use (saves having a s**t in the long-drops). 

 

Seemed to be lots of people going through Wed, Thur & Sunday this year. Maybe seemed so as we were so far back this year.

[eFestivals]

2 minutes ago, Penrhos said:

I wasn't talking about queues, it's the state they're in

The ones in the CV field are the ones i use too.

They're waaaay better than they were a few years ago. I didn't encounter anything close to unusable, and almost always nice and clean.

Tip: use the ones in that block that are furthest from the gate.

[TheGoodWillOut]

Regarding distance to the gates, we were in CV West - left hand field which is furthest away from the festival gate and literally 5 minute walk away.   West certainly wasn't full either, plenty of space near the entrances where you drive in and the biggest queue at the gate was on the thursday morning but that was only about 10 people. 

west is indeed best.

[chrislfc]

Stayed in Worthy View this year after the tractor trials in 2016, waiting to get dragged out of the campervan fields wasn't great I must admit.

We've only ever stayed in West Campers but might go back to motorhomes next year.

Some people say East Campers is better, location-wise than West.

West is a hike at the start and the end of the day but is a lot quieter overall I believe.

 

So my question is; if people have done both East and West, which one do they prefer?  

[eFestivals]

19 minutes ago, TheGoodWillOut said:

Regarding distance to the gates, we were in CV West - left hand field which is furthest away from the festival gate and literally 5 minute walk away.   West certainly wasn't full either, plenty of space near the entrances where you drive in and the biggest queue at the gate was on the thursday morning but that was only about 10 people. 

west is indeed best.

West is quicker to the gates, then much longer to reach anything. Swings and roundabouts.

[hfuhruhurr]

Having done my first 6 in motorhome/caravan and last 2 camping, I much prefer camping. So much more inside the festival, much more of a laugh with neighbours, so close no bag is needed - love it. Loos aren't an issue, noise = earplugs, space isn't an issue (get there early on Weds). Camped enough now to make my tent way more comfy than the van.

I do however miss the Tuesday late afternoon arrival, BBQ and drinks on the hill - that's fabulous in CV East.

[TheGoodWillOut]

36 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

West is quicker to the gates, then much longer to reach anything. Swings and roundabouts.

True, about 10 mins walk to park stage, 15 mins walk to the other stage. 

[Trout Mask Replica]

Not much to add here except for this picture of me with my 12 year old t5 van and awning. I got the van last year and Glastonbury was the second festival. We had friends camped in a bivvy next to us in East quiet, wife and I slept in the van. 

Every morning we made good breakfasts in camp, even had a shower/privacy tent. Cold drinks from the fridge and a small solar panel kept phones and e-cigs charged up for the entire festival. 

In previous years we've spent circa £900 hiring vans, sometimes sharing costs with friends for the fest and I decided to put this money towards my own van which I use for fests, weekends away and transporting my band gear around. It has replaced a car and just seemed the way to go. 

[Neville Street]

7 hours ago, chrislfc said:

Stayed in Worthy View this year after the tractor trials in 2016, waiting to get dragged out of the campervan fields wasn't great I must admit.

We've only ever stayed in West Campers but might go back to motorhomes next year.

Some people say East Campers is better, location-wise than West.

West is a hike at the start and the end of the day but is a lot quieter overall I believe.

 

So my question is; if people have done both East and West, which one do they prefer?  

Done both, East best for us as PGC is close to Acoustic, T&C, Avalon, WG, Pyramid. West felt like endless trudge through campsites before getting anywhere in terms of venues. It was quite a wet year, 2014, so the trudge was treacherous at times.

[eFestivals]

8 hours ago, Trout Mask Replica said:

It has replaced a car and just seemed the way to go. 

For anyone who can live with a van as their only transport this is a no-brainer financially.

[DarrenVonBoathook]

17 hours ago, chrislfc said:

So my question is; if people have done both East and West, which one do they prefer?  

First time back in CV East this year since 2011. We had children with us and it was a no brainer to go for CV East. If I'm lucky with tickets in Oct and we are taking children again I'll be going for CV East. However if family make good on their offer to babysit for the length of the festival I'll try for a CV West ticket. It is a bit of trudge to anywhere apart from Cineramageddon and the Park but I like the vibe in CV West. I didn't really get that this year in CV East but then again we were in E19 which felt like being camped in a corridor for the car parks.

