Car or Coach

[Jitterbug_87]

Hello everyone :-)

ok I went to Glasto for my first and only time 8 yrs ago when i was 17 and didnt have the choice........This time I have the choice (providing i get a ticket lol) so I was wondering from peoples personal experience what you guys think is the best way to get there......

Thank you ;-)

[tjamest]

I had no choice last year as i only managed to get a ticket in the final, final resale and the only option was a coach/ticket combo from Southampton.

However it worked really well two well organised coaches arrived mid afternoon on Wednesday and on the way back although it was a bit of an early start (8.00am departure), once again it was really well organised and was back home in Bournemouth via Southampton by 11.30.

Obviously you have to travel reasonibly light, but if i get a ticket this year i'll probably do the coach again.

[markeee]

If you get a normal ticket..not part of a coach package..the i'd say defiitely go by car

going by car makes it a bit easier imo..leave home home when you want..leave the site when you want

also the other stuff, like bringing booze - much easier to bring crates of cider/lager if going by car!!!

[Jitterbug_87]

see they were my two main arguments for both lol......space and freedom in a car and easiness of a coach........plus no queuing on end in traffic personally (leave it to the driver lol)

so still not sure which to take haha..........

hmmmmmmm???

[Mardy]

Never done the organised coach/ticket thing. We usually go by car/campervan, but a few years back some people on here organised a coach and we went with them, it was excellent. Not sure I'd use the official coaches unless I didn't really have another option. But one of the advantages of a group of us going is we can usually share car hire between us, or all pile in someones car. If I was on my own, I'd probably get the train, i think. Don't know.

[markeee]

I haven't doe the coach but I\ve got the trai ad the shuttle bus from castle carey -- yiu're limited to what you can brng and id imagie there will still be queues/waits..sorting everything out

[Jitterbug_87]

hmmmmm looking more like a car trip then lol........but then again ive only got a little tigra so how much more could i really take pmsl......am getting excited now and dont even know if im going to get a ticket pmsl

[markeee]

yea youll be able to fit plenty, if I had a car I'd drive..train isnt gonna be fun

[Gnomicide]

Went by coach last year because it was all that was left.

Pros:

• Sit back, relax, have a kip on the way

• No long hike from the car park

• Get as drunk as you like on Sunday night without worrying about the drive home

• Green traveler discounts (if you can find anywhere that takes them

Cons:

• Can't take lots of ale

• A fair bit of waiting round

• Knob head drivers on the way home who seemed to think you need to go through the center of Bristol to get to Liverpool

I'd do it again if I was travelling on my own but other wise I'd go by car. The lack of being able to take loads of beer though changed how I drink at festivals. I always drink wine at home but tend to drink Guinness if I'm out. However, I opted to take a box of wine, go to the Cider Bus on Wednesday night and ration myself to one bottle of the wine each day and top up at the bars.

One big advantage of this was not having to go for a slash every hour. Once I'd got a spec in the crowd I could stay there.

[indieboymatt]

When we went in 2011 we got a coach from Bristol (we live in Birmingham but it was loads cheaper from Bristol and we know people there so stayed the night before) and it was really easy, got the first one down, nice and easy, straight into the festival

and then on the way back we ended up being too early for the coach we had booked as it didn't take us as long as we thought to get to the coaches but they let us on the one that was there.

I think if I do get a ticket we will get coaches again. We still managed to take as much alcohol as we needed and it just meant we didn't bring way too much stuff which is always a temptation with a car

[markeee]

Went by coach last year because it was all that was left.

Pros:

• Sit back, relax, have a kip on the way

• No long hike from the car park

• Get as drunk as you like on Sunday night without worrying about the drive home

• Green traveler discounts (if you can find anywhere that takes them

Cons:

• Can't take lots of ale

• A fair bit of waiting round

• Knob head drivers on the way home who seemed to think you need to go through the center of Bristol to get to Liverpool

I'd do it again if I was travelling on my own but other wise I'd go by car. The lack of being able to take loads of beer though changed how I drink at festivals. I always drink wine at home but tend to drink Guinness if I'm out. However, I opted to take a box of wine, go to the Cider Bus on Wednesday night and ration myself to one bottle of the wine each day and top up at the bars.

One big advantage of this was not having to go for a slash every hour. Once I'd got a spec in the crowd I could stay there.

