Driving back Monday afternoon

[evilduck]

This is my first year driving to Glastonbury, and I'm technically a bit of a new driver in that I've only just started driving again after 10 years. I'm a bit worried about the length of the journey home and being tired as I'm going back to London. From about what time on Monday can you leave and miss the car park and A303 queues? In the past we've packed up at about 6am and still got stuck for ages, so I would rather sleep in on Monday and try to miss all that so I'm in the car for the least amount of time possible.

[Andy0808 v5]

Where are you heading back to?

I had a lot more joy last year going through Bristol and onto the M4, once I got through the Bristol traffic it was smooth sailing to the M25

[Hugh Jass]

The queue on the A303 is bad all day to be honest. It's normally tailed back a good hour or two from Stonehenge. After you clear there it clears really quickly.

[T-Mouse]

Stay away from Bath city centre. Thats the main piece of advice i can give you.

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

The whole situation seems to be a bit of a lottery to be honest. Friends when they left at around 8am in 2013 didn't walk through their front door in Essex until almost 12 hours later, whereas I left at a similar time last year, albeit headed south and apart from some minor congestion through Glastonbury town had a really easy trip out. 

My advice is to take your time, use the whole day to get home safely, take regular breaks along the way and be prepared for the worst regarding traffic congestion.

[The Nal]

Theres always a traffic shitstorm somewhere on Monday. Got stuck for 7 hours (didn't move at all) in 2014. Last year we hung around until 4pm or so and then headed off and there was no traffic.

My advice is to enjoy Sunday night, get up late Monday and then head off. 

[**claire**]

We're normally packed up & out of the car park by 7am, & have always driven straight out.  Not normally with it enough to actively choose the A303 or the M4 or whatever it is to make our way back to the South East, but I think generally if you can avoid the A303 it's better - the first few places on the A303 where you can stop for a rest/food/wee etc are usually already rammed at that time of day.

[lucyginger]

12 minutes ago, The Nal said:

My advice is to enjoy Sunday night, get up late Monday and then head off. 

This. It's so much nicer. Plus you can usually get a cheap brekkie on Monday lunchtime when the food stalls have stuff they want to get rid of  

[russycarps]

I would consider booking a hotel or B&B somewhere close by. Then do the whole trip on the tuesday refreshed and stress-free. If I ever drive again this will be my plan. The drive home on the monday is indescribably horrific.

Edited April 11, 2016 by russycarps

[The Nal]

4 minutes ago, lucyginger said:

This. It's so much nicer. Plus you can usually get a cheap brekkie on Monday lunchtime when the food stalls have stuff they want to get rid of  

Also removes any stress on Sunday. Getting packed up, worrying about the early start etc. I got completely shitfaced on Sunday last year, for the first time. I even had a lovely shower on the Monday. Went for a stroll around the site. Chatted to some of the crew etc.

Was walking down the Hill of Mild Discomfort at Gate C at 11am on Monday and there was a couple walking up the hill. A couple carrying way to much stuff. It was hot. They looked shattered. About half way up the hill the girl just collapsed in a heap and started balling her eyes out. Her fella gave me a quick look as if to say "I'm in for a long, long day here". 

3 minutes ago, russycarps said:

I would consider booking a hotel or B&B somewhere close by. Then do the whole trip on the tuesday refreshed and stress-free. If I ever drive again this will be my plan. The drive home on the monday is indescribably horrific.

Yeah we've missed flights home etc so now just take it easy and stay the night in Bristol and go home on the Tuesday. Tuesday flights were 100 quid cheaper than Monday last year so it paid for itself.

[lucyginger]

We stay local on the Monday too. My drive home is only a couple of hours, but for some of our lot it's 5 hours, so a Monday b&b stop is good. Plus you get a nice reintegration into society without it being too terrifying! We still leave site about 5pm. No need to get up if you don't have to! 

[Fred Zepplin]

9 minutes ago, russycarps said:

I would consider booking a hotel or B&B somewhere close by. Then do the whole trip on the tuesday refreshed and stress-free. If I ever drive again this will be my plan. The drive home on the monday is indescribably horrific.

This is what we do, live in Lincoln so it is a fair way to drive straight back.

We book a Travelodge in Bath which is normally around £30 and the drive there only takes around 30-45 mins. Since its not far we don't plan what time we are going to leave the site, just go when we feel like it. Always go out for a few drinks and a nice meal to finish the weekend off, have done this for the last 4 years

[evilduck]

Yeah my plan was to get up late Monday and not hurry. I might look into booking a B'n'B nearby as I'm not back in work until Wednesday.

[Jakkkkobz]

2014 took me about 13 hours to get back to Cambridge when we left about 1, I was close to crying out of hunger by the time the traffic finally cleared up and we got to the Burger King past Stonehenge. Go for a long pub lunch in one of the surrounding villages and leave late afternoon.

Edited April 11, 2016 by Jakkkkobz

[mandolin]

We're staying locally this year too - booked a B&B in Shepton Mallet for the Monday night.  Journey home to Sheffield last year wasn't too bad (about 5 hours) but the two before that we're both 12-13 hours.  Just can't face the thought of it being like that again.  Really like the thought of getting up at our leisure and having a bimble around the site on the Monday.  

