Tuesday Night Arrival VS Wednesday Morning Arrival

[Flysheet]

Stayed nearby for both the last two.

East in 16, stuck in traffic at 5.30am to 7.30 from Shepton Mallet to Cannards Grave so walked with the tents and got to the gate at 9. Mrs pulled into E6 at the same time, traffic started moving not too long after we set off walking ? There were some drivers had taken 13 hours from Bristol!

17, drove into E10 at 5am, hit the back of the queue in the Camperfields above C at 5.30 or so and got thru the gate at 9.30 

[brightyoungthing2]

As mentioned above it is really down to how resilient your group is! We landed at midnight and 'slept' in the car one time.. Gave up about 3am and joined the queue. The year after we arrived a similar time but just headed straight for the queue. I think the gates opened about 7.30/8am that year. 

I don't recall getting pitched etc much earlier and we were all in need of a power nap once we were pitched! If we were driving this year I'd probably head to the site for about 9am and just queue from then. Full disclosure: we usually camp Hitchin which is relatively quiet anyway 

Edited June 16, 2019 by brightyoungthing2

[jow95]

Someone has to be the first with a wristband on

[herzzreh]

Why did you have to talk about 2016? I think my PTSD kicked in... 

[timespeedsup]

Anyone fancy updating this with their 2019 experiences? 

Don't trawl through this unless you're resilient to what happened in 2016. 

[4AssedMonkey]

We drove down through the night, arrived 3am-ish. Was going to sleep in the cars for a couple of hours but a rumour started that gates would be open early, so joined the queue about 4:30. Gates opened at bang on 8, we were in about 9 and pitched camp for 10/10:30. Clockwork really.

[D-Low]

2019 was like a dream (minus the parking stewards always sending me to purple/yellow instead of the holy grail orange - it’s like they watch me coming flagging cars to the right then I arrive and they change it 😩). Left around 2am on site by 4am-ish. Joined gate A queue by the cattle grids. And waited for the gates to open. 
 

Not a clue how this year will be. Will everyone turn up early having been such a long wait? Will there be added traffic queues due to train strikes. I don’t think I could leave any earlier needing to try and sleep, not that I get any sleep anyway, but it’s on the cards. 

[leath02]

Anyone got any info on how they determine which car parks to fill up when?

Had the luxury of arriving Wednesday avro in 2019 as other half of the group had gone ahead with tents. Must have parked up around 6pm, swung around the south side of the festival and snagged a car parking space in Orange 39. Couldn't believe how close we were to Gate D, and have questioned it ever since. Would have thought they would have filled up Orange first?

This year I'm leading the charge, and will be leaving London around 5am, aiming to swing around the south side again as we want to camp in Paines. But have nightmare visions of ending up in Pink 50.

Is it just pot luck?

[Spindles]

Definitely helps to arrive early.  Last time round we rocked up about 8:30pm on the Tuesday, basically got the pick of the car parks, we ended up in Yellow, right by the gate.  The only time I've ended up in pink was when we arrived late on the Wednesday evening.

[morecambejack]

We are staying in Wells on the Tuesday night, but have no idea what time to set off in the morning or what the best route to take is 🥴

[CurlyPutz]

We have 1 large tent, 2 small tents and hoping to get into penards with my family. Always seem to end up in blue and ped gate C. Managed to get into penards in 2019 but queued from 1am. These old bones not feeling that this year so thinking of arriving at 5 and joining the queue. Do we stand any chance of getting three tent together, I am not so sure? 

[Reckoner]

2019 was great as they still had a sign up diverting people from gate d to gate A due to crowding in the morning so gate d was virtually empty and we walked straight through. Amazing scenes. 
 

 

[Glast0baby]

6 hours ago, leath02 said:

Is it just pot luck?

Yes, yes it is. 

I've only ever arrived early Weds morning 5-7am-ish and it's completely the luck of the draw.  They funnel some cars left (woohoo) and some cars right (noooooo PINK). We always get pink.  Never been lucky. 

You know what they say, go pink once... and you'll buy a trolley for next year!

[One Tonne Baby]

In 2017 we got to site around 3am. Sauntered to the gate to see what was happening and decided to go back to the van and get some kip. Unfortunately, me and my mate sat outside the van chatting rather than sleeping which meant i was wiped out about 12 hours later on a boiling hot day. That aside, we queued from about 5am. Gates opened a little early from memory and it was quick and easy getting in. Set up by about 8.30am/9am.

2010 was the worst as we got there about 7am and the queue was basically at the car park. It was boiling hot and being my first Glastonbury i was underprepared and miserable in the sun. Seemed to take forever to get in.

My only experience of getting there later was when i got the coach in 2015. Weds, about 5pm, not a soul queuing and was straight in.

This year we are staying in WV and being older, I really value my sleep and would rather miss a few hours of the festival and get a good 7 hours the night before. Planning on getting to site around midday on Weds.

[Fred Zepplin]

We have queued up for the last 5 years, not going to bother this year. Coming with 4 adults and 2 toddlers so don’t really see the need to not get a good nights sleep on the Tuesday. Going to camp in Wickets so no rush for space. Would rather get there at around 1 or 2 in the afternoon refreshed and walking straight in. If I didn’t have the kids and was planning on getting hammered every night I would be queuing up. Think there will be more people than ever queuing this year, wanting to get every valuable second on site 

[tjfish]

Slept overnight at home, woke up at 5, drove in, few hours of queues, tent up by 11am

It would seem it's a case of a good night sleep at home or sleeping in the car 🤷🏻‍♂️

[danssol]

Question - last went in 2017 and the festival seem to finally cracked the code for the queue at gate d. Did they keep the same system for 2019?

