Car Parking At Glastonbury. Are you driving to Glastonbury Festival for the first time? Here is all the information on parking at Glastonbury Festival.
What time do the car parks open at Glastonbury Festival?
The car parks open at 21:00 on Tuesday. Remember that the gates to the festival don’t open till 08:00 Wednesday morning. People either stay in their cars or join the queue and queue all night for their favourite camping spots.
Are there any facilities in the Glastonbury Car Parks?
No, apart from toilets. So if you are planning on getting to the car parks on Tuesday night, you will have to bring food and water with you.
Arriving at Glastonbury Festival by car
The first thing I recommend is for people to choose where they want to camp at Glastonbury. Many times, I have read about people parking on one side of the festival and then walking an hour through the festival site to their campsite.
Glastonbury say this about approaching the festival site:
It is important that you approach the site on the side that you want to park. Using local roads to get to the opposite side of the site causes delays so use main roads that are well away from the site. A few extra miles travelled further away can save hours in queues near to the site. Always follow the directional signs, variable message signs and park where directed by staff.
Below is a downloadable table showing which car parks and gates are near each campsite at Glastonbury.
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Directions to Glastonbury Festival:
- • From south London: M3 then A303 and A37. (Sat Nav TA11 7DP).
• From Swindon: M4 then A350 onto the A361. (Sat Nav BA4 4LY).
• From the North East: A1 or M1, M25 to M3 (Junction 12), then A303 and A37. (Sat Nav TA11 7DP)
• From the Midlands: Preferably M40 and A34 to A303 and A37. (Sat Nav TA11 7DP)
• From the North West: M6, M5 to A39 (Junction 23) then A361. (Sat Nav BA6 9XE)
• From Wales: M4, M5 to A39 (as above) (Sat Nav BA6 9XE)
• For more local traffic using the A37 North or A361 East (Sat Nav BA4 4LY)
PLEASE NOTE – your satnav will not get you all the way to the Festival site, but to the start of the Festival signage. Please follow the Festival signs as soon as you see them.
There are 4 main entrances to the Glastonbury Festival car parks. It all depends on where you are coming from. Follow the P signs to get to the nearest available parking spaces.
Can you park anywhere at Glastonbury Festival?
No. It all depends on the stewards. It’s down to luck, where in the car park you end up. Just aim for the right side of the festival, and you will be okay.
Is there family car parking at Glastonbury?
No, there is no dedicated family parking space.
Is there accessible parking at Glastonbury?
Yes, but you need to pre-register. For information on accessible Glastonbury, please click the link: https://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/info/#access-information
People with a Blue Badge should display the badge clearly next to their official festival parking ticket when entering the public car parks, and Stewards will direct you to the forward parking (this may still be some distance from the gates). All festival goers needing parking will need an official parking ticket.
Is there electric car charging at Glastonbury Festival?
The festival has limited charging facilities, and they encourage you to charge along the way and have enough charge to leave the site (just like petrol and diesel cars).
There is an emergency recovery charging facility available at the Bronze car park only, off the A361. This limited, first-come, first-served service run by the AA (to members and non-members) is charged at a fixed cost of £50 for up to an hour’s charge / 80% battery (whichever is sooner). Payment is by card only. Please note this service is for emergency use only and cannot be guaranteed, so please do charge before you arrive.
When is the best time to arrive to park at Glastonbury Festival?
It is really hard to say. If you arrive super early on Wednesday, you will join the people in the queue from the night before. If you arrive later on in the day, there most likely will be no people queuing, but queues on the roads leading to the festival.
We have to accept that at a festival with over 250,000 people, we will be queing at some points during it.
Glastonbury says on their website that the worst time to arrive by car is between 7 am and 2 pm on Wednesday.
Remember where you parked at Glastonbury
I am talking through experience here. Once, Karen left her mobile in the car and I had to go back. I got to the correct car park, but do you think I could remember the row? Nope.
As you enter the car park, the AA will give you a card. Note down the route colour and car park number where you have parked. Use the What3Words App to pin your car. If you have no mobile signal, take some photos of what is near you. Remember, the car park will look very different once full.
How far are the carparks from the festival site?
They can be up to 1km (if not further) away. This is why I highly recommend getting a good trolley to carry your stuff. Make sure you don’t overload it, and you will be fine. Ours has lasted for over 10 Glastonburys and is still going strong. It makes life so much easier than carrying all your gear from the car park to where you want to camp.
Can you go back to your car during the festival?
Yes, you can. You can go in and out as much as you like. If you need to leave the festival for any reason and come back, you will most probably have to park in another car park.
Is there a car breakdown service at Glastonbury Festival?
Yes, the AA are on site throughout the festival. For AA Service at Glastonbury, ring their dedicated Festival hotline on 0330 053 0338. Special rates apply for non-members who wish to join and receive immediate service. Also, AA staff will be in East 9, off Purple Route, and at Bronze Gate in West 32 throughout the week, and the AA’s dedicated Key Assist vehicles will be on site from Saturday.
When is the best time to leave Glastonbury Festival?
Never! Why would we want to leave this magical place to go back to the world outside? I know, I know, Emily won’t take us. The festival states that the worst times to leave by car are on Monday between 8 am and 5 pm.
Some people take a lot of their stuff back to the car on Sunday. Whatever works for you. For me, I want to experience the whole 5 days without leaving, so I don’t do that.
We try to leave before 8:00. Sometimes we have been stuck in the car park, and sometimes we haven’t. I accept that it will take me a lot longer to get home than it did to arrive. If we don’t get stuck at the car park, we will be on the roads as it is a Monday morning with people going to work. For me, it is part of the price we pay to attend the world’s greatest festival.
The festival is open until 17:00 on Monday. Some people like to soak it all in and leave later.
So don’t stress, put on Worthy FM or my Glastonbury playlist and relive the past 5 days.
SUPER IMPORTANT! Don’t drink or drug drive. If you have had a heavy Sunday, then make sure you are okay to drive. Wait until you are okay. I take it easy from Sunday night. We all have had 4 and a half mad days, so we can chill on Sunday night.
Drive safe and see you on the farm!
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