Castle Cary shuttle

[doobie ninja]

Hay guys

I'm using the Castle Cary to Glasto shuttle bus for the first time this year. On the Monday I want to get the 12:30 lunch time train from Castle Castle back home to London. I feel I might be asking "how long is a piece of string" here but.....to get that train what time would you suggest I need to be at the shuttle bus station in the festival?? (My only Glasto experience was driving)

On the way there my friends with coach tickets are leaving Bristol at 10:15am and I'll be at Castle Cary at 9am. If I beat them to the festivals site, is it possible to wait at the coach section? Or do you get corralled into lines and moved along?

Any info much appreciated.

Thanks 🙂

Phil

[Glast0baby]

All I'd say is it's likely not worth the risk or stress of getting an advance fare ticket.  That might not be what you are intending, but just thought I'd put common sense out there. 

[doobie ninja]

On 6/1/2022 at 11:18 AM, Glast0baby said:

All I'd say is it's likely not worth the risk or stress of getting an advance fare ticket.  That might not be what you are intending, but just thought I'd put common sense out there. 

I was thinking this too....but then I'm scared of being at the station and everything is sold out to get back to london 😬

Or pre buy a ticket...the journey might take for ever to get out to Castle Cary, and then I miss my train 🤷‍♂️ right dilemma 🥴 

[Glast0baby]

3 minutes ago, doobie ninja said:

but then I'm scared of being at the station and everything is sold out to get back to london 😬

You can get a seat reservation without it being an advanced fare.

[Simsy]

3 hours ago, doobie ninja said:

I was thinking this too....but then I'm scared of being at the station and everything is sold out to get back to london 😬

Or pre buy a ticket...the journey might take for ever to get out to Castle Cary, and then I miss my train 🤷‍♂️ right dilemma 🥴 

Advanced tickets don't guarantee that you'll be able to get on the train, it's still first come first served. The only benefit of them over open tickets is they're cheaper, but they're only valid on the specific train you booked (which you probably won't be able to get on at Castle Cary).

[Joshuwarr]

On 6/1/2022 at 9:57 AM, doobie ninja said:

Hay guys

I'm using the Castle Cary to Glasto shuttle bus for the first time this year. On the Monday I want to get the 12:30 lunch time train from Castle Castle back home to London. I feel I might be asking "how long is a piece of string" here but.....to get that train what time would you suggest I need to be at the shuttle bus station in the festival?? (My only Glasto experience was driving)

On the way there my friends with coach tickets are leaving Bristol at 10:15am and I'll be at Castle Cary at 9am. If I beat them to the festivals site, is it possible to wait at the coach section? Or do you get corralled into lines and moved along?

Any info much appreciated.

Thanks 🙂

Phil

With regards to your second question you can definitely hang around the coach drop off area before going into the queue (from memory). There's lots of portaloos where often people will take a quick loo break so you're certainly not rushed.

One thing I would say is you might get a bit bored so if the queue isn't too big at gate A you may as well just queue, go in and then chill within the festival itself with your bags as it will be a little more interesting on the inside!

[sime]

I always buy an advanced ticket with the train to Castle Cary being a certain time but the journey home an open return. Really takes away any stress for catching a train home if you do not need a specific train on the Monday. 

[doobie ninja]

Thanks for the input guys. Think I've messed up tho.....😭
 

Im arriving from Bath...but returning home to London, so I can't have an open return ticket can I as you have to leave and return to the same place 🤷‍♂️ (I've already bought my London to Bath, and Bath to Castle Cary tix)

Wonder if I can cancel my London to Bath ticket, book an open return to and from Bath, then get a shuttle on the Monday back to Bath?

Or....buy the lunch time Castle Cary to london train, leave the site at 7ish and just hope I'm there for the train.

 

I take it that Gate A is for ALL coaches? So shuttle busses and the main coaches?

 

Cheers

Phil 

[clarkete]

32 minutes ago, doobie ninja said:

 

I take it that Gate A is for ALL coaches? So shuttle busses and the main coaches?

Yes

[Simsy]

1 hour ago, doobie ninja said:

Thanks for the input guys. Think I've messed up tho.....😭
 

Im arriving from Bath...but returning home to London, so I can't have an open return ticket can I as you have to leave and return to the same place 🤷‍♂️ (I've already bought my London to Bath, and Bath to Castle Cary tix)

Wonder if I can cancel my London to Bath ticket, book an open return to and from Bath, then get a shuttle on the Monday back to Bath?

Or....buy the lunch time Castle Cary to london train, leave the site at 7ish and just hope I'm there for the train.

 

I take it that Gate A is for ALL coaches? So shuttle busses and the main coaches?

 

Cheers

Phil 

Getting a single from Castle Cary to London shouldn't be a problem, as long as it's an "off-peak" single (or "anytime" if you need to travel at peak times).

If you're looking at national rail website, you can switch between fare types by clicking on "more fares", and check which services the ticket is valid on by clicking "other services you can travel on".

[mph]

Off peak ? When the festival is on it must be the peakiest that rail line and station is all year 

[DangerousBri]

Coming from overseas so this is all new to me.  It's there a way to get a seat guaranteed from Castle Cary to London?  First class?   Assume the train is super busy so it may take multiple trains to get a seat.  Going to the farm on Thursday so assume that's not as busy?
 

