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Chrisp1986
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Has anyone travelled with Nationak Express to Glastonbury recently? (Not see coaches). I have never done it and wondering what the luggage allowance is like and how well they manage it? When booking there is an option to add an extra bag but are they strict with the weight of them/wheels/big tents/beer crates.

Thanks 

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It's a good question but I have a feeling the NX "extra bag" option is new - or at least came in post this year at Glasto. I noticed it when booking a coach for something else the other day and hadn't seen it before. So it's possible they'll be more strict with those who haven't bought it, now it's a way to make extra money for them.

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1 hour ago, Chrisp1986 said:

Has anyone travelled with Nationak Express to Glastonbury recently? (Not see coaches). I have never done it and wondering what the luggage allowance is like and how well they manage it? When booking there is an option to add an extra bag but are they strict with the weight of them/wheels/big tents/beer crates.

Thanks 

Last year they had a new system from Bristol where the coach was a double Decker coach, and the luggage all went in a van that drove along with it. The main thing is not to take the p***- big ruck sack and tent is fine, but if everyone turns up with trolleys galore, obviously there might not be enough space. 

Having said that, I've never seen them run out of space in the years I've been using them. One year they refused to let gas cannisters on (for safety reasons). But then again very few people of any, have brought trolleys on the coaches I've been on. 

Extra bag thing is new though so not sure if they will be stricter? 

Edited by Mr.Tease
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I have gone with National Express 3 times and it's worked really well. I took a foldable trolley with few crates of beer along with my big rucksack and tent. Me and a friend had the trolley so between the two of us it was fine – no one batted an eyelid. If everyone turned up with one it would have been a little overkill.

As mentioned above, don't take the piss. I think they're unlikely to say no to anything, but the last thing you want is an awkward journey up there with an angry driver.

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I've used National Express several times and always found it great. This year the coach we were in seemed too small in terms of luggage space (was a random fairly old coach), they got people with trollies to wait till everyone else was on. In the end they squeezed most people and their luggage on apart from around 3 people who i assume they put on the next coach. There are usually staff at the pick up points who deal with issues pretty well.

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On 10/7/2019 at 9:36 PM, TheFullShaboo said:

Supposedly last year they were doing deals when purchasing 4 coach tickets? Not sure if anyones aware of anything similar this year? 

£90 seems a bit steep for a return from Manchester...

I'm going from Manchester and I agree that it's pricey, but it's worth every penny in my eyes. We got coach tickets in the resale for this year's festival and have travelled on the coach previously and it's always been an absolute breeze (hope I'm not jinxing it). No queues, nobody having to drive home after a five day bender, you can have a kip and it also makes you take less crap. It's just so much easier mate.

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On 10/7/2019 at 1:36 PM, Chrisp1986 said:

Has anyone travelled with Nationak Express to Glastonbury recently? (Not see coaches). I have never done it and wondering what the luggage allowance is like and how well they manage it? When booking there is an option to add an extra bag but are they strict with the weight of them/wheels/big tents/beer crates.

Thanks 

I think National express are pretty good. I've arrived by NX in 2014, 2017 and 2019 and the bus left on time each time and (I think) got to Glastonbury more or less when it said it would. I've never had a problem with bags either - one big rucksack and tent in the hold, smaller rucksack and bag with wellies and tinnies in the overhead bit. If you camp near Pylon it's a particularly good option!

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On 10/7/2019 at 9:36 PM, TheFullShaboo said:

Supposedly last year they were doing deals when purchasing 4 coach tickets? Not sure if anyones aware of anything similar this year? 

£90 seems a bit steep for a return from Manchester...

Last year was the first year they got rid of the group discount and put up the prices too...

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2 hours ago, mcmenace said:

I'm going from Manchester and I agree that it's pricey, but it's worth every penny in my eyes. We got coach tickets in the resale for this year's festival and have travelled on the coach previously and it's always been an absolute breeze (hope I'm not jinxing it). No queues, nobody having to drive home after a five day bender, you can have a kip and it also makes you take less crap. It's just so much easier mate.

Yeah we’ve had coach tickets for the last 3 festivals and we’ve loved being able to go straight from the south east corner onto the bus to sleep! We missed out on coach tickets this year so when we checked out the National Express prices we were a little taken back! 

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Last year I bought not long after ticket day and paid about £52 return from London, with group save discount. I heard closer to the festival they were charging almost £90!
 

Decided not to wait and bought mine for 2020 for £72. I asked on twitter why they removed the group save discount but got no answer.

 

(Miguel)

 

 

 

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I would like to get the coach again. Used to go by National Express from Bolton because some of our group live there, so I'd drive down and leave my car at hers, then her mum would give us a lift to the bus station. Worked much better than getting a bus or tram into Manchester with all my gear, which would be nightmarish. In 2017 half our group didn't get tickets until the resale, by which time the Bolton coach had sold out, and last year it was mad expensive and we just couldn't afford it vs the cost of driving. Also I was worried about not fitting our gear on the coach. We need to take a foldup trolley because we take a large tent so I can't manage without one. In the years it was half empty it was never a problem, but now it seems to be selling out I'm wary. If you can pay for extra luggage I'll probably try to coach it down again this year, I know in advance it's going to be expensive so I can plan for it.

Imho it's pretty scandalous they can charge such a huge markup compared to driving. If I can get a NE coach for about £30 max to London normally then they can charge that for Glastonbury. The festival should be capping the price they can charge and charging A LOT more for parking (exemptions for those with mobility issues) to subsidise the coach travel. It's much more environmentally friendly and reduces disruption for villagers if everybody goes by coach. Glastonbury is expensive and I would've rather got the coach this year but I really couldn't afford the £100 for a coach Vs about £30 for a third of parking a petrol costs.

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1 minute ago, MaxPower said:

Yeah I have a coach ticket from Liverpool with pals, but need to get back up to Edinburgh after the festival so was going to use National Express for the Monday - £136 for one way, an absolute rip off.

Book a return ticket but don't use the outward leg. You'll probably find something much cheaper.

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1 hour ago, GlastoCast said:

Last year I bought not long after ticket day and paid about £52 return from London, with group save discount. I heard closer to the festival they were charging almost £90!
 

Decided not to wait and bought mine for 2020 for £72. I asked on twitter why they removed the group save discount but got no answer.

 

(Miguel)

 

 

 

Have you Glastocast people got split personalities ? you fit in well :) ... and thanks for the retweet :) 

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33 minutes ago, incident said:

Book a return ticket but don't use the outward leg. You'll probably find something much cheaper.

Unfortunately the return ticket is a similar price, which makes it more ridiculous.

 

Just going to do trains from Liverpool but hated doing that last year.

 

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I've done National Express for the last 2 festivals and booked again for next year. Catching the same coach from Northampton and same return each time, next year's is the cheapest yet: 2017 - £57.60; 2019 - £61.00, 2020 - £57.00.

As I travel solo, I think this is great value compared to the cost of car parking & I get to sleep on the way home. And I camp in Darble which really makes it a no brainer.

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