What is your arrival strategy ?

[Scrump]

What are people's extended arrival strategies? You're in... Tent is up... What does the next 2 hours look like?

This year I think it will be the classic straight to the cider bus for me!

[StoneCircle]

12 minutes ago, tarw said:

It must have been the Thursday that I was up there then. I was busy loading the minibuses and it was a steady stream all day and didn’t notice any big queues to get to the marquee. Just shows how your perspective is different from different angles-never seen it from the queue side

It was in 2022 when I volunteered. I remember it being very hot and there were long queues for the minibus. Everyone waiting was very patient and just happy to be there which was lovely!  😀

[Talcroft]

25 minutes ago, Scrump said:

What are people's extended arrival strategies? You're in... Tent is up... What does the next 2 hours look like?

This year I think it will be the classic straight to the cider bus for me!

If working, crack open a can and head to Maceos.

Punter, straight to Stone Circle for a sit and a contemplate. Controversially, I've never really bothered with the Glasto sign, preferring the Stone Circle field. Then move on and have a potter about, finishing watching the fireworks from a distance in the Pyramid field.

[Johnnyseven]

3 hours ago, Kaboom Boxer said:

I'm staying at Tangerine Fields, anyone got any advice on arrival strategy?

 

We're driving down to Coxley on Tuesday night after work so will wake up relatively close to the farm on Wednesday morning. What is the vehicle queue for TF usually like on a Wednessady morning?

 

We obviously won't be bringing any camping gear through the gates once we're set up, is there a separate queue at Pedestrian Gate B for people just entering site rather than setting up camp? If it's one queue for all what time does this normally die down?

 

1 queue for all first time entrants, whether with kit or not. Seperate queue for re-entry if you've already been in and out of the festival.

[Kaboom Boxer]

43 minutes ago, Johnnyseven said:

 

1 queue for all first time entrants, whether with kit or not. Seperate queue for re-entry if you've already been in and out of the festival.

Thanks for the response. 

 

Is there much difference between the various Pedestrian Gates in terms of how busy they get or is it pretty much just rammed everywhere from Wednesday morning onwards?

 

With me staying in a prepitched I’m wondering whether I’m better leaving all my gear in the car and jumping in the queue as early as I can so that I only have to worry about the, presumably shorter, re-entry queue for the rest of the festival. 
 

The alternative would be getting my gear in the tent, cracking open a beer from the cooler and waiting for the queue to die down. Does it get quieter as the day goes on or am I dreaming there?

Edited April 15 by Kaboom Boxer

[dotdash79]

7 minutes ago, Kaboom Boxer said:

Thanks for the response. 

 

Is there much difference between the various Pedestrian Gates in terms of how busy they get or is it pretty much just rammed everywhere from Wednesday morning onwards?

 

With me staying in a prepitched I’m wondering whether I’m better leaving all my gear in the car and jumping in the queue as early as I can so that I only have to worry about the, presumably shorter, re-entry queue for the rest of the festival. 
 

The alternative would be getting my gear in the tent, cracking open a beer from the cooler and waiting for the queue to die down. Does it get quieter as the day goes on or am I dreaming there?

Re-entry isn't normally that busy, I would get in with tent a few bits get set up then stright back to the car for the second trip, if you are set up by 10 am, and then you can be out and back quickly.

[Crazyfool01]

2 hours ago, Scrump said:

What are people's extended arrival strategies? You're in... Tent is up... What does the next 2 hours look like?

This year I think it will be the classic straight to the cider bus for me!

Have a cider and wait for anyone to arrive that hasn’t already … potentially have a couple of people from this site joining us this year so one might be a little behind in arrival time . But a given on the first day is the Efest meet 

[dotdash79]

11 minutes ago, Crazyfool01 said:

Have a cider and wait for anyone to arrive that hasn’t already … potentially have a couple of people from this site joining us this year so one might be a little behind in arrival time . But a given on the first day is the Efest meet 

I've not done the Efest meet-up before, might do it this year

[Crazyfool01]

1 minute ago, dotdash79 said:

I've not done the Efest meet-up before, might do it this year

Is a really fun start to the festival … have done this for a few years now . Last year about 10 of us wandered to see the fireworks after . @eFestivals will set the thread up this year . 

[Kaboom Boxer]

48 minutes ago, dotdash79 said:

Re-entry isn't normally that busy, I would get in with tent a few bits get set up then stright back to the car for the second trip, if you are set up by 10 am, and then you can be out and back quickly.

I’m staying in Tangerine Fields so the tent will be pre pitched and my stuff will be nearby in the car. I’m wondering whether I’m better off heading straight into the festival queue then having the shorter re-entry queue to rely on the rest of the week or whether to wait a bit later whilst the queue dies down. 