[clarkete]

18 hours ago, hfuhruhurr said:

Having done my first 6 in motorhome/caravan and last 2 camping, I much prefer camping. So much more inside the festival, much more of a laugh with neighbours, so close no bag is needed - love it. Loos aren't an issue, noise = earplugs, space isn't an issue (get there early on Weds). Camped enough now to make my tent way more comfy than the van.

I did a decade or two camping, but couldn't do that again inside the fence.  Too old to carry the mountain of stuff I used to, but couldn't bear the idea of scampering to a long drop for a pee (or arrangements with lenor bottles/tupperware/what have you).

Also there's what you do with your stuff when it gets rained on - in my teens or twenties I had to put the same wet stuff on the next day and wait for those wet clothes/shoes to warm up.  In a van there's space to hang it up so it's dry tomorrow.

There's the other things such as fridge/freezer, cooker, etc but they come down the list for me.  It's enabled me to attend as an old git where that wouldn't have been possible otherwise.

In reference to the CV fields, E25 had clean toilets every time I went - I had a fairly relaxed pool drop every day!

 

[hfuhruhurr]

1 hour ago, clarkete said:

I did a decade or two camping, but couldn't do that again inside the fence.  Too old to carry the mountain of stuff I used to, but couldn't bear the idea of scampering to a long drop for a pee (or arrangements with lenor bottles/tupperware/what have you).

Also there's what you do with your stuff when it gets rained on - in my teens or twenties I had to put the same wet stuff on the next day and wait for those wet clothes/shoes to warm up.  In a van there's space to hang it up so it's dry tomorrow.

There's the other things such as fridge/freezer, cooker, etc but they come down the list for me.  It's enabled me to attend as an old git where that wouldn't have been possible otherwise.

In reference to the CV fields, E25 had clean toilets every time I went - I had a fairly relaxed pool drop every day!

 

Big trolley & Comfort bottle - solves issue #1 (important to use them for the right thing)
If a wet one take a complete change of clothes per day - in dry bags.
Hobnobs & white russians = breakfast (no cooking required)
Wet weather skills honed at Download!!

I'll be giving 60 are hard push soon and am determined not to give in to luxury.

[Penrhos]

3 hours ago, DarrenVonBoathook said:

We were in E19 which felt like being camped in a corridor for the car parks.

^^ this ^^

E19 & E20 in East quiet are not quiet.... 

Having slummed it in a VW T2 with just a sink, hob, bed & Lenor bottle I'd 100% recommend something with a 3-way fridge and a toilet as a bare minimum (especially in a muddy year). 

If I wasn't 57 with a bad back I'd camp inside the fence - I managed in 2017 as I had no choice (coach ticket in resale) but I was properly broken by the end of the weekend and didn't manage to get around as much as I wanted to as was too stiff or full of pain-killers to function properly. This year the trudge to the back of E16 was a good 30 minutes from IICON in Block-9 but I got a solid 4-5 hours sleep in a bed before getting up and starting over again.  

[UEF]

In terms of buying, Motorhomes that you might actually want to spend time in (toilet, shower and basic kitchen, as opposed to a VW Camper with a dusty mattress) seem prohibitively expensive to buy

 

 

[eFestivals]

1 hour ago, UEF said:

In terms of buying, Motorhomes that you might actually want to spend time in (toilet, shower and basic kitchen, as opposed to a VW Camper with a dusty mattress) seem prohibitively expensive to buy

 

 

who spends time in them at Glastonbury?  

An awning sorts ample space for sitting around, if you want it.

[LongTimeLurker]

We’ve done 4 years in a row in West. Tempted to try East as the walk is so long back to West especially if you end up in SE corner but we keep sticking to what we know and I like the fact it’s small so there’s no fear about where you’ll end up if you don’t get there until late Tuesday. 

The walk actually  didn’t seem too bad this year in the good weather....except one night I went back on my own before Chemical Brothers to get some stuff out the van. The walk going against the flow of people took ages and then the campsite was so eerily quiet at that time of the evening, it was a bit of a pre-headliner buzzkill so won’t do that again. 

Out of interest, did East have long drops this year? West always had portaloos before but this year changed to long drops. Would love them to change to the lovely compost loos!