Thursday evening arrival and campsite capacity

[sneakysabi]

This will be Glastonbury number 7 for me after I managed to bag a couple of coach tickets for me and my other half in resale for Thursday 2pm departure from London.

I wouldn't dare to complain, I am obviously over the moon, but the timing will be tricky as I am not going with any group this year so will be faced with finding a spot to pitch the tent around 7-8pm on Thursday. I would normally arrive before gates open and head straight for Oxlyers but since that's not an option I wonder if anyone on here could tell me which of the further out campsites are still not full up around that time? 

Bit annoying about the Pylon ground as that takes a massive space out of equation for Gate A arrivals and I am sure I will have to trek much further to find a spot. Of course I'm planning to consult the stewards as I arrive and follow the advice but it would give me some peace of mind if I had an idea of what's realistic at that time?

Is Hitching Hill a popular choice these days? It used to be very quiet when my friends camped there back in 2015 but I have a feeling it might have changed. I'm guessing no chance for Bushy or Dairy so preparing myself for a long long trek to Back House/Baileys but I'd love to hear some first hand experiences from people who camped there in the past. How busy by late Thursday evening? Really hoping to have the tent up before sun sets!

Oh, I have a Vango Apollo 500 so looking for roughly 3x4m free space.

Thanks in advance for any responses x

[Dave_c]

I've arrived Thursday evening and got space in Darble without any issue. Bit far out being right over at PGA but you'll find a spot easily.

[Lucy92]

Up near sticklinch still had spots last year late into the festival 

[Fishman]

Back House is the place to be. Tucked away behind Baileys and only opens on a Thursday. Loads of room and not as far out as Darble.

[Fearless_Fish]

Yep I'm in the same boat, although travelling by car and will be parked in the West car parks. My thoughts were to head for either PGA or PGD depending on where I was parked - but concerned if I go via PGA and it's full around there it's a bit of a chew on to get to the camping in the SW following the closure of Pylon

Also, due to the late nature of my arrival we're going to attempt to carry everything in one go... 😩

Edited June 19, 2023 by Fearless_Fish

[Quark]

It's a bit out of the way of everything, but I camped in Lime Kiln last year and there was loads of space there pretty much throughout the weekend.  You might need to be prepared to sleep on a bit of a slope though

[HotChipWillBreakYourLegs]

You might be able to camp at the top of Michael's Mead, as it's so steep no idiot would camp there.  As I found out.

But good when it rains!

[Fearless_Fish]

As an aside - it really looks like the festival wants coach travellers to camp in Darble! With the closure of the pedestrian route through Pylon, I also note that thin strip of "no public access" between Woodsies and Wicket Ground. Not sure they could open that up to the public due to being a backstage area, but possibly just on the Wed/Thurs/Mon.

I'm sure I've asked this before, but arriving to the West car parks on a Thursday 6pmish, any idea where I'm likely to get plonked? Or does the "carpark filling strategy" change every year? 

[Crazyfool01]

1 minute ago, Fearless_Fish said:

As an aside - it really looks like the festival wants coach travellers to camp in Darble! With the closure of the pedestrian route through Pylon, I also note that thin strip of "no public access" between Woodsies and Wicket Ground. Not sure they could open that up to the public due to being a backstage area, but possibly just on the Wed/Thurs/Mon.

I'm sure I've asked this before, but arriving to the West car parks on a Thursday 6pmish, any idea where I'm likely to get plonked? Or does the "carpark filling strategy" change every year? 

yep totally hit and miss with carparks im afraid 

[Sasperella2]

3 minutes ago, Fearless_Fish said:

As an aside - it really looks like the festival wants coach travellers to camp in Darble! With the closure of the pedestrian route through Pylon, I also note that thin strip of "no public access" between Woodsies and Wicket Ground. Not sure they could open that up to the public due to being a backstage area, but possibly just on the Wed/Thurs/Mon.

I'm sure I've asked this before, but arriving to the West car parks on a Thursday 6pmish, any idea where I'm likely to get plonked? Or does the "carpark filling strategy" change every year? 

I really have the fear about that. Surely not possible for all coach tix to camp in Darble?? 

[Fearless_Fish]

1 minute ago, Crazyfool01 said:

yep totally hit and miss with carparks im afraid 

C'est la vie. Getting to the festival late means we're trying to do one trip and be as quick as possible in getting setup and out into the mixer. There's a bit of difference between Orange 35 and Pink 54 though! Conversely I could use a quick getaway on Monday morning - so was hoping to split the difference and get near a vehicle exit!