[dotdash79]

2 minutes ago, Kaboom Boxer said:

I’m staying in Tangerine Fields so the tent will be pre pitched and my stuff will be nearby in the car. I’m wondering whether I’m better off heading straight into the festival queue then having the shorter re-entry queue to rely on the rest of the week or whether to wait a bit later whilst the queue dies down. 

I would just leave it until about 11 then you would walk straight in.

[Johnnyseven]

1 hour ago, Kaboom Boxer said:

Thanks for the response. 

 

Is there much difference between the various Pedestrian Gates in terms of how busy they get or is it pretty much just rammed everywhere from Wednesday morning onwards?

 

With me staying in a prepitched I’m wondering whether I’m better leaving all my gear in the car and jumping in the queue as early as I can so that I only have to worry about the, presumably shorter, re-entry queue for the rest of the festival. 
 

The alternative would be getting my gear in the tent, cracking open a beer from the cooler and waiting for the queue to die down. Does it get quieter as the day goes on or am I dreaming there?

 

On the past we've chilled by the vans in the cv fields until 11am or so and gone in then. Usually a little bit of a queue but nothing that's going to take too long.

Edited April 15 by Johnnyseven

[Kaboom Boxer]

16 minutes ago, dotdash79 said:

I would just leave it until about 11 then you would walk straight in.

Oh nice, I was worried the queues would be busy most of the day. If I can have a nice leisurely breakfast before setting off and then just stroll in at 11 then that’s ideal. 

[Crazyfool01]

6 minutes ago, Kaboom Boxer said:

Oh nice, I was worried the queues would be busy most of the day. If I can have a nice leisurely breakfast before setting off and then just stroll in at 11 then that’s ideal. 

Definately definitely. No real need to join a big queue if your tent is setup already . We arrived around 11 last year and walked straight in from bus queue . I’d imagine car queue was pretty similar at that time 

[Physical_graffiti]

21 hours ago, svphie said:

Only ever volunteered or had a coach ticket so need to work out how me and 2 friends are getting there from North London. I really don't fancy queueing overnight Tuesday, but surely need to be up super early on Wed. No idea about what time we'd get through gates?!

 

My friend who is going to drive thinks we won't fit in with all our stuff in her mum's tiny car, but surely it'll be doable...

If it's just you three, and you've no strong opinions on where to camp, you can set off at a normal time Wednesday and aim to get there for lunchtime - this is normally the time I arrive and there's never a queue, you just stroll through. Though I normally have friends who have arrived a couple of hours earlier and have vaguely saved me a tent space, however there's campsites with enough space for 3 tents in various parts.

 

I have a tiny car and we've fit three of us in the past but it's been painfully difficult to squeeze all stuff in. Can be done if the three includes the driver, but it won't be comfortable for passengers with stuff piled on their knees 😄 

[EavisAintDead]

14 hours ago, Scrump said:

What are people's extended arrival strategies? You're in... Tent is up... What does the next 2 hours look like?

This year I think it will be the classic straight to the cider bus for me!

Usually in and tent up by 9 - depending on how I feel, I'll probably go and get the second load from the car (always feels good skipping the big queue and entering the re-entry section instead!) 

 

Then it's time for a stroll and some lunch, I like to get up to the top of the park before the crowds get there for a pint at Tricketts

 

Afternoon around 2ish I like to have a bit of a nap for a few hours then I'm expecting my girlfriend to arrive around 5 so I'll go and meet her at gate A and do some more exploring and find a spot to watch the fireworks before sleep

 

We've toyed with the idea of doing a BBQ this year but we'll see how we're feeling closer to the time

 

I cannot wait. 

[Scrump]

25 minutes ago, EavisAintDead said:

Usually in and tent up by 9 - depending on how I feel, I'll probably go and get the second load from the car (always feels good skipping the big queue and entering the re-entry section instead!) 

 

Then it's time for a stroll and some lunch, I like to get up to the top of the park before the crowds get there for a pint at Tricketts

 

Afternoon around 2ish I like to have a bit of a nap for a few hours then I'm expecting my girlfriend to arrive around 5 so I'll go and meet her at gate A and do some more exploring and find a spot to watch the fireworks before sleep

 

We've toyed with the idea of doing a BBQ this year but we'll see how we're feeling closer to the time

 

I cannot wait. 

This all sounds unbelievably delightful! 

[svphie]

1 hour ago, Physical_graffiti said:

If it's just you three, and you've no strong opinions on where to camp, you can set off at a normal time Wednesday and aim to get there for lunchtime - this is normally the time I arrive and there's never a queue, you just stroll through. Though I normally have friends who have arrived a couple of hours earlier and have vaguely saved me a tent space, however there's campsites with enough space for 3 tents in various parts.

 

I have a tiny car and we've fit three of us in the past but it's been painfully difficult to squeeze all stuff in. Can be done if the three includes the driver, but it won't be comfortable for passengers with stuff piled on their knees 😄 

thats useful to know, thanks. I cant definitely deal with the discomfort I think but also who knows how long we'll be in the car...

