There's a buzzy, adrenaline-fuelled anticipation in the air ahead of Glastonbury Festival 2022. It's the first year the festival has aired since before the pandemic, the line-up is legendary, it's been 50 years since Glasto first pitched up...
And there's now a rail strike set to cause chaos for punters travelling to the 900-acre site. Makes for one nail-biting pilgrimage to Pilton.
Members of the RMT union at Network Rail and 13 train operators are striking on June 21, 23 and 25. Festivalgoers will descend on Worthy Farm in Somerset for Glastonbury Festival from June 23.
Read more: What time is Glastonbury Festival 2022 on TV?
Traffic in Somerset is always chaos on festival day, but this year is expected to be worse than before as a result of the train strike. People will face difficulties arriving at the site in Pilton.
So how can you travel savvy to Glastonbury during the planned rail strikes? Here are Bristol Live's top tips:
Hassle-free travel by car
If travelling by car, car parks open on Tuesday, June 21 from 9pm. However, those arriving the day before or during the night will have to stay put in vehicles until gates officially open at 8am on Wednesday, June 22.
Festival organisers say the busiest time to arrive is between 4am and 12noon on Wednesday, June 22 - the first day of the festival - so getting savvy and avoiding those times might be best. Between 9pm Tuesday, June 21 and 4am Wednesday, 22 are said to be the "quietest time" to arrive.
Travel by train
Glastonbury Festival has a proud environmental ethos, and encourages music fans to travel to the festival by public transport where possible. Travelling by train is a great way to arrive - but the rail strikes are putting a pin in many punters' plans.
How can you still travel by train? While the strikes are Tuesday 21, Thursday 23 and Saturday 25 June, it's expected there will be disruption throughout the week.
However, the Glastonbury Festival website states that Great Western Railway plan to maintain timetabled trains between Castle Cary and London Paddington during the festival. It's worth noting that services may still be subject to alteration as a result of the strikes, so keep that in mind when planning your train journey and always allow extra time.
From Castle Cary train station, there is a free shuttle bus service for ticket holders to the festival. The shuttle operates Wednesday - Monday.
Travel by bus
The coach partner of Glastonbury Festival is National Express. Travelling by bus is a good alternative during the rail strike, and the bus company are expecting to ferry more than 30,000 people to and from Worthy Farm.
The coach company is working to increase availability of buses ahead of the festival. A spokesperson for National Express has given Bristol Live some guidance for travellers.
“We are working hard to increase availability to meet additional demand where possible. Seats are selling fast, so the advice is to check services and book in advance.
“We do expect and are prepared to be busy but also recommend that customers allow plenty of time when planning their journey.”
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