Worthy (re)view

[gooner1990]

Out of interest have the queues at WV been an issue before or was this the first time?

I don't think I would go to WV but the majority of my friends jumped ship from standard camping to Sticklinch this year and seem intent on keeping it that way now. Chances are I may follow them eventually, but all these stories of queues at both WV and Sticklinch makes me wonder if its worth it.

Also I now have a F&B tent, I assume the ones they provide at WV and Sticklinch are not?

[Space Shanty]

Big advantages of WV are proximity to the car park, the fact it's set up when you arrive (a big plus when you're flying over), the showers and the quietness at night. There will always be queues for showers at peak times wherever they are. 

The food options this year seemed more limited without the big tent at the top of the old stepped path up and down to the festival. That said, it was still decent and there was at least one other good food van up near the back.

The hill climb would be an issue for some people definitely. I actually found this year's path better than the steps but maybe it could get tricky on a wet year. 

I find a late stop in Strummerville is perfect before you go up the steps, whether that's for 20 minutes or 3 hours. 

It's not cheap and the hill may well make Sticklinch a better option for some but I have to say WV has served us well for years. It's also easy to get to from Glastonbury town on arrival day and easy to get back on the road towards the airport.

[Ayrshire Chris]

24 minutes ago, Space Shanty said:

Big advantages of WV are proximity to the car park, the fact it's set up when you arrive (a big plus when you're flying over), the showers and the quietness at night. There will always be queues for showers at peak times wherever they are. 

The food options this year seemed more limited without the big tent at the top of the old stepped path up and down to the festival. That said, it was still decent and there was at least one other good food van up near the back.

The hill climb would be an issue for some people definitely. I actually found this year's path better than the steps but maybe it could get tricky on a wet year. 

I find a late stop in Strummerville is perfect before you go up the steps, whether that's for 20 minutes or 3 hours. 

It's not cheap and the hill may well make Sticklinch a better option for some but I have to say WV has served us well for years. It's also easy to get to from Glastonbury town on arrival day and easy to get back on the road towards the airport.

The supervisor we spoke to on Wednesday mentioned possible problems with the path if there was  rain especially of one of those storm downpours. Plans were in place to use the old steps if needed. Strummerville was indeed a great stop to end the day, did it three nights. We left about seven am on Monday and the run into town was quick and easy. A short  drive and we were in the brewers Fayre having brekkie before driving home 

[Ayrshire Chris]

59 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

Out of interest have the queues at WV been an issue before or was this the first time?

I don't think I would go to WV but the majority of my friends jumped ship from standard camping to Sticklinch this year and seem intent on keeping it that way now. Chances are I may follow them eventually, but all these stories of queues at both WV and Sticklinch makes me wonder if its worth it.

Also I now have a F&B tent, I assume the ones they provide at WV and Sticklinch are not?

You assume correctly 

[gooner1990]

9 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

You assume correctly 

So the heat drives you out of the tent fairly early I assume?

I think I'm going to stick with standard camping for now! 🙂 

[Ayrshire Chris]

17 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

So the heat drives you out of the tent fairly early I assume?

I think I'm going to stick with standard camping for now! 🙂 

Don’t know about that, it’s at the top of the hill and was fucking freezing overnight this time apart from the Wednesday night. 

[essjay2009]

34 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

So the heat drives you out of the tent fairly early I assume?

I think I'm going to stick with standard camping for now! 🙂 

Only when it's really hot, like 2019. There are a few different types of tents, the ones in the photo are scout tents which have an outer layer and an inner later. Outer is waterproof and pretty heavy, inner is cotton or similar, so air does flow through them.

Here's a photo (from 2017) where you can see the construction:

There are also bell tents, which are sort of circular with a similar construction but have additional vents that can be propped open to let air through. it's generally cooler up on the hill though as it gets more of a breeze.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Did get a bit fusty in ours on the Thursday morning this year.

[Aeleanor]

On 6/29/2022 at 4:01 PM, Bags73 said:

 I wonder what the occupants of the first few rows of the scout tents thought about being so close to the shops, food outlets and sitting area?