 

camping wise, I definitely don't want to be on the edge again which is what happened last year as our coach was delayed and we were setting up as the fireworks were going off lol. would like to be closer to the action, so maybe an early morning is necessary

[EavisAintDead]

10 minutes ago, svphie said:

thats useful to know, thanks. I cant definitely deal with the discomfort I think but also who knows how long we'll be in the car...

 

camping wise, I definitely don't want to be on the edge again which is what happened last year as our coach was delayed and we were setting up as the fireworks were going off lol. would like to be closer to the action, so maybe an early morning is necessary

If you haven't done it before, getting in the queue before 5 in the morning is a real experience

 

After 6 festivals arriving between 7PM Tuesday and 11AM (2016 - stuck in traffic for 6 hours) I've now settled on getting out of bed at 3AM In Glastonbury and making the 15 minute drive to the carpark 

[BagpussSeesAllThings]

9 minutes ago, EavisAintDead said:

If you haven't done it before, getting in the queue before 5 in the morning is a real experience

 

After 6 festivals arriving between 7PM Tuesday and 11AM (2016 - stuck in traffic for 6 hours) I've now settled on getting out of bed at 3AM In Glastonbury and making the 15 minute drive to the carpark 

I'm going the other way this year, after multiple Glastos of doing the drive through the night, we're going to try a mid/late morning arrival and camping in a less desirable campsite.

 

The past couple have completely drained me for the rest of the festival and I'm not much of a day napper, so the non-prime location could be a price worth paying for a full 8 hours sleep on the Tuesday night.

[balti-pie]

I'm rocking up first knockings on monday, staying in the Travelodge by Podimore on the sunday night so i can head straight in and get my campsite sorted in the oxfield from 10am. Get wristbanded and get my shifts and everything from about 1pm, then ill head into site for a stroll around to see some sights, sit under a tree, work out when im working and who i can see 👍 Other working mates in other areas will be there, some late monday and others on tuesday - but im more than happy to stroll about with a few cans and find some quiet spots for a sitdown. 

I've always managed to somehow not be working first thing on the wednesday, so i tend to get up early and get up to the sign for about 8/8.30am, and watch people streaming in, the fields slowly filling up with tents and excitement. And arguments 😄 i love watching people carrying all their sh*t, knowing their moment of absolute bliss is under an hour away, but they have to go through the sweaty heavy trauma first to earn it 

[Johnnyseven]

I'm getting the coach from London at 12:00 on the Wednesday. First time taking a SeeTickets coach, took a National Express back in 1998 - I think that left from VCS, do the SeeTickets coaches leave from the O2? I have mates taking their CVs so will likely get them to take most of my gear, so I should hopefully be travelling light - so more luggage space for everyone else on my coach. Would've liked to have been on site earlier on the Weds but at least i'm going, I have mates that usually come with us without tickets and last year I had to volunteer to go so got to look on the bright side.  

[dondo]

I'll be driving part way down on the Sunday night from Leeds and staying in Premier Inn near Sutton Coldfield (normally go bit further south but my plans on the Sunday mean I will be leaving later than usual).

 

Monday morning will be up early and aim to get into car park around 10am ahead of recycling crew accreditation opening at 11am.  Once accredited on site up to Tom's Field to pitch my tent.  May do 2nd trip back to car if haven't managed it all 1st time. 

 

Once all set up will grab some lunch and see who's about that I know and have a bimble round the site.  Then Monday evening up to the Tow and Hitch for efests volunteer/crew meet up 

[phillyfaddle]

On 4/15/2024 at 6:34 PM, StoneCircle said:

@phillyfaddle I don't agree with @tarw about there not being a queue, some people wait for hours on Wednesday morning. 

Expect to queue when you and the person who you are the PA for collect their access pack and your ticket from the Accessible Arrivals Marquee in the car park. People start queuing overnight just like any other pedestrian gate so depending on what time you arrive will depend on the wait. Wednesday morning is the busiest time. I recommend taking a chair for the queue and plenty of water and snacks. There are toilets but nothing else. I have experienced both entering the festival via the Accessible Arrivals Marquee and working there. I volunteered as an Oxfam steward, my role was checking tickets there. 

Thank you StoneCircle, that’s brilliant advice, appreciated 🙏 Friend said they had to queue about 2 hours in 2022, so was expecting to.

[gherkin8r]

From the map it would appear that for those arriving by car and staying in wicket family camping the dream is to get into bronze 31. My experience last year with gate B was that arriving earliest meant you go into the car parks closest to the gate. If I was to arrive just after car parks opened and head to bronze gate does anyone if it is likely that they will direct me to 31 bronze or close to it? 

 

Does anyone know is gate A typically any better/worse than Gate B for queues, early arrivals etc?