[lucyginger]

10 minutes ago, mandolin said:

We're staying locally this year too - booked a B&B in Shepton Mallet for the Monday night.  Journey home to Sheffield last year wasn't too bad (about 5 hours) but the two before that we're both 12-13 hours.  Just can't face the thought of it being like that again.  Really like the thought of getting up at our leisure and having a bimble around the site on the Monday.  

See you in Shepton! 

The only thing I would remind people of, is that the lock ups close at midday Monday. Get your stuff out before then or you have to trek to the one by the Pyramid field! That is not fun when you think you've only got to pop up to the end of your field. Learn by my mistake!!!! 

[Respectfatfrog]

planning on staying around on the Monday until mid day then think about heading back

[paulmuchmore]

Yeah the A303 can be bad... last year we left at around 10/half 10 I think, took over an hour to get out of the car park but after that it was fine, me and my brother were in one car and we saw there was traffic ahead on the A303, made a quick decision to come off to go through Salisbury to get to Southampton, stopped for a McDonalds and still got home probably an hour and a half before my mum, who was driving alone, was ahead of us, and didn't have anyone to check the traffic news for her. So yeah, I'd say avoid the A303 as much as possible!

[Alan_C]

Has anyone ever got a bus back home in the early hours of the Monday? I usually do Glastonbury the comfortable way, but I'm looking to do it the cheaper way this year. There is a bus that leaves the festival at 3am on the Monday which would get me home for 11am.

Does anyone know if there are queues around that time? I'm thinking this might be a decent option. The next bus home is 7am, but leaving at that time and going all of the way back to Newcastle, I think it'll get stuck in quite a bit of traffic. That bus would get me home at 3pm.

Neither is ideal really, but weighing up the pros and cons, the 3am one might be best for traffic and getting the shit  bit out of the way. I can pack most of my stuff away on Sunday morning, so I only have the tent left to take down after the Sunday headliner, then I can go to sleep on the bus home. The 7am bus sounds like a bit of a nightmare, either staying up all night, or having a couple of hours sleep and having to pack away and the prospect of queues.

[mandolin]

If I was faced with that choice, I'd go for the 3 am one.  But I would pack up everything (including the tent) on Sunday morning and leave most stuff in the lock-up near gate A.  Drink and clothes etc for the day/night could be carried around or left in a lock-up nearer to where you are planning to be for the bulk of the day.  Then when you're done having fun you just have a couple of stops to make and then sleep on the coach.  

[Alan_C]

2 minutes ago, mandolin said:

If I was faced with that choice, I'd go for the 3 am one.  But I would pack up everything (including the tent) on Sunday morning and leave most stuff in the lock-up near gate A.  Drink and clothes etc for the day/night could be carried around or left in a lock-up nearer to where you are planning to be for the bulk of the day.  Then when you're done having fun you just have a couple of stops to make and then sleep on the coach.  

That doesn't sound a bad idea at all actually. Is the lock-up right next to Gate A? Never used the lock-ups before. How does it work exactly? I just turn up on the Sunday with my stuff and they take the stuff and there is an optional donation?

[mandolin]

That's pretty much it.  They'll give you a ticket which you will have to hand back in but that's it.  Leave a donation and job's done.  I would recommend taking a picture of the ticket on your phone in case you lose the ticket (and then try very hard not to lose the phone!).  I've not used the lock-up near gate A but I'm fairly certain there is one near very near by.  I have a somewhat drunken memory of going there with a mate to pick some stuff up.  Someone on here would be able to give you more specific help with that or it may be on the map.

[mandolin]

Yup, it's by Gate A in Darble

[Hugh Jass]

16 minutes ago, Alan_C said:

Has anyone ever got a bus back home in the early hours of the Monday? I usually do Glastonbury the comfortable way, but I'm looking to do it the cheaper way this year. There is a bus that leaves the festival at 3am on the Monday which would get me home for 11am.

Does anyone know if there are queues around that time? I'm thinking this might be a decent option. The next bus home is 7am, but leaving at that time and going all of the way back to Newcastle, I think it'll get stuck in quite a bit of traffic. That bus would get me home at 3pm.

Neither is ideal really, but weighing up the pros and cons, the 3am one might be best for traffic and getting the shit  bit out of the way. I can pack most of my stuff away on Sunday morning, so I only have the tent left to take down after the Sunday headliner, then I can go to sleep on the bus home. The 7am bus sounds like a bit of a nightmare, either staying up all night, or having a couple of hours sleep and having to pack away and the prospect of queues.

I had to do that in 2007 as my See Coach was leaving at 3am for some reason. It so so bleak being stuck in the coach park in the pissing rain. All semblance of order had broken down as people were just charging for buses regardless of whether they were meant to be on them or not.

Never again.

[Alan_C]

1 minute ago, mandolin said:

That's pretty much it.  They'll give you a ticket which you will have to hand back in but that's it.  Leave a donation and job's done.  I would recommend taking a picture of the ticket on your phone in case you lose the ticket (and then try very hard not to lose the phone!).  I've not used the lock-up near gate A but I'm fairly certain there is one near very near by.  I have a somewhat drunken memory of going there with a mate to pick some stuff up.  Someone on here would be able to give you more specific help with that or it may be on the map.

Cheers for some very good advice. That has probably made up my mind. I would guess there would be too many problems queuing for stuff in the early hours of Monday as well?