EAST AND WEST CAMPER CREW

[bekimo]

The queue to get out of the bottom of East 18 is not even moving right now and hasn't for a good 2 hours! It is a pedestrian gate so obviously with the foot traffic, all cars have been stopped. 

Weve seen some very impatient people causing issues. One drove into someone's awning, someone almost got into a fist fight and had to be separated. It's just not very Glastonbury! 

Edited June 27, 2016 by bekimo

[tedmaul]

The people in charge of West Camper are totally incompetent and incapable of making the simplest decisions; they have no apparent urge to improve the situation here and are happy to hide whilst the poor stewards are left to deal with all the awkward questions. 

There has been a queue for over twelve hours now with adults and children baking in the sun.  Is it really too much to ask for someone to get out a pen and notebook and take people's mobile numbers? 

 

[Ommadawn]

5 hours ago, tedmaul said:

Just heard these tractor drivers are volunteers. I think it's terrible that GFL aren't prepared to pay any money to help this situation. 

 

 

I think you may find that although the tractor drivers are volunteers, money is donated by the festival to various groups they support.

[bekimo]

East 18 are being urged to head out through East 17 and East 16 as the road at the bottom of the field is blocked as someone has broken down. 

Also, the zombie apocalypse is upon us! 

[hurdy]

15 minutes ago, Ommadawn said:

I think you may find that although the tractor drivers are volunteers, money is donated by the festival to various groups they support.

The one who towed us out laughed at the suggestion that he was a volunteer. Gleefully pointed out that he did technically volunteer, but only becuase he was getting paid 

[ThomThomDrum]

Damn right these lads are getting paid

[tvrobbie]

Hope everyone got out ok. We started queuing at midnight at the top of the West CV field, near the exit and fianlly got off site a 3am. We were about 18 places down when we started and by the time we left the queue must have been at least 100 poeple long.

The tractor drivers were doing an admirable job in tough conditions, but the minimal system they had was totally scuppered by the idiots that thought they'd attempt to drive out on their own and block the single track when they inevitably got stuck when trying to jump the queue.

That being said, one of the tractor drivers was being a bit heavy on the accelarator. coming in pretty fast and i saw on twitter earlier that one of them hit a car and campervan.

[Smeble]

2 hr queue to get out of E16 from noon, pretty much what I expected, no major hassle at all, had to wait for the cows to go for a milking on Pylle lane, 

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

Drove pretty much straight out of E25 at about 9:30 this morning, one of the conicoincidental benefits of being in a pre pitched caravan is that part of the field is virtually untouched and not churned up, so we just drove out to the edge and round the perimeter to join road out.

[tedmaul]

Pre-pitched caravan? I have not heard of this phenomenon. Tell me more! 

[Ommadawn]

1 hour ago, hurdy said:

The one who towed us out laughed at the suggestion that he was a volunteer. Gleefully pointed out that he did technically volunteer, but only becuase he was getting paid 

 

1 hour ago, ThomThomDrum said:

Damn right these lads are getting paid

Well I know three tractor drivers who are not getting paid but are working for a donation to their supported charity. Maybe they get the choice?

[Deaf Nobby Burton]

 

41 minutes ago, tedmaul said:

Pre-pitched caravan? I have not heard of this phenomenon. Tell me more! 

There are numerous companies who you can rent caravans from the festival, they deliver them to site on the Monday and they're generally parked together at the bottoms of E25. You just drive up next to yours when you arrive. They can be pricey, and we found it harder than the year before to get hold of one on T day this year, but lots of folks just reserve them for the next year on the basis that they will get tickets and can normally get the deposit refunded if they don't. Downside is mainly that your in E25 but upside is it's generally hassle free, although this year we still had the hassle of actually trying to get into cv East like everyone else.

[tedmaul]

Thanks for taking the time to explain that - very informative stuff. I like the sound of that, especially if they sort the awning for you - that's my least favourite bit of setting up/breaking  camp. Or at least it was before I discovered West Camper Hell

Despite the best efforts of the organisers to ensure our indefinite stay with their reluctance to do anything sensible to help, we've managed to escape by skidding and sliding our way to the exit. Hairy stuff. 

