Leeds 2017 - No pitches left

finn_2017 · August 29, 2017

Hi,

Just back from Leeds Festival on the weekend, first timer.

Could i ask for views on the lack of pitch space this year? We got there on a weekend ticket on Friday morning at 10.30am and it was really difficult to find any space for just a 2 man tent! Ended up in the Green field near a walkway where a security guy warned us not to encroach on the path.

If we had a few big tents, gazebo etc we would have been knackered.

Is it always as bad as this year? Someone was saying theres one less field this year (no brown), someone else said everyone had done early bird and nicked the space.

Any views from veterans? Im not prepared to do early bird next year arriving 2 days before the bands.

cheers

devilman · August 29, 2017

It is the way of festivals I'm afraid. Get there early or walk a long way looking for somewhere. There's not many festivals you could turn up 90 mins before the music starts and get a pitch for big tents and gazebos. Even if you arrive Thursday night you would fare better. There was no brown camping this year but green was bigger an it has been in the past, effectively taking up some of the previous brown field.

ivan · August 29, 2017

I went on a day ticket this year having not been for a few years but upto that a regular since the late 90's.

I felt a lot of areas where I would have expected tents were empty of them.

Remember the days when tents were on the steep slopes near Piccadilly Party and the fairground and brown had tents right to the back ?

Are there less campers now or do they have new fields that weren't there a few years ago for tents ?

finn_2017 · August 30, 2017

Thanks both, i think i was fooled a bit by the bus travel package and thought Friday was the main or at least a more popular arrival day. I was expecting to see at least a few decent spaces at 10.30am like there was starting to appear at 9am on the Sunday.

finn_2017 · August 30, 2017

The Piccadilly slopes were certainly full by later on Friday, think there was the odd space when we arrived (maybe its the last place to fill; no toilets/very slopey/near fair).

The last field (green) was full to the back by the time we got there.

Edited August 30, 2017 by finn_2017
typo

WFD · August 30, 2017

We arrived around noon on Thursday and there was lots of space in Green then but it quickly filled up as Thursday went on - late afternoon Thursday you could still walk through to the toilets but first thing on Friday morning it was too much hassle and it was quicker to go the long way round on the paths.

I did think there was more space on the other sites we walked through (than last year) but then I wasn't attempting to pitch a tent in any of the gaps.