Coach or Train?

[BagpussSeesAllThings]

So I managed to get a ticket in the resale today and am amazingly happy but a tiny bummer is that the people I was meant to be car-pooling with no longer have the room for me, so I'll be on the bus. I'm hoping the majority of my stuff can go in someones car and they'll do my tent so won't have a HUGE amount of stuff, but will still have a decent amount. I'm coming from London and got the train last year and had the pleasure of queueing in Castle Cary for 3 hours alone, not sure if that was due to the mud or normal.

My question is on Wednesday morning from London is the coach or train the easiest/ most convenient?

[Mardy]

I had the same dilemma this morning. In the end, i went for train. Mainly cos it went from my home town, and it was half the price. I've never got the train there before, not sure how it'll work, and it,s a later arrival than I'd like (13.34) but it's booked now. 

Also, i decided to go to Castle Cary going to the festival, but Bristol coming back.

[somecoolusername]

I had a bad experience getting the train the first year I did it (2009). Everything went smoothly from London to Castle Cary, but some kind of accident on the roads meant the shuttle buses weren't going, and we waited for about 6 hours in the blaring sun. We were waiting so long a fair few people set off and walked (it's a fuck of a long way). 

Chances of that happening again are pretty slim, but I've got the coach every year since and it's always gone smoothly (bar traffic hell - see last year). 

Also - on the coach you're guaranteed a seat. On the train you're not. 

So coach is my personal preference, but both have their pros and cons. I don't think either one is necessarily better/more convenient. Might be worth comparing prices. National Express (which I got last year) comes out pretty pricey, though they do deals sometimes. I got 50% off, which made my return journey from London £30 odd. Got coach package tickets this year, so don't know what the prices are like this time.

[Mr.Tease]

Overall I've had good and bad experiences on each, mainly good- a lot of it is down to luck. With the train Toilets are better, you have more space but it's a bit of a faff loading and unloading your rucksack twice (first on the train then on the shuttle bus). With coach you just queue once but then are at the mercy of traffic more.  

 

[timbrass]

Bus was a mare last year.  I ended up walking in from Shepton Mallet.

[Sasperella]

I think coach  This is despite the fact that the only time i've got the train is last year, and it actually worked out really well...I managed to be on site by around 12, despite a wait at Castle Cary, whereas all my friends who drove from London were stuck in traffic for hours.

However, getting back is not so much fun. With a coach (and this may be different with coaches to London, as there are so many of them) you have a set time and guaranteed seat. I got up crazy early last year on the Monday to get in the queue for the train shuttle. It built up ridiculously fast behind us. I have no idea how you would be able to time your arrival for the train station to get a pre-booked train (which might make it cheaper), and if you want to beat the queue and get there early, you have to fork out for a peak ticket. Not cool. However, I found last year that some of the staff at the station are more lenient than others about the peak fare excess. One woman told me I had to pay, ushered me over to a guy with a card machine, but luckily for me, he just waved me on through. With a coach you also have people to share your post-glasto comedown with all the way home. Last year after I'd changed at Bristol I was all on my lonesome surrounded by people who were not happy about having a mud creature next to them. 

I'm taking the coach from Sheffield this year. Takes about 6 hours, so a bit longer than the train, but cheaper, and I don't have to get up stupidly early on Monday morning again! Win. 

[MartinK]

I did coach last year for the first time from Bath and even though it took me close to 6 hours to get there due to the traffic I loved the fact it dropped me off right by Gate A and I camped almost right by the gate so I had a very short distance to walk with everything.  Wouldn't fancy the train then shuttle swap overs 

[Muppetmark]

Had a quick check for my friend who nabbed a ticket this morning and it works out the train is roughly 20 quid cheaper than the coach from oxford (with a railcard) and that was for a super off peak return so no specific trains 

[CaitNeeDee]

I've gotten the coach from London and never had any problems.

Just book as early as you can. First year had a 09:30 ticket and queued at Victoria for an hour so the "timed" ticket made no difference and had no queue when we arrived on site. Last time we went around 07:00 and queued for 15 mins or so but made it to site for a pretty good time to then queue for an hour. Sods law.

Personally prefer just one mode of transport and not changing. But then I've never suffered the traffic hassle of last year.