[Wirral Toffee]

10 hours ago, morecambejack said:

We are staying in Wells on the Tuesday night, but have no idea what time to set off in the morning or what the best route to take is 🥴

We're doing exactly the same. Ideally want to stay in Dairy Ground / Bushy Ground or Park Home. Take it we're best aiming for Gate A or D?

[4AssedMonkey]

Think they actively steer people who drive in away from gate A and toward D so that A is free for the coaches/cyclists.  That used to be my experience anyway, however I've not been that side since 2016.  We aimed for the east and gate C recently.

[FLB]

2016: All plans out the window. Sat in a traffic jam all night Tuesday. Finally were able to enter the site through a quiet gate A Wednesday AM after changing tack, but had to trek all the way to East CV with bags. The less said, the better...

2017: Stress-free arrival to East CV mid-afternoon Tuesday.  Very relaxed by evening after a BBQ and a couple of drinks watching the sunset over the site. Didn't sleep well Tuesday night regardless and Wednesday was well under way by the time we got through gate C...

2019: Different approach this time as we were setting up camp in the main site for our group. Drove down Tuesday evening and got sent into Pink car park (great!) around midnight (ofc the rest of the group arrived midday Thursday and got put in Orange right next to gate D). Had brought extra pillows/blankets etc to use Tuesday for a few hours sleep in the car. If you can fall asleep easily/anywhere I think this is a good option, but I reckon the light and noise in the car park will make it tough for anyone to sleep past 6 AM. I think it depends where you live and what your normal sleeping hours are also - I didn't sleep well in the car park but getting up at 2-3 AM Wednesday and driving for several hours would have been worse for me... Was also fine with getting an early night on Wednesday, which made the lack of sleep Tuesday more doable. In hindsight, a hotel nearby for Tuesday night seems like a no brainer after a long drive!

We ignored the stewards trying to send us to gate A and joined the stationary queue for gate D between 6-7 AM. They weren't happy about people going to D for some reason, but not much they could do about it... If I remember correctly our queueing experience is marked in blue below, which I thought was pretty good having not sat there all night (edit: might have marked it completely wrong though - isn't that a staff campsite!?):

 

Sat for a bit in the drizzle with a cider, and once the gates opened things moved pretty quickly. Gate A must have been a nightmare based on the amount of people we saw heading in that direction! Here is a photo taken at 10:20 after we had set up camp in Paines Ground near the entrance to Cineramageddon:

As you can see, it's pretty empty. Went back to the car shortly afterwards for a booze run and gate D was quiet then, with minimal/no queueing. Here is another photo from our camp at 12:45 - there's not really any space left for big groups but still fine for those with one or maybe two tents:

If 2019 is anything to go by, rocking up to gate D Wednesday morning should be ideal. That said, I imagine it will be busier at D this time assuming they don't try to force people towards A again (I thought it would be the other way around with all the coaches arriving at A!). Based on my experience you do need to sit in the queue early doors if you want to get in through gate C before midday Wednesday, but queueing overnight at gate D doesn't seem worth it unless you want a prime spot in Pennards etc. I would avoid gate A unless you are on a coach or arriving late to the festival.

Edited June 10, 2022 by FLB

[rosieangel]

Did the Tuesday night queue via Gate D in 2019 and it was great, really fun vibe, I can't remember what time we got to queue but we set off from south london around 11pmish so maybe around half two-three? can't really remember. The only thing i do remember was because it was going to a heatwave i had forgotten to pack any trousers so remember sleeping with just a towell covering my legs in the queue. Wasn't searched by security either, and the anticipation when the sun rises and you know it's not long before the gates open was just great

[CH0161]

Planning on arriving to the car parks(hopefully Orange) by 4/4:30am Weds.Heading for Gate D all being well. Hoping to be set up in Park Home by 9:30am, is that realistic ? Has anyone got similar experience of these timings for Gate D from 2017 and 2019? Lets not mention 2016 🙃

 

Is it 8am that they open up the gates? 

[4AssedMonkey]

2 hours ago, CH0161 said:

Planning on arriving to the car parks(hopefully Orange) by 4/4:30am Weds.Heading for Gate D all being well. Hoping to be set up in Park Home by 9:30am, is that realistic ? Has anyone got similar experience of these timings for Gate D from 2017 and 2019? Lets not mention 2016 🙃

 

Is it 8am that they open up the gates? 

Yeah.  Gates at 8.  Sometimes a bit earlier but not much.  Getting to Park Home and set up by 9:30am is theoretically possible but maybe slightly optimistic.  Queues for gate D can be mental at times and it's really inconsistent.

[TheDayman]

14 hours ago, Reckoner said:

2019 was great as they still had a sign up diverting people from gate d to gate A due to crowding in the morning so gate d was virtually empty and we walked straight through. Amazing scenes. 
 

That damn sign got us! We were aiming for quick entry into Paines but ended up queuing at PGA.

[CurlyPutz]

What is the best way to get to Gate D?  We always end up the other side.  We are heading from Salisbury A303, A37 normally?