We were up on the second row. Got barely any sleep the first night (Wednesday) because the music from one of the stalls was so loud (and continued to be on until 2). Was fine the days after (they turned it down a notch) but was back the last night. Other than that the proximity to  the exit, the toilets, showers and food was actually pretty nice. 

[TomTom1239]

On 6/29/2022 at 3:11 PM, moogster said:

That right seemed closed off (it was at something like 6 am) ...Stewards etc. So yes that's exactly where it went wrong. Should have just asked them. I know exactly where you meant. Would have been a lovely drive if the weather didn't turn to shit though! We were in time for our ferry though so no hard feelings 🙂

Worthy view was a nightmare on Monday! Stewards not coordinating exit and no one there to bark orders and sort. 

[O'Doyle Rules]

Queues for coffee and showers (for men) we’re a joke. However, the easy entry and not having to put up a tent were worth £150 each tbh. 

[dulcificum]

Baffling that people can value the 3-5 minutes it takes to put up a tent as worth £150.

[balti-pie]

2 minutes ago, dulcificum said:

Baffling that people can value the 3-5 minutes it takes to put up a tent as worth £150.

I think it’s probably more the not having to lug it two miles, choose a pitch, and then bung it up: it’s there, no stress, near the car, and not necessitating an overnight queue or any of that kind of nonsense. 
I haven’t ever glamped, and can’t easily see that I would ever - I like my tent too much, after all - but I’m starting to come around to the idea of pre-pitched camping. I wouldn’t mind some kind of field reservation service where my pitch was available for me to get to and put up my own tent, and it’s guaranteed not to be nabbed: would I pay for this? Yep. In the campsite of my choice. North of £100? Probs not. . . 

[dulcificum]

I get that point to some extent but do you get to camp by your mates at WV? There's definitely no need for queueing for campsites if you're not bothered about that. And the 2-3kg tent split between is but a small fraction of what the average person "lugs" in.

[gooner1990]

7 hours ago, balti-pie said:

I think it’s probably more the not having to lug it two miles, choose a pitch, and then bung it up: it’s there, no stress, near the car, and not necessitating an overnight queue or any of that kind of nonsense. 
I haven’t ever glamped, and can’t easily see that I would ever - I like my tent too much, after all - but I’m starting to come around to the idea of pre-pitched camping. I wouldn’t mind some kind of field reservation service where my pitch was available for me to get to and put up my own tent, and it’s guaranteed not to be nabbed: would I pay for this? Yep. In the campsite of my choice. North of £100? Probs not. . . 

I think for me the main issues I have are 

1. The distance from the car park to the ped gates.

2. Having to get there super early (and its getting earlier and earlier every year) to get anything sort of a central location camp spot.

3. People plonking their tents inside your small circle (happened to us this year)

If there was something that eradicated all of those I would probably go for it, perhaps say £100 for a car park spot no more than 5 mins from the gate and a pitch spot for X amount of tents. (Although I accept it would never happen)

For future years I may go down the route of @Zoo Music Girl and just camp on the outskirts so I can roll up on the Wednesday when I like without the worry and hassle of the camp location...although that still doesn't solve the car > gate issue! 

[gooner1990]

15 hours ago, essjay2009 said:

Only when it's really hot, like 2019. There are a few different types of tents, the ones in the photo are scout tents which have an outer layer and an inner later. Outer is waterproof and pretty heavy, inner is cotton or similar, so air does flow through them.

Here's a photo (from 2017) where you can see the construction:

There are also bell tents, which are sort of circular with a similar construction but have additional vents that can be propped open to let air through. it's generally cooler up on the hill though as it gets more of a breeze.

Interesting....wonder if they will ever go for Fresh and Black up there given their popularity these days.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Doubt it. The festival invested the money in hard-wearing, old-school scout tents so that they'd last forever.

[StevieMcK]

53 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

Interesting....wonder if they will ever go for Fresh and Black up there given their popularity these days.

Having been converted to Fresh and Black years ago, but also wanting the convenience of WV, we picked up one of these F&B tarps.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/camping-tarp-tarp-fresh/_/R-p-312174?mc=8572388&c=WHITE

It doesn't have to be suspended over the tent to work.  It's just as effective, when it's thrown over the top of one of the WV Scout tents and secured down.  It was a lifesaver in 2019!

