Queueing at Glastonbury

[Wooderson]

Oooooh!! Bubble and Squeak stall. Adds to list for this year.

Only queue I got in last year was for the underground piano bar, did it for 10 mins and left. Will try again this year and see what the craic is but not if there's a massive queue again.

Its a load of South County Dublin posh crusty types reciting Hillaire Belloc poetry off their collective heads on poitín.

[Wooderson]

That's what I thought this thread was about, initially. Forgive the tangent but I turned up at 5:15am last year, at Gate A. There were quite a few ahead of me but within 45 minutes, the queue stretched as far as I could see. Lots and lots of tired people interspersed by drunk lads who hit the Strongbow too hard on the overnight coach and must have crashed hard on Wednesday lunchtime.

Some pillock managed to spill strawberry cider all over my bag. All good though, really. I was in the queue. How could I be upset?!

Yep. And couple of occasions over the weekend theres a substantial wait to get in gate C when wristband checkers are overwhelmed by volume/mud causes delays.

[H.M.V]

Its a load of South County Dublin posh crusty types reciting Hillaire Belloc poetry off their collective heads on poitín.

Think I might know one or two of them.

[ICGenie]

That's what I thought this thread was about, initially. Forgive the tangent but I turned up at 5:15am last year, at Gate A. There were quite a few ahead of me but within 45 minutes, the queue stretched as far as I could see. Lots and lots of tired people interspersed by drunk lads who hit the Strongbow too hard on the overnight coach and must have crashed hard on Wednesday lunchtime.

Some pillock managed to spill strawberry cider all over my bag. All good though, really. I was in the queue. How could I be upset?!

Best thing about the queue in last year was someone had dumped three unopened (glass) bottles of Kopperberg about half an hour from the entrance. Made the last of that queue much nicer. If that was you, ta muchly!

[UEF]

One thing I remember from last year was the constant spectacle of 300 hipster/gap yah types waiting to go up the ribbon tower.

Glastonbury shouldn't be hard work. As others have said, walk on by and find the path less traveled.

[CaledonianGonzo]

One thing I remember from last year was the constant spectacle of 300 hipster/gap yah types waiting to go up the ribbon tower.

Plus ca change. The Glastonbury Movie has footage of folk in 1993 lining up in droves to go on the ferris wheel.

[giantkatestacks]

I have never been up the ribbon tower [edit: not a euphemism]

The most tedious queue and only one i will do is for lunch in toms field, the crew canteen is heaving at lunchtime but I've worked damn hard for that vegetable lasagne and I'm fucked if I'm paying for my own lunch.

Feeling very belligerent today, I think the headliner thread has finally worn me down.

Edited March 7, 2015 by giantkatestacks

[Smash Williams]

If you hate queueing but are desperate to see someone that is playing one of the smaller stages, arrive early. It is very rare you will be staring at an empty stage, something will be going on and you might even enjoy it! Granted some of it will be awful but in the past this has led me to discover acts like Manu Chao and Beta Band, bands I'm not sure i would have encountered otherwise. Whatever you do, don't turn up 15 minutes into a set and barge your way through a packed crowd of people who turned up on time. These people are known as T***s

[rawrsomesauce]

I love the Glade stage after hours. No queue, just walk in. Bloody brilliant, decent music.

Can confirm, accidentally wandered in around 1am last year, stayed until 4

[bennyhana22]

Oooooh!! Bubble and Squeak stall. Adds to list for this year.

Only queue I got in last year was for the underground piano bar, did it for 10 mins and left. Will try again this year and see what the craic is but not if there's a massive queue again.

I'll queue with you for that, HMV! We can do ten minutes, curse a lot quietly, then leave...

Ben

[bennyhana22]

One thing I remember from last year was the constant spectacle of 300 hipster/gap yah types waiting to go up the ribbon tower.

Glastonbury shouldn't be hard work. As others have said, walk on by and find the path less traveled.

Lovely advice, UEF, thanks.

When, on the telly, I see people queueing at R&L for the funfair rides, I think...and you're there because...?

Ben

[Winslow Leach]

The thing that makes the queue for the ribbon tower even more perplexing is that the Park hill and the hill with the flags on are both higher and give you a much better view.

Not counting food, I only queued for three things last year: NYC Downlow on Wednesday night, one of the Shangri La venues on Thursday night and the Underground Piano Bar on the Friday.

NYC Downlow queue only took about two minutes, Underground Piano Bar took a while but that's to be expected really, and the Shangri La place only developed a queue when I left to go to the toilet because a rumour started spreading that Daft Punk were in there (why Daft Punk would make their live comeback at one in the morning in a bar in Shangri La, I do not know). On the whole we never found queueing in the SE corner that bad. We usually went back to our tent after headliners to load up on alcohol though, so maybe we missed the post-headliner late night rush.

On the whole I don't mind queueing for some of the SE corner venues if it's 5 minutes or less as I'm usually quite plastered and the time flies, and you can strike up some pretty interesting conversations with other queuers. If something is taking forever though, I'd bail. No point wasting ages when there's probably something as good going on elsewhere.

