Drive in daily from Wells to the festival? How long would this take?

[klobot]

Hello! Planning on taking my 12 and 9 year olds to the festival. I will be on my own with them and don't think I'm quite up to lugging tent plus stuff and trying to secure a camping spot etc.

Have found accommodation in Wells and am weighing up pros and cons of staying there and driving in? Pros - No need to buy tent and camping gear, we could arrive on the Thurs / Fri so they miss less school, I don't drink so am happy to drive us in and out of the festival site and would mean we could pick a different car park each day depending on what we wanted to be closest to that day. We'd do the drive in and out of the festival probably 6 times max, one round trip each day from fri - sun.

But no idea how long it would realistically take to drive in and out of the site, especially at the end of the evening and with road closures etc. Can anyone advise on how long it will take from car park to drive to Wells area? Not sure if we're better off attempting to buy pre-erected accommodation at Sticklinch instead, although this will cost us £900+ VS the £250 accommodation in Wells that I have reserved. 

[gooner1990]

Personally I would stay at Sticklinch as driving in and out will add on at least two hours per trip depending on where you get parked up.

Depends if that bothers you or not!

[clarkete]

Same as @gooner1990 I'd stay at Sticklinch, but then part of the appeal is the freedom to come and go as you please.

I did live in Wells and it depends of course on other traffic. Also do they let you choose the car park? Last time I did it they directed to the one with spaces. 

Edited December 1, 2022 by clarkete

[Nice hymer]

It's not the driving so much, it's the walk to and from cars each day.

It can easily be 2-3hrs of walking.

We took the kids back to grandparents on Sunday one year (we're only local).

The walk broke us, what was meant to be a fun, kidsfree day, turned into an endurance test. I can't imagine doing it for three or four days straight

[BlueJeansAndWhiteTshirts]

If you can afford it, I would suggest staying at one of the pre-erected options so you are close to the site or inside it. As others have mentioned, don't underestimate that walk (twice a day and probably in the dark at the end of the day)  and then an unpredictable drive back to Wells. It could sap the energy and fun out things. There are a few sites to consider as well as WV and Sticklinch but as previously mentioned, they come with a price tag to pay for the convenience but it might be comparable in price to hotels/accommodation in Wells anyway. 

[Lycra]

You will have no choice on where you park. You will be under direction from the stewards and potentially could face a walk of up to 40mins to 1hr to the entry gate and thence a further 30 mins+ to where you want to be onsite. To this add a travel time of 30mins+ to Wells plus exit (& entry queues). It's not a burden I would choose to saddle myself with and with youngsters in tow it would be even worse. You will be walking miles each day and any self inflicted extra is unwelcome.

[BlueDaze]

I have always been in CV fields so no expert on the camping.. But isnt Wicket Ground a quiet family camping spot, that you dont need to be rushing to on Wednesday morning..?? 

The £250 you save from accommodation in Wells would get you a decent tent and a good trolley right..? Your kids are old enough that you dont have to be scared that they are wandering off and can probably be involved with helping..

I hugely admire you for taking your kids by the way (I waited till my girls were 18 and 15). I truly believe it is a tremendous growing experience for them..  What an adventure it would be to wake up every morning in the festival though and especially in an area designated for similar types! 

[sheptonfuchsias]

The drive takes about 15 minutes. Then its simply getting parked and making your way to the entrance gate.

It most probably takes longer to walk from the car park to the entrance than it does to get to the site from Wells.

Edited December 12, 2022 by sheptonfuchsias

[clarkete]

32 minutes ago, sheptonfuchsias said:

The drive takes about 15 minutes. Then its simply getting parked and making your way to the entrance gate.

It most probably takes longer to walk from the car park to the entrance than it does to get to the site from Wells.

The drive can take 15 minutes, but then it can take far far longer on the wrong day.  And if sent to a far car park it can be an awful walk.

Either staying on site or even getting a taxi each day (as I believe some of the folks do staying in Glastonbury) would be a bit better.

[Ayrshire Chris]

On 12/1/2022 at 9:56 AM, klobot said:

Hello! Planning on taking my 12 and 9 year olds to the festival. I will be on my own with them and don't think I'm quite up to lugging tent plus stuff and trying to secure a camping spot etc.