[Jitterbug_87]

That was one thing i did remember about the coaches last time we went on the national express (dunno if any other coaches go) and we also arrived early to go back on the monday morning and they just let us on the one that was there........but then because i was goin to shrewsbury and there wasnt a direct coach i do remember having to wait around in birmingham for an hour on the way there and back for connecting coaches

[rexclark]

I don't drive but even if I did I'd much rather take a coach. It's more relaxing on the way down and on the way back you can party alll night Sunday then sleep all the way home on the Monday.

[markeee]

I don't drive but even if I did I'd much rather take a coach. It's more relaxing on the way down and on the way back you can party alll night Sunday then sleep all the way home on the Monday.

Edited September 23, 2012 by markeee

[rexclark]

but you cant bring as much stuff??

i also liked it that we could stop for food and get some fresh air ..serious 4/5 day hangover and comedown in 1 not fun..feel all over the place, alcohol sweats and paranoia ..cramped in a hot stuffy bus would be torture how ive felt sometimes !!

[pie_and_a_pint]

We always take the car - from Oxford with two or three people it works out cheaper than the coach or train, plus we can take the sack truck and can leave dry/clean clothes in the car for emergencies. My only advice is not to try to fit four people AND all their kit in a small hatchback unless you have a roof box or something!

[UEF]

I did my first by coach and was nice and easy getting in and out, but it forced me to travel light

Now I come by car and bring 70 cans of beer on a flatbed...

Not sure if this is progress

[James Bolivar]

If it helps, we went by train in 2003 and campervan last year and the CV was much easier, the train was a pain with queues everywhere and trains being diverted and delayed. That said, if you are going by car, I imagine Tuesday night/Wednesday will involve a lot of queueing.

Car travel is not really an option next year, so I will go down by train again. I will, however, aim to travel down on the Thursday to avoid the crush.

Edited September 24, 2012 by James Bolivar

[markeee]

car all day

Edited September 23, 2012 by markeee

[Jitterbug_87]

lol still havent got a clue which way to go........what are the walks like from the carpark to camping places in relation to where the coach drops you?.......I'm extremely lazy and the thought of hauling more crap than last time over an even longer distance than last time would definitely put me off using the car would rather skint myself buying all my booze there lol

[Phil-itfc]

for each of the 3 Glasto's I've been to I've travelled by different method

09 - train, ended up stuck at Castle Carey for 6 hours waiting for a shuttle bus. I understand that this was the first year that pretty much everyone turned up on the Wednesday. So maybe the shuttle bus demand was a lot higher than they expected. I wouldn't go by train again though, no guarantee of a seat and space for your bags and I had to travel across London during rush hour.

10 - coach, was the year England played midday in the football we arrived about kick off time so managed to avoid all the traffic and managed to go straight through the queues. Also got camping space very easily although it was a bit far out from a lot of areas. managed to bring more stuff than I would of on the train.

11 - car, arrived about 2 or 3ish after a long walk from the car to the site spent an hour trying to find a camping spot (ended up not far off the site we pitched up the previous year for the coaches). took lots of booze but had to do 2 trips to the car which took a long time seeing as we lost the car!

In all the best experience has been by coach, but I suspect we'll take the car next year and maybe turn up a bit earlier to get a spot.

[THEBOILERMAN]

Have always gone by car (since 81) but then in 2010 there were 7 of us from glasgow and only me able to drive...... so we hired a minibus, advertised the spare seats on here (lift share) and split the cost between all of us. the minibus was a 17 seater with a roof rack and i could of filled it twice over.

Last year we ended up hiring two 17 seater minibuses and the cost between the 34 of us was about £55-60 each.

"PROVIDING" i get a ticket i will do the same again in 2013........its the only way to go..

[Rufus Gwertigan]

Only go by car if you really hate the planet. ;-)

[markeee]

I don't have a car so for me it's hoping someone gives me a lift or the train!!

Wouldn't mind the train as much it#s just a pain getting alcohol to glasto if using train - I don't fancy using a trolley on the train, feels like that would be a massive ballache!!!

[Mardy]

Have always gone by car (since 81) but then in 2010 there were 7 of us from glasgow and only me able to drive...... so we hired a minibus, advertised the spare seats on here (lift share) and split the cost between all of us. the minibus was a 17 seater with a roof rack and i could of filled it twice over.

Last year we ended up hiring two 17 seater minibuses and the cost between the 34 of us was about £55-60 each.

"PROVIDING" i get a ticket i will do the same again in 2013........its the only way to go..