Any help appreciated. 

[Simsy]

9 hours ago, DangerousBri said:

Coming from overseas so this is all new to me.  It's there a way to get a seat guaranteed from Castle Cary to London?  First class?   Assume the train is super busy so it may take multiple trains to get a seat.  Going to the farm on Thursday so assume that's not as busy?
 

Any help appreciated. 

Going on Thursday you might be alright, most people travel on weds.

Coming back they'll just keep loading people on trains until they're full (I know in some countries if a train has x seats they'll only sell x tickets, but that's not the case in the UK, there'll be people standing in the aisle or sitting in the luggage rack).

I was in 1st class leaving Castle Cary in 2019 because we were told to go wherever there was space. They didn't kick out people with normal tickets.

[doobie ninja]

On 6/6/2022 at 5:39 PM, Simsy said:

Getting a single from Castle Cary to London shouldn't be a problem, as long as it's an "off-peak" single (or "anytime" if you need to travel at peak times).

If you're looking at national rail website, you can switch between fare types by clicking on "more fares", and check which services the ticket is valid on by clicking "other services you can travel on".

Really helpful! Thanks, I was using trainline.com and it's not as clear. Cheers 👍

I'm either going to....

Buy in advance an off peak CC to Ldn ticket which technically allows me to travel on a bunch of trains that day. So getting the shuttle bus from the festival to Castle Cary, queueing up and then just be herded onto whatever train. Hoping it ain't raining and the wait isnt horrendous.

Or....

Get the £22 coach to Bristol from the festival (website gives a timetable but not how to buy a ticket?). Then when at Bristol...(which I hope to be less busy than Castle Cary)....buying a ticket home to London.

And now I've just heard about bloody rail strikes at the start of the festival 😭😂

[Simsy]

20 hours ago, DangerousBri said:

Coming from overseas so this is all new to me.  It's there a way to get a seat guaranteed from Castle Cary to London?  First class?   Assume the train is super busy so it may take multiple trains to get a seat.  Going to the farm on Thursday so assume that's not as busy?
 

Any help appreciated. 

 

4 minutes ago, doobie ninja said:

Really helpful! Thanks, I was using trainline.com and it's not as clear. Cheers 👍

I'm either going to....

Buy in advance an off peak CC to Ldn ticket which technically allows me to travel on a bunch of trains that day. So getting the shuttle bus from the festival to Castle Cary, queueing up and then just be herded onto whatever train. Hoping it ain't raining and the wait isnt horrendous.

Or....

Get the £22 coach to Bristol from the festival (website gives a timetable but not how to buy a ticket?). Then when at Bristol...(which I hope to be less busy than Castle Cary)....buying a ticket home to London.

And now I've just heard about bloody rail strikes at the start of the festival 😭😂

Yes, I spoke too soon about trains being alright on the Thursday, those strike days aren't ideal (I'm supposed to be getting the train to Bristol on the Tuesday so I can get the coach on Wednesday morning) 😬

I think you just pay the driver for the bus to Bristol.

You can get off peak tickets on the day, so you could wait to see what the weather is like before deciding (as long as you've got enough battery/signal on your phone to buy the ticket).

[DangerousBri]

On 6/7/2022 at 12:44 AM, Simsy said:

Going on Thursday you might be alright, most people travel on weds.

Coming back they'll just keep loading people on trains until they're full (I know in some countries if a train has x seats they'll only sell x tickets, but that's not the case in the UK, there'll be people standing in the aisle or sitting in the luggage rack).

I was in 1st class leaving Castle Cary in 2019 because we were told to go wherever there was space. They didn't kick out people with normal tickets.

Thanks for the reply.  Very helpful.  Group I'm going with does not appreciate lines. So a car it is.  

[Dan112233]

The wait for the Castle Cary train station shuttle bus on Monday morning (Glasto 2023) was 4 hours.  The bus then drove and then waited at the town hall for another hour until “the platform had cleared” and took another 30 mins to drive to Castle Cary station.

If the festival organisers want people to be incentivised to take the train, they need to do better with this. 

[foolee]

How long does the coach take going to the festival and do you usually have to wait long? Planning on going early Thursday and my partner will be getting it Thursday evening. 

[Joshuwarr]

On 3/24/2024 at 10:39 AM, foolee said:

How long does the coach take going to the festival and do you usually have to wait long? Planning on going early Thursday and my partner will be getting it Thursday evening. 

From memory it takes around 20-30 minutes. But the time flies to be honest. I think most of the waiting around tends to happen on Wednesday so you'll be fine Thursday with minimal waiting I think. If you're on a busy train and want to get on the shuttle pronto then my advice would be to sacrifice a seat and park yourself near the train doors. The one time I did that it honestly probably meant the difference between getting on a bus quickly vs a much longer wait in a queue.

[Nuthugger]

On 3/24/2024 at 10:39 AM, foolee said:

How long does the coach take going to the festival and do you usually have to wait long? Planning on going early Thursday and my partner will be getting it Thursday evening. 

i have never had to wait too long. they run a tight ship