Definitely won't be bothering with camper van ticket next year unless they take some basic steps to ensure people can actually get in and out. Quarter of a mile of sensibly laid metal track would have saved a few hundred people a lot of stress and worry today. 

[TheNewUnion]

How's it looking? Everyone out or plenty still inside, taking their time and making a day of it?

[Ohinever]

Did the stewards have any training this year at all? 

No one seemed to know when anything was, and basic things like exits at that. 

Also the campervan stewards were waking them people up at 10am this morning to remind them to get a move on and leave!  I thought you could stay until the Tuesday? 

Edited June 27, 2016 by mooro

[GlastoLuvvinJock]

Have spent most of today scrubbing my awning and folding camper and have made the decision that I won't do campervan fields again. My missus has decided she wants to come next year and book a mini yurt in Worthy view. Have enjoyed my 3 years in West and 1 in East but it breaks my heart to see our camper which we use loads in that sort of mess. 

[marktea]

 Left E26 just before 2pm. Was out within 30 mins - about an hour quicker than last year! Think a lot of people left earlier than usual which helped, as did a dry day. 

[Suggestives]

Got out around 2:30 under my own steam after the sun and breeze had dried things up.

I was there with my teenage daughter and had spent the morning sorting out getting her home by bus/train as if we were both stuck there we'd have been screaming at each other before long.

I had visions of spending the night sat in the tow-out queue but after helping a couple of campervans out with a good team of pushers, realised that escape was possible.

I though the stewards were great but they had no support whatsoever. An operation of the scale of Glasto should really have a well developed contingency plan for circumstance like this with someone senior in charge communicating down through the stewards.

Having to stand in a queue for hours is a daft way to organise towouts. Other festivals I attend have a booking system - your reg. and location goes on a list and they get to you in turn. 

It was my first Glasto and I loved it despite the challenges, but the thought that it's possible to be stranded there for days rather than hours would really put me off going again. I'll probably stick to the smaller festivals in future.

Thanks to everyone on the forum for the helpful updates, and to all the great friendly folk I chatted to in the campervan fields over the weekend

[tedmaul]

Here here. I'd like to second everything you've said there. Those poor stewards were in a horrible situation; all they wanted to do was help people but they were having to work with absolutely no support or direction from above.  They were relying on rumour and conjecture the same as us punters. Amazingly unprofessional behaviour from the management. The queueing system was seemingly designed to cause people as much discomfort and inconvenience as possible and they refused to change it despite repeated pleas.  At no point did anyone senior appear with anything resembling any form of control, and communication was non existent.  I work in planning and I'd be sacked if I was responsible for a shambles like that. 

[MoilyX]

Agree about the poor communication. With the major traffic chaos on Wednesday stewards were left facing thousands of frustrated and increasingly irate motorists trying to get some help when they closed the Blue Route without warning, but they were given radios with no battery power left.

I felt sorry for them as they were given an impossible job, and left high and dry by the incompetent Transport Manager and his team.

[gorfield]

are people still there???

[Swine_Glasto2014]

21 hours ago, tedmaul said:

The people in charge of West Camper are totally incompetent and incapable of making the simplest decisions; they have no apparent urge to improve the situation here and are happy to hide whilst the poor stewards are left to deal with all the awkward questions. 

There has been a queue for over twelve hours now with adults and children baking in the sun.  Is it really too much to ask for someone to get out a pen and notebook and take people's mobile numbers? 

 

Yeah, in E20 just chilling waiting for vehicle to arrive and tow one of the caravans with us

[eFestivals]

well, I don't wish to gloat ... but I'm going to anyway.

East CV's: easy in and easy out.

Planning, thought, and more thought and planning. And, OK ... a big bit of luck too (a decent field to park in, E23).

I know we were lucky with a 3.5hr queue to get in, but it wasn't only luck ... the chaos was very predictable, and being near the front of the queues was important, so that's what we made happen. As for getting out with ease, 6am always works if you're lucky enough to be in a field where you won't need towing.

[hfuhruhurr]

We listened to the advice not to turn up until after 6pm - so hit the A37 queue at 9pm - on site in E14 at 8am. No security checks at all (glass/tickets), just straight in after the campervan sticker. Once in the field there were no stewards, so everyone parked randomly.

