Please help! I still don't have a van!

[Peony]

Hello, I'm an aussie and we're making a special trip to the UK for Glastonbury this year. We have tickets and everything, and a van pass, however we're having so much trouble trying to find vans that are still available!! Eeeek, have we left it too late?

This will not only be our first trip to Glastonbury, but our first trip to the Mother country, so I would be eternally grateful to anyone willing to lend us a bit of their local knowledge.

[featherboa]

What sort of van are you after?

[pezzypops]

there's a street in london where all the aussies who are going home sell their campers to newly arrived antipodeans every sunday morning.

i think its near earls court, not sure though.

maybe google will help you.

[Peony]

Thanks for your reply featherboa.

Its just my husband and I, so doesn't need to be very big, but it needs to meet the requirements as per the Glasto guidelines, i.e. within the dimensions for one van pass, and it needs to have cooking facilities. Ideally, we prefer something we don't have to drive out of London, but beggers can't be choosers.

We both go to lots of festivals in Australia so are both used to roughing it, so a budget van would be fine, just as long as it gets us up this "hill of death" we've heard about it.

We would've been happy to camp but figured hiring a van would be easier than hiring a car, buying a tent, sleeping bag etc etc. Now its turning out to be harder than we thought...

[Peony]

there's a street in london where all the aussies who are going home sell their campers to newly arrived antipodeans every sunday morning.

i think its near earls court, not sure though.

maybe google will help you.

[featherboa]

http://www.coolcampervans.com/index.shtml

You could try the link above, not sure if they are suitable though!

I guess you would be best to try and hire one from a company that is close to the airport you are landing at.

Or you could look at the past forums on this site and see if there are any handy tips you can pick up that will help you get your van!

Good Luck! x

[Francis Biley]

We both go to lots of festivals in Australia so are both used to roughing it, so a budget van would be fine, just as long as it gets us up this "hill of death" we've heard about it.

[port]

for the cost of hiring one of those campervans, you could just hire a normal van and drive to a camping shop.. buy tent etc' and still have money left over........

[DaveMac]

for the cost of hiring one of those campervans, you could just hire a normal van and drive to a camping shop.. buy tent etc' and still have money left over........

[Sam Crawley]

Campervans are in extremely short supply for that week - we've got one from Exeter - Abbeyford/Practical down there, but it was apparently the last one (don't know how many they had, presumably not many). They also tend to bump the prices up a bit too, and I notice they are substantially more expensive to hire in the South East. The problem is that anyone planning to get a camper will have probably tried to reserve the van as soon as they got the camper ticket.

How about WickedCampers? They're not proper campervans but they are kitted out to be valid for Glasto. They seem to be sold out but have a waiting list? In all honesty if I were you I'd go with the other advice, get a refund on the camper pass (or sell it on, whatever works), hire a car, and camp it instead. The weather will be glorious anyway so it won't be a problem!

(frantically looks for some wood to touch)

[Mishy]

www.snailtrail.co.uk

[parsonjack]

you'll be very lucky to find a camper now, and if you do you'll be in for a few hundred quid or more for a weeks hire. a friend of mine has also left it late and has abandoned the idea now in favour of actually buying a cheap car and an old caravan to go in!

not sure when you're arrving in UK, but wouldn't it save you a whole load of hassle to forget vans/cars altogether and just get the train down there and back and camp? you could get the train to Castle Cary and there is a shuttle bus to site from there, so no hiking miles with all your gear either.

[monkey55]

you'll be very lucky to find a camper now, and if you do you'll be in for a few hundred quid or more for a weeks hire. a friend of mine has also left it late and has abandoned the idea now in favour of actually buying a cheap car and an old caravan to go in!

not sure when you're arrving in UK, but wouldn't it save you a whole load of hassle to forget vans/cars altogether and just get the train down there and back and camp? you could get the train to Castle Cary and there is a shuttle bus to site from there, so no hiking miles with all your gear either.

[austrian_zeppelin]

Hello, I'm an aussie and we're making a special trip to the UK for Glastonbury this year. We have tickets and everything, and a van pass, however we're having so much trouble trying to find vans that are still available!! Eeeek, have we left it too late?

This will not only be our first trip to Glastonbury, but our first trip to the Mother country, so I would be eternally grateful to anyone willing to lend us a bit of their local knowledge.

[Fairies for Change]

Haven't ever hired a van myself, so can't really give you a recommendation...

but a quick look on line brings up these sites

http://www.tilshead-caravans.com/motorhome...CFQ6wQwod3XQmaA

http://www.devoncoolcampers.co.uk

http://www.coolcampervans.com/

http://www.camper4hire.co.uk/

Good luck

[barbienightmare]

we hired ours straight after we bought the ticket back in Oct, even then there was only one left apart from the one wev'e booked for the glasto week.

I would just try every single number in the yellow pages, might be a little local company other people would over look, if no joy, start down the list in google or something, you could try ones you tried before on the off chance someone has cancelled.

you may find a old one on ebayto buy for the same £ as hireing one if it came to it. you can always sell it on after and make some money back. might even be cheaper to buy a used one .. thinking about how much our was to hire.

good luck,

Edited March 30, 2009 by barbienightmare

[Aphex's twin]

I have been looking for several weeks now. I have tried the areas local to Glastonbury, South Wales and all over the Midlands. I have been looking for a 6 brth and on the whole have been laughed with a 'you must be joking' kind of response. It seems like every Motorhome in the UK is heading to Glastonbury. You may have more luck with a smaller van though so I wish you very best of luck.

[StoneCircle]

I spotted a couple of rentals on eBay earlier - no fighting!!

http://tickets.shop.ebay.co.uk/items/_W0QQ...;_osacat=109202

[cassandra13]

Last year in the caravan field I was talking to a man from Glastonbury town who hires our caravans and sets them up for people just to arrive and unpack, can't remember his name but it should be possible to find him somehow, perhaps someone from Glastonbury town may have more info. He seemed to have lots of caravans and do it every year. As a last resort it might be worth trying, good luck and have a great festie regardless.

[a robot]

odd places to look for hiring a van are in the vehicle for sale sections of ebay and gumtree

they kept popping up when i was trying to buy my van last month!

good luck with it all

[timbrass]

I spotted a couple of rentals on eBay earlier - no fighting!!

http://tickets.shop.ebay.co.uk/items/_W0QQ...;_osacat=109202

[redmad1971]

there's a street in london where all the aussies who are going home sell their campers to newly arrived antipodeans every sunday morning.

i think its near earls court, not sure though.

maybe google will help you.

[llcoolphil]

You could try building your own... here is one I have just finished for this year's Glasto with some instructions on how to do it. You've got plenty of time before 24th June! http://timbrassey.com/campervan.aspx

[paulo999]

You could try building your own... here is one I have just finished for this year's Glasto with some instructions on how to do it. You've got plenty of time before 24th June! http://timbrassey.com/campervan.aspx

[barbienightmare]

odd places to look for hiring a van are in the vehicle for sale sections of ebay and gumtree

they kept popping up when i was trying to buy my van last month!

good luck with it all