Longest queue time at gate A?

[bombfrog]

My friends and I have met at the turnoff from the M5 at 7am and driven in convoy towards the west car parks every year for the past 10 years, arriving around 10am usually. We used to arrive a fair bit later until terrible traffic in 2009 meant we nearly had to put our tents up in the dark, so we go early to make sure that doesn't happen.

The thing is that the queues are bloody awful at gate A, zig zagging up and down for an hour or two before we see the gate which is hell when you're trying to pull a trolley.

So I'm wondering if anybody has any recent experience of arriving a little later, say midday. Are the queues still that bad or are we just getting there at the wrong time as the gates have only just opened?

 

[dan05delaney]

first year arrived at about 2ish and walked straight in.... this was 2010 and I arrived via coach 

[Spindles]

I would wholeheartedly recommend arriving a little later in the day.  We arrived about 3pm last time at Bath and West, straight onto a bus to the site, straight in with zero queue.  The overnight queue combined with the volume of people arriving between dawn and midday means that there can be some long queuing time for the first few hours and depending on the year that can be in blazing sunshine or wet conditions, personally I recommend avoiding that period unless you are obsessive about getting a particular location.  

Arriving later removes some of the ballache, means if there are traffic/queue issues you can keep an eye on things and time your arrival for the easiest route in.

Saying that I'll be in the overnight queue again this year.

[WStoner]

100% agree. If you don't mind where you camp, or if you have friends who will hold a space for you, arrive a little later.  I think I queued maybe 25/30 mins in 2017 when it was pretty ferocious temperature-wise, as against friends who arrived a lot earlier and queued for upwards of two hours.  You can have fun in the queue, as I'm sure you know, but when it's blazing hot and you're carrying a lot of stuff the novelty soon wears off!

[bombfrog]

Interesting. Sounds like we go at just about the wrong time.

[The Nal]

Queued for 4 hours in 09. 

2017 walked up at 11.15am and had a wristband by 11.30am.

[ravermum]

1 hour ago, Spindles said:

I would wholeheartedly recommend arriving a little later in the day.  We arrived about 3pm last time at Bath and West, straight onto a bus to the site, straight in with zero queue.  The overnight queue combined with the volume of people arriving between dawn and midday means that there can be some long queuing time for the first few hours and depending on the year that can be in blazing sunshine or wet conditions, personally I recommend avoiding that period unless you are obsessive about getting a particular location.  

Arriving later removes some of the ballache, means if there are traffic/queue issues you can keep an eye on things and time your arrival for the easiest route in.

Saying that I'll be in the overnight queue again this year.

?

Edited June 24, 2019 by ravermum
Me and my group will head for Gate A, first time by car, instead of coach. I have convinced everyone we should leave from Manchester at 5.30am. Reading your post, I was almost considering changing my mind, but 5:30 start it is

[grilladelphia]

sorry for the hijack but looking at the map we're meeting people closer to gate D than A, is it easy to get to gate D from coach dropoff?

[Spindles]

Yeah, it's a short walk between A and D, turn right once you get through Gate A and just follow that trackway down, it's signposted and you can't miss it.

[Fat envelope]

We are looking at wicket ground so planning on getting to gate A around lunchtime on Weds

If we end up in a car park nearer gate D, are better off going in there and making our way across site? I'm not overly bothered either way, but with kids in tow every little helps

 

Edit: Post above pretty much answers that ?

Edited June 24, 2019 by Fat envelope

[grilladelphia]

17 minutes ago, Spindles said:

Yeah, it's a short walk between A and D, turn right once you get through Gate A and just follow that trackway down, it's signposted and you can't miss it.

cheers!

[sprocketrocket]

We're aiming for A this year, first time we went to A was also 2009. 15 hours on a coach...... Not used it since. 

Hoping for a little kinder traffic. Aiming to get there for 10ish. 

[Divein]

50 minutes ago, grilladelphia said:

sorry for the hijack but looking at the map we're meeting people closer to gate D than A, is it easy to get to gate D from coach dropoff?

Are you getting a national express or see coach? 

You get dropped off at Gate A and then join the coach queue it’s miles quicker to get in from the coach than from the car park. As you join the front the queue essentially. 