[Perks]

The only queues I've encountered is the Wednesday morning getting in, toilets in the mornings and going home.. The one that I never understand is the phone charger place, it's nuts. I honestly don't understand the need to queue to charge a phone. Me pal went off to it this year. Unbelievable. He was gone for ages. Think he missed 2 bands at the Avalon. Idiot.

[incident]

Never understood why people queue for toilets, given that there's so many around the place.

By the time you've finished queueing you could've walked to a set that don't have queues, done your business and got back.

The best example is at the Meeting Point / Kidney Mead - there's a set on each side of the hedge, about 30 seconds walk away if that, yet it's common for one set to be busy wile the other is empty.

I'm pretty sure the only time I queue within the site is for food.

[CaledonianGonzo]

I queued for the Grande Bouffe a few years back, but time is so precious there that standing like a spod for a sausage is something I'll do only once, no matter how excellent said sausage is.

[Harry3]

Ah, didn't realise that. Any idea what time they knock off?

Blues closes about 1:30 - 2am

[___S_o_m_a__]

But, as a first timer, I'm slightly disconcerted by the not infrequent reference to queueing to get into smaller venues, presumably particularly in the SE Corner after main stage close.

How often do you encounter this?

Smaller venues + loads of people = queues. You'll see them and if you choose to be in them you'll be in them. Personally two or three things of the things I wanted to get into were in completely inappropriate venues for the amount of people who wanted to see them - NYC Downlow for David Morales' Tribute to Frankie Knuckles and The 2 Bears at The Stonebridge bar I'm looking at you. Actually the Stonebridge Bar in general was PACKED OUT every time I went by with security stopping people getting anywhere near the tent but I'm probably going to stop crying about it soon.

One of my favourite things about festivals is the freedom to wander in and out of places, without the awful constraints of typical Saturday night club capacity/dress code/does your face fit bollocks.

Feel free to wander in and wander out of anywhere you damn well like without the awful constraints of a typical Saturday night out. You'll encounter no dress codes in any of the venues except a maybe a couple of the hot tub sauna places that insist on a no dress code.*

I can understand that, if a secret set starts...

Whisper it. The secret set at Glastonbury is dead. Long live the secret set!

But, in general, am I going to be pissed off by the number of times I see a queue and think, fuck it, and move on?

Possibly but if you do move on and find something else that you like you'll more than likely forget you were pissed off in the first place. You'll love this place.

*You'll need a 'tasche for the NYC Downlow.

[Woffy]

Where are these naked hot tub places?

I'm in.

[UEF]

Never understood why people queue for toilets, given that there's so many around the place.

By the time you've finished queueing you could've walked to a set that don't have queues, done your business and got back.

The best example is at the Meeting Point / Kidney Mead - there's a set on each side of the hedge, about 30 seconds walk away if that, yet it's common for one set to be busy wile the other is empty.

I'm pretty sure the only time I queue within the site is for food.

The other one is people falling over themselves to use the portaloos near the pyramid yet not going in the much nicer and fully lit compost loos. Oh well, I'll carry on taking the 1st Class option!

[Paul_w]

Never understood why people queue for toilets, given that there's so many around the place.

By the time you've finished queueing you could've walked to a set that don't have queues, done your business and got back.

The best example is at the Meeting Point / Kidney Mead - there's a set on each side of the hedge, about 30 seconds walk away if that, yet it's common for one set to be busy wile the other is empty.

I'm pretty sure the only time I queue within the site is for food.

Williams green is exactly the same, theres more behind the hedge but no one seems to realise they're there. Also at the pyramid the que for the toilets to the right of the stage looks huge, yet if you walk around them and que from the other side you're in and out in no time

[ICGenie]

The only queues I've encountered is the Wednesday morning getting in, toilets in the mornings and going home.. The one that I never understand is the phone charger place, it's nuts. I honestly don't understand the need to queue to charge a phone. Me pal went off to it this year. Unbelievable. He was gone for ages. Think he missed 2 bands at the Avalon. Idiot.

We went with a first timer who spent most of the fest looking for charging options. I really felt she missed out on the whole fest - she noted after that there was so much she didn't see. I take a charger that'll do mine and hubbies for about two full charges each but there's no way I'd spend fest time in a charging tent.

[tommyds]

As absurd as it may seem, if it's raining, I'll queue in the rain to poop in a toilet with a roof

[TheParkAfterDark]

Williams green is exactly the same, theres more behind the hedge but no one seems to realise they're there. Also at the pyramid the que for the toilets to the right of the stage looks huge, yet if you walk around them and que from the other side you're in and out in no time

William's Green is exactly the same because it's the same place incident is talking about!

Another toilet tip is if you're watching a big act at the back left of the Pyramid is to jump up to the toilets in Row Mead. Back right make you way to the toilets at the nature reserve just beyond the small cafe there. 5 minute walk to each, never any queues. Quicker than standing in the queues at the more obvious toilets. Plus the view of the Pyramid and indeed the rest of the site is cracking when walking to/from the nature reserve toilets.

[kalifire]

It didn't take long last year for the queues for the urinals to descend into absolute chaos, with many men openly urinating onto the ground next to the barrier, while other men queued patiently for a trough.

[___S_o_m_a__]

As absurd as it may seem, if it's raining, I'll queue in the rain to poop in a toilet with a roof

That is absurd. I love taking a dump in the rain.