Have found accommodation in Wells and am weighing up pros and cons of staying there and driving in? Pros - No need to buy tent and camping gear, we could arrive on the Thurs / Fri so they miss less school, I don't drink so am happy to drive us in and out of the festival site and would mean we could pick a different car park each day depending on what we wanted to be closest to that day. We'd do the drive in and out of the festival probably 6 times max, one round trip each day from fri - sun.

But no idea how long it would realistically take to drive in and out of the site, especially at the end of the evening and with road closures etc. Can anyone advise on how long it will take from car park to drive to Wells area? Not sure if we're better off attempting to buy pre-erected accommodation at Sticklinch instead, although this will cost us £900+ VS the £250 accommodation in Wells that I have reserved. 

I know there are dedicated hourly bus services from Glastonbury, north Wootton and Shepton that arrive at the festival bus station, that’s a lot closer than many of the car parks. Don’t know if one runs from Wells.

[sedra]

Pre-erected camping is ok - still a fair walk back and forth to Sticklinch or Worthy View. Benefits are car parking nearby and less to carry. Alternative is to get camping spot inside - take the tent and a few basics they and you can carry in first. Set up camp - there are spaces on Thursday to the west of the site and family camping there too. Then go back for rest of stuff and take a trolley. Inside fence means option to go back to tent in day for a rest or change of clothes etc 

[clarkete]

I do sometimes wonder whether these single posters come back to see the contributions that people submit in a bid to help their dilemma? Perhaps as a guest? 

[AlisonP]

On 12/1/2022 at 9:56 AM, klobot said:

Hello! Planning on taking my 12 and 9 year olds to the festival. I will be on my own with them and don't think I'm quite up to lugging tent plus stuff and trying to secure a camping spot etc.

Have found accommodation in Wells and am weighing up pros and cons of staying there and driving in? Pros - No need to buy tent and camping gear, we could arrive on the Thurs / Fri so they miss less school, I don't drink so am happy to drive us in and out of the festival site and would mean we could pick a different car park each day depending on what we wanted to be closest to that day. We'd do the drive in and out of the festival probably 6 times max, one round trip each day from fri - sun.

But no idea how long it would realistically take to drive in and out of the site, especially at the end of the evening and with road closures etc. Can anyone advise on how long it will take from car park to drive to Wells area? Not sure if we're better off attempting to buy pre-erected accommodation at Sticklinch instead, although this will cost us £900+ VS the £250 accommodation in Wells that I have reserved. 

We did this last year , never again. Driving in could take anything from 15 minutes to over an hour. Had to park where stewards told you to no choice . Walk to and from site  could take three hours out of your day. Totally spoilt my Glastonbury experience will be staying on site this year.

[AlisonP]

On 12/12/2022 at 11:16 PM, clarkete said:

The drive can take 15 minutes, but then it can take far far longer on the wrong day.  And if sent to a far car park it can be an awful walk.

Either staying on site or even getting a taxi each day (as I believe some of the folks do staying in Glastonbury) would be a bit better.

Good luck getting a taxi. The taxi rank is a good 40 minute walk from gate A . Hardly any taxis during the day and some nights upto an hours wait to get back to accommodation 

[clarkete]

23 minutes ago, AlisonP said:

Good luck getting a taxi. The taxi rank is a good 40 minute walk from gate A . Hardly any taxis during the day and some nights upto an hours wait to get back to accommodation 

Can I just check, do you mean it's forty minutes walk to gate A, or is the taxi rank really not very near the gate? 

[AlisonP]

On 1/6/2023 at 2:25 PM, clarkete said:

Can I just check, do you mean it's forty minutes walk to gate A, or is the taxi rank really not very near the gate? 

The taxi rank is another 30-40 minutes from gate A . You have to turn left out of gate A and walk all the way through the car park to the main road. Having to do that twice a day was not fun on top of all the walking from gate A to the main stages 

[clarkete]

13 minutes ago, AlisonP said:

The taxi rank is another 30-40 minutes from gate A . You have to turn left out of gate A and walk all the way through the car park to the main road. Having to do that twice a day was not fun on top of all the walking from gate A to the main stages 

That does indeed sound like a pain

[AlisonP]

Never again spoilt the festival for me , going back to Campervan this year