Best Way (and times) to Arrive/Leave from London

[kugglaw]

Total first timer and been a bit too busy over the last couple months to do much planning ahead. Please bare with me if these are obvious questions.

What's the best/most advisable way to get to Glastonbury from London and also the best time to head back?

Have looked at Coach tickets etc and I simply don't know enough about the camping/getting into the site situation etc to tell what times are best to arrive.

Obviously I've left it later than a veteran would, so there's a few coach spaces left for two people to arrive at 3pm - 5pm-ish on the Wednesday and similarly a few return coaches left around the same sort of times in the mid to late afternoon on the Monday.

If I got to the campsite at 5pm Wednesday, would there still be spaces left? (similarly, what constitutes a "good space", is it all down to how close to the stages you are?) Would it be hell getting back if I left the site on the Monday afternoon?

Obviously the best answer to questions about what time to get there is "as early as possible" - but the clock's ticking now and I'm a total noob, so any comprehensive help would be greatly appreciated.

[kugglaw]

Oh btw, have read the really helpful guide here: https://www.glastoearth.com/2021/12/faq-part-1.html?m=1 

But would really appreciate contextualised advice from people who are attending this year

[gfa]

First time here as well, i'm sure someone will come along with something better but there will be trains to Castle Cary and a shuttle bus from there (from Paddington i'd assume). Not sure how much they are taxing on those but definitely an option.

[incident]

The general philosophy on here is that earlier is better, though what exactly that means varies by person - for me I'd look to be on a coach that got in by about 10am, but others will aim for much earlier than that. A lot of that is because people on this forum have preferred camping locations (often established over several years), and want to ensure that they can stake their claim.

Because of this, it can sometimes lead to the false impression that there's no camping space after about noon on the Wednesday or that you'll be stuck pitched next the toilets. The reality is that you can arrive later on Wednesday, or even on Thursday and find somewhere that's perfectly fine as long as you don't mind being a bit more towards the outskirts of the festival - most of the fields next to the Western or Northern fence line will have plenty of space, to varying degrees. You'll only be stuffed arriving "later" if your heart is set on camping somewhere central like Big Ground, Kidney Mead, or Pennards.

Most of the queues at the gates for getting on to the site itself should have cleared by 11am, or 12pm at the worst, so don't worry about that aspect, by about 3pm you should be able to pretty much waltz in.

I'm not from London so can't say much about the differences between train and coach options, other than to say look at what the easiest end-to-end option is for you - this is especially important going home on the Monday - how easy is it for you to get home from Victoria Coach Station and Paddington respectively?

In terms of times for heading back - if you're on the train, then go outside of peak hours (approximately 8am to 12pm) as you can end up with substantial (hour+) queues both at the Festival site getting onto a shuttle bus, and at Castle Cary station getting onto a train. If you're on coach, it's much more personal preference, as the times given should be broadly correct unless something gets delayed (which is difficult to predict).

Regardless of all the above - I would recommend getting on site promptly (such as that 3pm arrival coach, which would be fine), as most first timers will want to take a day to explore and get their bearings.

[kugglaw]

thank you, that's reassuring advice. Would quite like to be one on of the campsites closer to the stage but might not be likely, and that's fine 🙂 

Would leaving at 5 or something on a sunday be awful? Would I have to hang around the campsite until then?

[incident]

1 hour ago, kugglaw said:

thank you, that's reassuring advice. Would quite like to be one on of the campsites closer to the stage but might not be likely, and that's fine 🙂 

Would leaving at 5 or something on a sunday be awful? Would I have to hang around the campsite until then?

When you say Sunday - do you mean Monday?

Leaving 5pm Sunday, you'd be one of the first to depart, as the festival is still well underway, so it'd be a case of packing up at say 4ish and heading straight the bus station.

Leaving at 5pm Monday, you'd be one of the last to depart - and you would need to hang around the campsite, most of the day as by that point people will be scavenging for abandoned tents & kit, so you'd need to stick around. You'll also find that most food stalls will have stopped serving after breakfast, so you might struggle for food. My suggestion is probably aim for no later than 2pm.