car park access

[denwyn]

No way i can get time off work for full 5 days, so as i live near i am going to pitch tents on Wednesday morning, will be there by 7.30 am, how easy is it to leave the car parks after i have pitched tent, i can hang around a bit, but have to be back in work ( Taunton ) by 3pm. Just have a vision of car park attendants not letting me out.

Edited June 12, 2009 by denwyn

[CCCheese]

No way i can get time off work for full 5 days, so as i live near i am going to pitch tents on Wednesday morning, will be there by 7.30 am, how easy is it to leave the car parks after i have pitched tent, i can hang around a bit, but have to be back in work ( Taunton ) by 3pm. Just have a vision of car park attendants not letting me out.

[StoneCircle]

Hi

Read this from the offical site, you will be fine.

Arriving/parking

There are two main entrances for cars, you'll be directed to one depending where you are coming from. If you have a choice, use the Blue Route (approach from the A303, then the A37), where there is more parking space and less of a queue to get in and out of the site.

Caravans and campervans require special parking tickets and are only admitted to special secure fields along Blue Route (off the A37), with overflow facility on the Orange route for a few.

Routes to and from the festival are likely to be very busy but avoiding on-site peak arrival and departure times may help you steer clear of the heaviest traffic. The worst time to arrive by car is between 12 noon and 6pm on Wednesday and Thursday. And avoid leaving the festival between 9am and 5pm on Monday as sheer weight of traffic means it can take up to nine hours to leave the car park (not a good way to end your weekend).

No sleeping, camping or fires are allowed in the car parks. Please do not use un-official car parks as these threaten the future of the Festival.

Where you park

Most people want to park as near as possible to the pedestrian entrances (because they feel they have a lot to carry, or are old, or young, or pregnant, or ill, or just tired). Unfortunately it can't work like that. The choice you make is which side of the site to approach from, and after that it depends which field the stewards are filling at that time. It's really down to luck whereabouts in the car park you end up.

Leaving and returning to the car park during the Festival

It is possible to leave the car park and return during the Festival. The cars are parked in rows with decent turning space in between the rows and the car pass works each time you enter. Most likely you will be parked in a different place on your return, though.

Leaving the Festival

To be really sorted plot your return journey in advance. Worst times to leave by car are late Sunday and Monday between 9am and 4pm, when long delays can be experienced. Our useful graph from the 2005 Festival shows the time delays from that year:

[strolling wanderer]

As commented above you will be directed into a car parking field and you can leave and return at any time but you will obviously not get back into the same parking field.

The roads around the site do operate a one way system throughout the festival so you will access in oe side and then be directed out the other. As long as you have the Car Park pass on your vehicle and then you have your half ticket, the pass out and your wristband, you shouldn't have a problem getting back in, just a longer walk.

[bubbsio]

No way i can get time off work for full 5 days, so as i live near i am going to pitch tents on Wednesday morning, will be there by 7.30 am, how easy is it to leave the car parks after i have pitched tent, i can hang around a bit, but have to be back in work ( Taunton ) by 3pm. Just have a vision of car park attendants not letting me out.

[Susie121]

Would i be correct in assuming they fill the nearest car parks from the approach roads first and then gradually further away?