[gooner1990]

2 minutes ago, StevieMcK said:

Having been converted to Fresh and Black years ago, but also wanting the convenience of WV, we picked up one of these F&B tarps.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/camping-tarp-tarp-fresh/_/R-p-312174?mc=8572388&c=WHITE

It doesn't have to be suspended over the tent to work.  It's just as effective, when it's thrown over the top of one of the WV Scout tents and secured down.  It was a lifesaver in 2019!

nice 🙂

and they are happy for you to put that over the tents at WV?

[Dave_c]

8 hours ago, dulcificum said:

I get that point to some extent but do you get to camp by your mates at WV? There's definitely no need for queueing for campsites if you're not bothered about that. And the 2-3kg tent split between is but a small fraction of what the average person "lugs" in.

You tell them in advance other people you want to camp beside and they put you all next to one another.

[StevieMcK]

6 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

nice 🙂

and they are happy for you to put that over the tents at WV?

As happy as they are for people to decorate them with solar lights and flags.  So long as you take it home afterwards, they're not bothered.  

[Cuboid]

On 6/30/2022 at 8:25 AM, Suprefan said:

You PAID to camp. The other 95% of attendees didnt spend at least £300 for extra facilities. So you were already staying at the damn ritz. If you thought it was wrong then dont stay there and let somebody else who would gladly use that option after a long day.

It was £158.33 to be honest and I pay to camp because a large group arrive on the Thursday and don’t want to be out in baileys or park 2. And it’s hardly the ritz. Though at the ritz someone gets paid and tipped to carry bags. I’m a 6ft2 healthy lad why would I have a concierge. Anyway whatever. i get why some would use and the volunteers didn’t look unhappy I just thought it was a bit ott for some of the young lads to not walk ten mins with a bag and some beers. 
 

we’ll be back at WV next year. Carrying our own stuff. Each to their own. 

[Suprefan]

7 minutes ago, Cuboid said:

It was £158.33 to be honest and I pay to camp because a large group arrive on the Thursday and don’t want to be out in baileys or park 2. And it’s hardly the ritz. Though at the ritz someone gets paid and tipped to carry bags. I’m a 6ft2 healthy lad why would I have a concierge. Anyway whatever. i get why some would use and the volunteers didn’t look unhappy I just thought it was a bit ott for some of the young lads to not walk ten mins with a bag and some beers. 
 

we’ll be back at WV next year. Carrying our own stuff. Each to their own. 

Maybe you just dont realize how long somebody's journey was? You think some of us international folk have it made so that a 5 minute break of lugging our stuff around isnt deserved? Some people had cancelled flights, delayed coaches, ticket issues and such and never ending travel days, but how dare they get a few things carried for them.

[Sky_Fly]

Glad to hear they now open the showers 24/7. That’s the reason why we didn’t book WV - the showers were only meant to be open 6am-2pm or something stupid and I like to shower on returning home at night and my other half probably won’t be up for his shower by 2 !

 

24/7 showers would make me more likely to book WV in future. With different members of the group arriving at different times it’s preferable to have designated space. 
 

We used to be the monkeys who took everyone’s tents and did the Tuesday night/Wednesday morning queue and camp spot tent mission, but f that for a game of soldiers.  No one else ever sorted it out and I’d rather pay a bit of extra cash, be next to each other no matter what arrival time and have showers. 

[Aeleanor]

10 hours ago, dulcificum said:

Baffling that people can value the 3-5 minutes it takes to put up a tent as worth £150.

As someone coming from abroad to enjoy the festival it isn't about the 3-5 minutes it takes to pitch a tent, it's about knowing that your tent will be pitched in a relatively quiet spot with showers and functioning toilets around. 

We got up at 4 in the morning on Wednesday (coming in from the Netherlands) and only arrived at WV at 6 (pm). It's already a hassle to get to Glastonbury, and to not have to stress about a place to camp etc is worth it every single time in my opinion.