campervan fields

[wildhouse]

Hi, have managed to persuade my hubby to go again next year but to be honest it did not take much. We were thinking about bringing the caravan next year and arriving on the Tuesday so would like to hear what people's experience was arriving early and queues etc.

[ukmountie]

Hmm, arrived about 7pm ish on Tuesday. Very minimal queues. I think it took me about 20 minutes from turning off the main A road to being parked up. Location was almost as close as you could get, without being in the family fields across the road.

Downsides... Where I was there was a big slope. If it had been my own motorhome I would have had ramps, but I made do. Getting across the road on Wednesday to gate C was a pain. Big queue, but hell if I'd gotten out of bed earlier I would have been OK. Gate C gets very busy, but given the number of people it serves not much they can do about that.

All in all a very positive experience. It was great to be set up Tuesday night, having a beer or three and anticipating what was to come. I'd recommend it, and I'm hoping to repeat next year.

UKMountie

[redmosquito]

Basically what he said

We got there about 6ish on the Tuesday, straight through, only queued for 2 minutes at the most where they check your ticket. We got a great spot really near the gate with plenty of space around us and it was lovely being able to get there, set up, relax, chat to our neighbours and get excited about the next day.

We'll definately be going down on Tuesday again next year.

[souldancer]

I think it has good points and bad points.

We got there on the Tuesday night and it was great no waiting all set up ready for the morning, having a few beers with the neighbours. Having your own toilet better sleeping arrangments and all the perks of a campervan but unless your in the field closest to gate c i think its a bit of a chore going back and forth to the van.

The hill of death isn't as bad as people make out.

The thing I didn't like was unless you took everything you needed for the whole day with you in the morning coming back to get changed took up too much time and you end up missing bands or things you wanted to see, maybe because it was really hot this year everything seemed to take longer,also having to go through security twice a day atleast although we we're never stopped but some people looked pissed off having been stopped once or twice.

I think if your lucky and are close to gate c then it would be great but for the people in the fields furthest away it must be a nightmare.

I'd probably go back to tenting it next time so your close to everything.

[garethslee]

I think it has good points and bad points.

We got there on the Tuesday night and it was great no waiting all set up ready for the morning, having a few beers with the neighbours. Having your own toilet better sleeping arrangments and all the perks of a campervan but unless your in the field closest to gate c i think its a bit of a chore going back and forth to the van.

The hill of death isn't as bad as people make out.

The thing I didn't like was unless you took everything you needed for the whole day with you in the morning coming back to get changed took up too much time and you end up missing bands or things you wanted to see, maybe because it was really hot this year everything seemed to take longer,also having to go through security twice a day atleast although we we're never stopped but some people looked pissed off having been stopped once or twice.

I think if your lucky and are close to gate c then it would be great but for the people in the fields furthest away it must be a nightmare.

I'd probably go back to tenting it next time so your close to everything.

[grumpyhack]

We took a trailer tent for the first time this year and it was superb. No way do I want to go back to camping at Glasto. Lots of space and excellent location.

One word of warning. When we booked we had to choose between Campervan West and Campervan East.. Because we were coming from the West side down the M5 I picked CV West without really thinking about it. It was only when I looked at the site map that I realised that CV East was much closer to the stages we would be spending our time at (Acoustic, Avalon etc) wheras West was close to the John Peel/Dance Area.

Luckily through this board I was able to find someone who was happy to swap an East for a West ticket and we ended up in CV East, which was excellent.

The downside that some people talk about is the Hill of Death - the walk up from Pedestrian Gate C to CV East. But it really was over-hyped and if you pace yourself is no big deal (admittedly it was dry and I don't know how muddly it would get in bad weather).

We were in East 23 which was reasonably flat (East 24 which is a bit closer is a steep slope and to be avoided).

We too set up a 'base camp' small tent inside the main festival in Home Ground - our 'traditional' camping area from previous years - but actually never used it and took it down after a couple of days.

We found that you could carry as much food/drink as you needed by day quite easily and if you did need to have a rest during the day it wasn't much further to go back to the trailer tent. Another suggestion on here that we might consider for next year is to take anything that you might need by day but don't want to carry around and leave it it one of the lockups.

Edited August 25, 2010 by grumpyhack

[al_coholic]

Good point grumpyhack

We left our fleeces at the Gate C lockups in a bag during the day, and then swapped and left our chairs and rug in the lockup at night time and collected our fleeces. Saved having to lug the chairs up the hill every night. It worked really well, although there tends to be a bit of a queue at Gate C lockups.

[ukmountie]

I'll add that I was there in a friends campervan in 2009. We didn't arrive until v.late Wednesday after the queue from hell. We were way further away, and going in and out was a pain. But then we only ever did it once a day. Hill of death got pretty muddy after the rain on Thursday night, but it was never that much of a struggle.

It was suggested that I do the base camp thing, but that seemed like a hassle as well. Lock ups seem like a really good idea though. Will make more use of those next year.

[redmosquito]

To be honest I'm not a fan of this base camp idea, space is already at a premium for those unlucky souls in tents so depriving them of even more room just so you can have a bit of a nap to me seems incredibly selfish, especially when you're doing it in one of the most popular camping fields. I don't understand why people will berate someone using and 8 man tent for just 2 when it seems alright to put up a tent that your not even going to use. There are lockups all over the site so just plan ahead and take in everything you'll need for later on in the day with you on a morning and leave anything you don't want to lug around in a lock up. We did it everyday and never had to queue at the gate c lockups for more than 2 minutes. Plus its far more secure than leaving your stuff it in a tent that you'll only be in for an hour a day at a maximum.

[amfy]

The base camp idea always make me think we're losing the argument that Glastonbury is too middle class - we actually have people with one Glastonbury home away from the hustle and bustle, and another smaller one as a "city crash pad"! We'll have Kirsty and Phil on the case before we know it!

[Big Vern]

we're thinking of doing Glasto for the first time next year and will be doing it in a campervan if we're lucky enough to get tickets. I'm guessing there are sufficient points to refil the van's water supply and also places to dump the chemical toilet and grey waste?

[grumpyhack]

we're thinking of doing Glasto for the first time next year and will be doing it in a campervan if we're lucky enough to get tickets. I'm guessing there are sufficient points to refil the van's water supply and also places to dump the chemical toilet and grey waste?

[adamski]

we're thinking of doing Glasto for the first time next year and will be doing it in a campervan if we're lucky enough to get tickets. I'm guessing there are sufficient points to refil the van's water supply and also places to dump the chemical toilet and grey waste?

[souldancer]

we're thinking of doing Glasto for the first time next year and will be doing it in a campervan if we're lucky enough to get tickets. I'm guessing there are sufficient points to refil the van's water supply and also places to dump the chemical toilet and grey waste?