[mr jolly]

Any idea what the queue is like for shuttle buses to castle Cary on the Monday morning around 6am? I've a train from Bristol at 9.30 am but would rather set off when it's relatively early to make sure I make the 9.30 train

cheers for any info

[Sasperella]

6 minutes ago, mr jolly said:

Any idea what the queue is like for shuttle buses to castle Cary on the Monday morning around 6am? I've a train from Bristol at 9.30 am but would rather set off when it's relatively early to make sure I make the 9.30 train

cheers for any info

Last year we got there around 5.45am and we maybe queued 30-40 mins, but the queue was building up FAST behind us. And then you'll have to queue at the station again, or just wait the three hours for your train, but if you're lucky you may be able to blag on to an earlier train. 

[mr jolly]

This is what I feared. I might just either pre book a nat express coach or get a shuttle bus to bristol. Thanks for info

[fowls]

I really like the National express coach, used it once from Bristol and 2 or 3 times from Manchester. Getting taken straight to the site is so much less stress.  I found the train exasperating - crammed train to a massive queue at castle cary for the shuttle bus to another massive queue on site. It's really tiring.

A few things to note for the National Express:

As others have said, the time allocation is pretty loose, it's more of a "we'll fit you on the soonest coavh we can after the time on your ticket" system, so it's worth arriving an hour or so earlier (the backlog builds up throughout the morning too, so worth getting an earlier coach if you want to leave on time-ish). If you have less stuff this can be really useful for squeezing on an earlier coach - the luggage space fills up faster than the seats.

Also worth bearing in mind that coach drivers need to take their allocated breaks, so you will be made to get off the bus for half hour at a Welcome Break frustratingly close to the festival. (I forgot about this bit when I ordered the Midnight coach tickets thinking I could sleep for the 6 hour ride...).

 

On the way back you can often get an earlier coach than your ticket if there's space - they just want to get people out ASAP. It starts to get busy around 7ish Monday morning. 2 years ago I even saw them let someone on who had lost their ticket (with no proof), but I wouldn't recommend bunking it.

 

 

Edited April 23, 2017 by fowls

[billum]

1 hour ago, Sasperella said:

I have no idea how you would be able to time your arrival for the train station to get a pre-booked train (which might make it cheaper), and if you want to beat the queue and get there early, you have to fork out for a peak ticket. Not cool. However, I found last year that some of the staff at the station are more lenient than others about the peak fare excess. One woman told me I had to pay, ushered me over to a guy with a card machine, but luckily for me, he just waved me on through.

Yes I've found that the whole idea of pre-booked trains goes out of the window on the Monday at Castle Cary station, and they're just so desperate to get the queue onto trains, any trains!, that peak or off-peak doesn't really count, nor does a specific pre-booked scheduled train, they just put you on the next one that comes along, which might well be an extra non-timetabled service anyway.

As with everything else, real life is suspended for a few wonderful days over Glastonbury weekend!

[somecoolusername]

Yes, there is also flexibility on the coach. They basically just bung you on the next coach whenever you rock up. I got an earlier coach than booked on the way out and the way home last year. Think I was booked on a 1pm out on the Monday last year? Didn't fancy hanging around so went down there first thing. Ended up on a coach around 7.30 am. I was back in London before my scheduled coach was due to leave Glastonbury!

[billum]

Out of coach vs. train, I find the train very good. Fantastic atmosphere on the way there; bit of a long queue at the station to get back on Monday. Last year was particularly bad when the coaches from the farm to the station were held up due to floods, so the queue became incredibly long and slow to empty out. But it wasn't too bad, you just had to shuffle along and then the train ride was fine, dozing all the way. And most other years the queue at the station on Monday is only an hour or two, which is fine.

[Sasperella]

8 minutes ago, billum said:

Yes I've found that the whole idea of pre-booked trains goes out of the window on the Monday at Castle Cary station, and they're just so desperate to get the queue onto trains, any trains!, that peak or off-peak doesn't really count, nor does a specific pre-booked scheduled train, they just put you on the next one that comes along, which might well be an extra non-timetabled service anyway.

As with everything else, real life is suspended for a few wonderful days over Glastonbury weekend!

@mr jolly Maybe this changes things? Tbf, I got an off-peak train and was in bed in Sheffield by midday, as that one guy did take pity on me (or more likely, has ceased to give a fuck about the rules) and let me through.

I just really don't want to have to get up at 5.30am. Although, either the coach or the train is a darn sight better than lugging all of your shit from Riverbed to the carpark, being driven to basingstoke train station by ur friends (trying desperately not to puke in their hire car) and then getting the train to Banbury for your Mum (of all people!) to pick you up and take you to her house....who moans at you on the drive back from the train station that you're "too old to be in this sort of state". Why i thought this was a good idea is anyones guess.  