[Crazyfool01]

1 minute ago, Fearless_Fish said:

C'est la vie. Getting to the festival late means we're trying to do one trip and be as quick as possible in getting setup and out into the mixer. There's a bit of difference between Orange 35 and Pink 54 though! Conversely I could use a quick getaway on Monday morning - so was hoping to split the difference and get near a vehicle exit!

you could randomly get placed very close .... good luck 

[Purple aki squat]

Pylon was rammed last year on the Thursday morning. Going to have to pack lighter if on the coach as it looks like it’s going to be a long walk. Such a strange decision closing that field, doesn’t make any sense to me. Surely having accessible camping would encourage people to travel by coach.

[she bangs the drums]

23 hours ago, sneakysabi said:

This will be Glastonbury number 7 for me after I managed to bag a couple of coach tickets for me and my other half in resale for Thursday 2pm departure from London.

I wouldn't dare to complain, I am obviously over the moon, but the timing will be tricky as I am not going with any group this year so will be faced with finding a spot to pitch the tent around 7-8pm on Thursday. I would normally arrive before gates open and head straight for Oxlyers but since that's not an option I wonder if anyone on here could tell me which of the further out campsites are still not full up around that time? 

Bit annoying about the Pylon ground as that takes a massive space out of equation for Gate A arrivals and I am sure I will have to trek much further to find a spot. Of course I'm planning to consult the stewards as I arrive and follow the advice but it would give me some peace of mind if I had an idea of what's realistic at that time?

Is Hitching Hill a popular choice these days? It used to be very quiet when my friends camped there back in 2015 but I have a feeling it might have changed. I'm guessing no chance for Bushy or Dairy so preparing myself for a long long trek to Back House/Baileys but I'd love to hear some first hand experiences from people who camped there in the past. How busy by late Thursday evening? Really hoping to have the tent up before sun sets!

Oh, I have a Vango Apollo 500 so looking for roughly 3x4m free space.

Thanks in advance for any responses x

We arrived at 5pm last year on Thursday and got three spaces on Hitchin Hill. Only downside if you could hear the coach announcements via the tannoy on Monday 0.00 to 5am at which time we we gave up got up and walked back to the car! 

[dingbat2]

Stone Circle put this on the Accessibility thread, and it might give an idea (not sure if it will show in full resolution, if not have a look in the Accessibility thread). It shows a photo of the site when in full swing, not sure what year, cant be that old, but not last year as Pylon and Rivermead still seem to be fully punter camping. You can see which areas aren't rammed when the action is happening, so Friday onwards. If it were me I would have headed to Backhouse as it has always looked quite sparse, even though quite away from the action, or somewhere else towards Gate D. Also, dont forget campsites always look full from the paths, as its where people tend to pitch first, but walk along the perimeters of fields and there is can beloads of space at the back, in fields which look full from the main walkway. Rivermead (and Pylon before) have been are go to camping spots for many years, they often look full on Thursday but just have a wonder and there's usually loads of space at the back, as you can make out from the photo below

RIP Pylon and most of Rivermead

[CaledonianGonzo]

Glastonbury On Sea's not there either, so pre 2019.

[gherkin8r]

Not sure if it changed much last year but we arrived Thursday late afternoon and camped in Woodsies on a few occasions in recent years. 

[fullfathom5]

It's madness turning Pylon into crew camping.

[sneakysabi]

1 hour ago, Purple aki squat said:

Pylon was rammed last year on the Thursday morning. Going to have to pack lighter if on the coach as it looks like it’s going to be a long walk. Such a strange decision closing that field, doesn’t make any sense to me. Surely having accessible camping would encourage people to travel by coach.

Baffles me! I reckon Darble will be rammed this year because of it. And I hate camping on slopes so I have no choice but to pack light and hike all the way to Back House ur Rigs Field

[Purple aki squat]

5 minutes ago, sneakysabi said:

Baffles me! I reckon Darble will be rammed this year because of it. And I hate camping on slopes so I have no choice but to pack light and hike all the way to Back House ur Rigs Field

Same here. Off to bargain booze for some spirits, not carrying beer that far from the coach. Looking at the map darble and woodsies combined looks similar in size to pylon. With bushy and a few others being close to pedestrian gates then they have decided to make coach arrivals on Thursday walk virtually the length of the site to camp. 
I can only assume they have an Etonian making this decision. Absolutely f**king stupid.

[Ged Devereux]

3 hours ago, gherkin8r said:

Not sure if it changed much last year but we arrived Thursday late afternoon and camped in Woodsies on a few occasions in recent years. 

Woodsies is hospitality, pretty sure it has been for the past few years