Leaving, I woke up, figured out we could leave, woke the rest of us up, packed, towed by the friendliest farmer dude in the world, and off site at 08:45 - which was a shock, because I'd not looked at my watch and assumed it was midday (the rest of my crew were back asleep for the 5hr slog back....).

[BeddyDriver]

I can certainly add a few pennies worth to this thread. Sorry for the long reply, 

I was on route to the festival before the Monday night email saying dont come, having left Plymouth at 5am to go to London for a meeting, then Bognor Regis, and so pitched up in a layby on the A37 around midnight. Checked my emails once parked and found the see tickets mail, so merrily settled into my layby for what I expected to be an 18 hour stay. 

Rose about 7am to find a number of vans had pulled in behind me, and a couple of people said they had literally just spoken to the marshall on the road who was adamant they were going to let people in at 8am...

Where the heck that marshall had got this information from is a mystery, but sure enough I drove to the lane off the A37 at 8am and they quite literally waved me straight in....No ticket check, no camperpass on display, nothing. Found it all a bit strange, but put it down to the fact they were trying to limit people driving on the grass through the usual arrival field.

When I arrived at the camper field the girl on the gate simply asked if I was using the camper for my own use, or whether it was a delivery. So I told her it was for my own use, and she said quite simply, ok drive on in and park up anywhere in E20 or E21

So immediately there were 2 people who made errors....something must have been miscommunicated to both these first 2 marshalls for them both to have allowed people towards the site, and then actually on to it.

As I drove down to the camper fields the security staff just stood to one said waving and waved me straight through. Another opportunity for someone to realise things were not quite right. So by 8:10 am I was pitched up in E21. No marshalls to be seen, and people just parking up wherever they wanted.

After maybe 15 minutes or so a fw marshalls appeared and told us we shouldnt be there, but as it wasnt our fault, and because it would be too much hassle to move us all back off site they said we could say. The around 2 hours later I had a visit from a gang of security, and a couple of marshalls. Feared the worst that thye were going to kick me off, they simply repeated the fact that there had been a cock up, and we shouldnt all have been allowed in. Friendly enough, they just searched my van van for glass, (guess they had nowt else to do) and gave me a campervan sticker..I would say there were absolutely no more than 30-40 vans in total that got in.

The reason this is all so relevant is that from where I was pitched my van looked over the hedge into E20, and I watched the whole carnage unfold when the gates did open for real at 4:30pm

Ive heard people moan, and suggest that the early arrivals added to the chaos....That is utter balls.....nothing was done post arrival of the early campers to make things any better...there were no tracks laid as I have read elsewhere, and no damage to the site was done by the small number off vans that did arrive early. If anything the early arrivals should have been a sign to the marshalls of what was going to happen later, and they should have been far better prepared.

So, onto the opening time. Once the gates opened the marshalls were incredibly slow to decide where they should put people and how they should park them. There appeared to be no experienced drivers of large vehicles / towing, and as a direct result chaos ensued. Young people with little experience of driving just didnt understand the implications of bringing towing vehicles, and large motorhomes, some 4.5ton plus, to a standstill on a soggy field. Each and every vehicle should have been stopped on the stony track, and released one at a time as each position was ready, to avoid stopping on the field. There was absolutely no cohesion amongst the marhalls, and I even witnessed them swearing and aruguing with each other about how it should be done. And to quote...."its not fucking rocket science, just fucking get people moving and get them fucking in". Add to that , some people were being parked up, then once the marshalls moved up, they were then moving their vans. In previous years I have seen the senior people come along and make them move, but not this year...I atually saw quite a large number of vans completely blocked in as a result.

I have never seen such a disorganised arrray in my life. Now actually I dont blame the marshalls, like I said they had little experience. But someone should have been there directing, someone senior, with some authority. As it was people were blatantly driving past the waving marshalls, and parking wherever they wanted to. They really need to sort this out for next year and make sure they have some people in each field who know what they are doing. I know they are volunteers, and I know they work hard, dont get me wrong, but surely somewhere the person in charge has to be accountable for the collosal fck ups.