Ped Gate A 2019

[MetaKate]

So last year going to the festival I stayed in town beforehand and then got the local bus to site. Arriving at Gate A my heart absolutely sank at the giant fucking line unfurling before me. After getting off the local bus we were directed into a very short line and I realized there were 3 separate lines funneling into the gates. 2 of which were reasonably sized and the other one easily 2 hrs long. 

I guess I'm wondering which line was the massive one?

Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere  because I havent been very active since getting home. 

[vintagelaureate]

4 minutes ago, MetaKate said:

So last year going to the festival I stayed in town beforehand and then got the local bus to site. Arriving at Gate A my heart absolutely sank at the giant fucking line unfurling before me. After getting off the local bus we were directed into a very short line and I realized there were 3 separate lines funneling into the gates. 2 of which were reasonably sized and the other one easily 2 hrs long. 

I guess I'm wondering which line was the massive one?

Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere  because I havent been very active since getting home. 

It's all those who 'missed' their coach. ?

[Crazyfool01]

6 minutes ago, vintagelaureate said:

It's all those who 'missed' their coach. ?

or the toilet queue 

[Charm]

I wondered what was going on too, we walked through from the disabled car park and joined the nearest q which turned out to be pretty quick. I did notice coaches that came in after us were dropping people far away but still doesn’t explain why there was 3 q’s. 

Charm x

Edited September 25, 2019 by Charm

[mcshed]

Local buses, National Express and then See Tickets in that order going up the bus park.

[stuie]

1 hour ago, MetaKate said:

So last year going to the festival I stayed in town beforehand and then got the local bus to site. Arriving at Gate A my heart absolutely sank at the giant fucking line unfurling before me. After getting off the local bus we were directed into a very short line and I realized there were 3 separate lines funneling into the gates. 2 of which were reasonably sized and the other one easily 2 hrs long. 

I guess I'm wondering which line was the massive one?

Apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere  because I havent been very active since getting home. 

The box office is at PGA and can have massive queues 

[Harry_W01]

I arrived on site at midday on a see-tickets coach and was in within the hour, I did make friends in the queue though so it made the wait somewhat bearable 

[incident]

The Seetickets coaches line was the one closest to the fence, and anecdotally I believe probably would have been the longest - at the point I arrived anyway. My National Express coach got in 10 minutes after some friends on See, and I comfortably beat them through the gate. It's difficult to judge because the others double back on themselves a lot closer to the fence so I doubt anyone can say with confidence which is longest at any given point. I also reckon it'll vary quite a bit during the day based on arrivals.

[kalifire]

I loved the way they did it at PGA this year. Splitting the stream into three worked really well. I arrived at about 4:30am via the shuttle bus from the drop off, and was sixth (!) in the rail & ride queue! The See coaches queue was practically empty right up until about two hours before gate opening - far more people in the National Express line.

Past about 6am every line was busy.

PGA also opened significantly earlier than the other gates this year. I had the surreal experience of arriving to an empty Pennards.

[Gnomicide]

They cocked up the info about Gate D and were sending people to A saying D was full when it was actually fast flowing and then clear from around 9:30.

[Amy Lawn]

12 minutes ago, Gnomicide said:

They cocked up the info about Gate D and were sending people to A saying D was full when it was actually fast flowing and then clear from around 9:30.

Around about 9:30 was when we strolled right through D with no queue at all, one of the quickest entrances to a festival I've ever had. Which was a nice surprise after getting parked the furthest possible place away and having to hump all our gear across.

[Charm]

1 hour ago, Gnomicide said:

They cocked up the info about Gate D and were sending people to A saying D was full when it was actually fast flowing and then clear from around 9:30.

If entering from the car parks gate A is horrific as the coach side of the gate gets priority and those poor souls are held back for ages, never go to A from the car park, it’s a terrible trick. 

Charm x

[Crazyfool01]

2 minutes ago, Charm said:

If entering from the car parks gate A is horrific as the coach side of the gate gets priority and those poor souls are held back for ages, never go to A from the car park, it’s a terrible trick. 

Charm x

ive heard Gate d horror stories too ... but yes gate A does take a while in the slaloms .. if only there was a way of avoiding those  

[pahqman]

We arrived at the Gate A/Gate D split around 14:00ish Wednesday and the signs were still directing people to D... We ignored those and walked strait through A, bypassing the cattle gates on the right...

[wweerr208]

This reminded me one year the queue was crazy big for PGA, so I walked* to the bus station bit and joined their queue - straight in

 

*had to walk through the main traffic gate for buses - I think I may have been lucky there was no stewards??!?!?

[Zoo Music Girl]

I've only ever arrived at gate A (shuttle bus or coach) and have never faced much of a queue in nine festivals. Long time since I did early morning but don't remember ever waiting that long and in the afternoon when we arrive now we tend to be in within the hour.

Worst queue I've ever faced was at Bath & West in 2009 where we were held for about six hours...

[Thunderstruck]

I've never had to queue using see coaches. You more or less just walk straight in!

[clarkete]

There was a bit of a queue this year from the see coaches, I dunno maybe an hour or so?  It was a little on the warm side with all your gear, but was moving periodically so wasn't too bad.

[Ayrshire Chris]

A few more toilets along gate A queue would be nice, 2017 was a nightmare for those with a weak bladder.  

[clarkete]

9 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

A few more toilets along gate A queue would be nice, 2017 was a nightmare for those with a weak bladder.  

No such issues this year, but it could be a challenge if you were going from those toilets into what appeared to be a formidable queue before it got moving.

[Ayrshire Chris]

16 minutes ago, clarkete said:

No such issues this year, but it could be a challenge if you were going from those toilets into what appeared to be a formidable queue before it got moving.

It’s an age thing!

And getting hammered into your lager stock waiting in a long queue! 

[clarkete]

4 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

It’s an age thing!

And getting hammered into your lager stock waiting in a long queue! 

Yes, the heat this year meant it was necessary to keep yourself fully hydrated