With only a couple of days left until the return of Glastonbury Festival, many music fans who were lucky to get their hands on tickets for the five-day event are likely to be already planning their visit. With around 200,000 festival-goers expected to attend the event, the local roads around the 900 acre site are set to get very busy.
There are usually a number of a ways for you to make your journey, from cars to coaches, trains, buses and motorbikes - with Glastonbury encouraging festival-goers to take forms of public transport to get to Worthy Farm. But since the announcement of train strikes, which are due to have an impact on the rail network this week, you may have changed your plans for your journey down to Pilton, Somerset.
The Glastonbury website states that they are anticipating "additional traffic heading to the site next week" and they have plenty of advice for music fans attending this week. So with that in mind, here are all the details you need on when is the best time to arrive at Glastonbury Festival 2022:
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When are the best times to travel to Glastonbury Festival 2022?
If you will be travelling by car to the festival, it is worth noting that car parks will open from 9pm on Tuesday. Glastonbury Festival state the busiest time to arrive at Worthy Farm is from 4am and 12noon on the first day of the festival (June 22) - so you may want to avoid those times if possible. They suggest the "quietest time" to arrive by car is between 9pm on Tuesday evening and 4am on Wednesday morning.
If you do choose to arrive between these times, there will be access to toilets on the site, but there will be no entertainment or other facilities and it is recommended you bring a reusable bottle of water to stay hydrated while waiting. Those arriving during the night by car, will have to remain in their vehicle until 8am on Wednesday, June 22 when gates open.
National Highways says it is expecting "heavier" levels of traffic than usual due to the rail strike and is currently advising drivers to plan their journey and allow extra time for travel. They have warned that motorways and major A roads leading to the 900-acre festival site are "likely to be busy" from Wednesday, June 22 to Friday, June 24.
Traffic is expected to reach a peak on Wednesday, particularly around junctions 25 and 23 of the M5, and in previous years, the A39 has been heavily congested by mid-morning. "We’re reminding road users to plan ahead for Glastonbury – around 200,000 people are expected to attend this year’s festival and roads leading to the event are likely to be very busy," John Ingram, National Highways Emergency Planner for the South West, said.
"Our aim is to keep the National Highways network running while keeping festival goers and other road users safe and informed. We advise people to check our traffic and travel information channels, but whatever your journey, we advise people to set off early and allow plenty of time.
"And with temperatures expected to remain warm through the week, we’d also advise pre-checking your vehicles for oil, fuel and coolant levels and correctly inflated tyres, also to ensure you have plenty of drinking water with you to stay hydrated."
Travelling by bus or coach
Due to the rail strikes, many festival fans may be planning their trip via coach, to avoid cancellations and delays. A spokesperson for National Express, which is expected to carry more than 30,000 fans to the festival, said: "Demand for coach travel is high with a significant increase in both enquiries and bookings on our scheduled network on and around the dates of the strikes, including on routes that provide travel to Glastonbury.
"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."
For more details on travelling to the live music event, head to the Glastonbury Festival website for all the details you may need to plan your journey.
Glastonbury Festival is taking place from Wednesday, June 22 to Sunday, June 26.