You'd be be absolutely bonkers to go from the front of the queue to the back of another gate queue.

if it was me I’d be aiming for a camping area and tell everyone to meet you there. 

[grilladelphia]

12 minutes ago, Divein said:

Are you getting a national express or see coach? 

You get dropped off at Gate A and then join the coach queue it’s miles quicker to get in from the coach than from the car park. As you join the front the queue essentially. 

You'd be be absolutely bonkers to go from the front of the queue to the back of another gate queue.

if it was me I’d be aiming for a camping area and tell everyone to meet you there. 

will be via See coach if that makes any difference? if that's the case ill go straight through gate a - as we're arriving thurs rather than weds the other camp will be set up already - but can probably get them to come and help carry bits!

[Hawros]

3 minutes ago, grilladelphia said:

will be via See coach if that makes any difference? if that's the case ill go straight through gate a - as we're arriving thurs rather than weds the other camp will be set up already - but can probably get them to come and help carry bits!

That seems to make perfect sense. As you're arriving Thursday, queueing shouldn't be an issue, but certainly don't come out of the coach queue to head to another gate.

[grilladelphia]

1 minute ago, Hawros said:

That seems to make perfect sense. As you're arriving Thursday, queueing shouldn't be an issue, but certainly don't come out of the coach queue to head to another gate.

duly noted thank you! now its relying on them to be awake by the time we arrive - and whether or not they can save space for our absolute fortress of a tent (it looked smaller when I was ordering it!)

[Divein]

1 hour ago, grilladelphia said:

duly noted thank you! now its relying on them to be awake by the time we arrive - and whether or not they can save space for our absolute fortress of a tent (it looked smaller when I was ordering it!)

Oh yeah get them to meet you just the other side of gate A.

where they gonna be camped? You’ll be lucky to squeeze anything in pennerds at that time. 

[grilladelphia]

4 minutes ago, Divein said:

Oh yeah get them to meet you just the other side of gate A.

where they gonna be camped? You’ll be lucky to squeeze anything in pennerds at that time. 

supposedly around "park home ground"? (part of me hopes theres no space there as id rather not camp with them -but trying not to rock the boat too much with the others im going with, who want to camp with them)

[shoptildrop]

6 minutes ago, grilladelphia said:

supposedly around "park home ground"? (part of me hopes theres no space there as id rather not camp with them -but trying not to rock the boat too much with the others im going with, who want to camp with them)

No chance with a big tent or even a smaller tent if arriving Thursday to get in Park home or close by...

The places you be able to camp will be Bushy, Pylon, Rivermead, South Park, Back house or Baileys - everywhere else will be full tbh

Edited June 24, 2019 by shoptildrop

[ManLj]

We arrived at 05:30 on the Weds and were in the queue by 06:00 last year, walked through the gates (PGD) at 12:00 ?

Edited June 24, 2019 by ManLj

[shoptildrop]

1 minute ago, ManLj said:

We arrived at 05:30 on the Weds and were in the queue by 06:00 last year, walked through the gates (PGD) at 12:00 ?

sounds similar to me... in queue from Pink car park at 7am got through Gate D at 12.30pm!!! I was dying on my arse with sun-stroke!!

[grilladelphia]

3 minutes ago, shoptildrop said:

No chance with a big tent or even a smaller tent if arriving Thursday to get in Park home or close by...

The places you be able to camp will be Bushy, Pylon, Rivermead, South Park, Back house or Baileys - everywhere else will be full tbh

exactly what I told them! I'm getting my "I told you so" speech ready and packed now.

[Pinhead]

Is D worse than B I wonder? D is shared with West Campervan isn't it, whilst East Campervand use C, meaning B is mainly carparks?

[p.pete]

West have a different gate outside of a-d. I think b is also fed into by people from Pilton and tangerine fields. B has always been slow for me (except 05 at about 11am, but it still felt a long walk :)) 

 

[Spindles]

13 hours ago, Pinhead said:

Is D worse than B I wonder? D is shared with West Campervan isn't it, whilst East Campervand use C, meaning B is mainly carparks?

D is the gate I've most consistently experienced problems with.  Several years it has taken forever to get in that route.  These days I always go to A, it seems the best organised and has the best throughput in my opinion.