Oh and then, forcing yourself out of the bed on suicide Tuesday to have a wisdom tooth removed. Don't do that either. 

[billum]

13 minutes ago, Sasperella said:

Oh and then, forcing yourself out of the bed on suicide Tuesday to have a wisdom tooth removed. Don't do that either. 

Phew blimey! Really the come-down of all come-downs after the fest! How horrid for you!

[Sasperella]

12 minutes ago, billum said:

Phew blimey! Really the come-down of all come-downs after the fest! How horrid for you!

Yeh, was a bit much. Every time the dentist touched me I flinched and at some point said "sorry, i've just been to Glastonbury"..."oh, do you need some more anaesthetic?"

My first year though and I hadn't anticipated quite what a state I would be in come Monday! 

[billum]

Just now, Sasperella said:

Yeh, was a bit much. Every time the dentist touched me I flinched and at some point said "sorry, i've just been to Glastonbury"..."oh, do you need some more anaesthetic?"

My first year though and I hadn't anticipated quite what a state I would be in come Monday! 

Presumably you'd built up a tolerance to N₂O over the weekend and it wasn't doing its job too well! (Or do dentists not use that anymore #showingmyage) 

[Sasperella]

Just now, billum said:

Presumably you'd built up a tolerance to N₂O over the weekend and it wasn't doing its job too well! (Or do dentists not use that anymore #showingmyage) 

Haha, I'm not sure what they used, but whatever it was, it certainly felt like I'd managed to build up a tolerance! 

Anyway, the lesson in...mothers and dentists are firmly in the category of people you do not need to be seeing in the three days immediately after Glastonbury! 

[SallyFaulknerStantonWarrio]

3 hours ago, Sasperella said:

I think coach  This is despite the fact that the only time i've got the train is last year, and it actually worked out really well...I managed to be on site by around 12, despite a wait at Castle Cary, whereas all my friends who drove from London were stuck in traffic for hours.

However, getting back is not so much fun. With a coach (and this may be different with coaches to London, as there are so many of them) you have a set time and guaranteed seat. I got up crazy early last year on the Monday to get in the queue for the train shuttle. It built up ridiculously fast behind us. I have no idea how you would be able to time your arrival for the train station to get a pre-booked train (which might make it cheaper), and if you want to beat the queue and get there early, you have to fork out for a peak ticket. Not cool. However, I found last year that some of the staff at the station are more lenient than others about the peak fare excess. One woman told me I had to pay, ushered me over to a guy with a card machine, but luckily for me, he just waved me on through. With a coach you also have people to share your post-glasto comedown with all the way home. Last year after I'd changed at Bristol I was all on my lonesome surrounded by people who were not happy about having a mud creature next to them. 

I'm taking the coach from Sheffield this year. Takes about 6 hours, so a bit longer than the train, but cheaper, and I don't have to get up stupidly early on Monday morning again! Win. 

 

This is exactly why bike wins every time

[Tuna]

I usually get the train from London, but have no coach experience, so here's my two cents.

If you get the first train out of Paddington, (& get there EARLY! I'm talking 20+ minutes), you'll get a seat and somewhere to put your bag. It's one of the first trains into Castle Cary, I think there's one from Dorchester that gets in before and maybe one from the west - so no faffing about with waiting. If you get an off peak return, bear in mind the time slots on the return leg. You won't be able to get on a train between 8-10 ish. Don't forget to bring your Railcard if you have booked with one, you'll get shafted out of £100+ on the day. But best of all, the train takes less than 2 hours. Get the first one back from Glastonbury and you can be in bed for 10:30 :-) 

[Tuna]

^ actually just had a look since I haven't got the train since 2014 - there's only one off peak return to London, via Bath Spa, that gets you back in by 10:30. So you might be in bed by 11 if you live in Paddington itself

[Untz]

11 hours ago, fowls said:

Also worth bearing in mind that coach drivers need to take their allocated breaks, so you will be made to get off the bus for half hour at a Welcome Break frustratingly close to the festival. (I forgot about this bit when I ordered the Midnight coach tickets thinking I could sleep for the 6 hour ride...).

If you get a NE coach from London in the middle of the night, the journey is quick enough that they don't need to do a stop.