A tiny village in the middle of Somerset has transformed into the centre of one of the biggest parties on the planet.
Yes Glastonbury 2019, the largest greenfield festival in the world, is well underway with 175,000 people descending on what is normally a quiet part of the countryside.
Pilton normally has a population of fewer than 1,000 people, but it becomes one of the biggest 'cities' in the South West when Glastonbury Festival is on.
But with the rush of revellers ready to hear their favourite acts on Glastonbury Festival's lineup comes traffic.
Dozens of fields are converted into car parking, while others get the bus, train or coach to the festival.
Below is a complete guide of how to get to Glastonbury.
By car
Drop-off and pick-up points
People are warned NOT to drop people off on local roads around the gates as it is dangerous for pedestrians and drivers.
There is a 24-hour drop-off and pick-up zone with a shuttle bus to the festival site (at Gate A) throughout the event.
The collection point is located to the east of the site. People should head towards Evercreech on the A371 and follow the signs for Drop and Collect or DC. Plan a route that keeps you away from the immediate area of the festival, as the A361 is closed for through traffic on the Monday after the festival between Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet.
Wheel barrows, wheelie bins or trollies cannot be transported onto site on the shuttle bus service from the drop-off point.
Parking on site
People driving to the festival need to buy a car parking pass. They are £45 in advance and are only available to ticket-holders. You can buy them via Seetickets.
Car park passes are non-transferable, and attempts to re-sell them may result in their cancellation. Refunds are available prior to the ticket refund deadline.
Car parks will open at 9pm on Tuesday, but people are expected to remain in their cars until gates open at 8am on Wednesday. Camping is NOT allowed in the car parks.
There are four main entrances for cars, depending upon where you are coming from. Follow the P signs to get to the nearest available parking spaces.
Directions to the car parks
• 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)
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 those.
Coach
Coaches are one of the greenest ways to get to Glastonbury, as tou generate at least five times less CO2 emissions going by coach, than driving in a car alone to the festival.
National Express is the festival's official partner, running services from more than 75 locations, including Bristol.
The festival site has its own coach station next to the gates, which saves the mammoth walk from the car park.
You can book National Express tickets and see a journey planner here . You can also call 08717 818181 to book. Lines are open 24/7 and calls cost 10p per minute.
Glastonbury Festival 2019
Bus
There is a direct service from Bristol Bus Station and the festival coach station. Tickets can be booked using the same details as above.
These are the available bus services:
Bristol
Service 376
Take the 376 bus from Bristol Temple Meads to Glastonbury / Wells and connect into the festival bus services from Glastonbury (GF1 Wed to Mon) or Wells (GF6 Fri to Mon). For GF1 and GF6 timetables and fares, see below.
Bath
Service 174
Take the 174 bus from Bath Bus Station to Shepton Mallet and connect into the festival bus services from there (GF2 Wed to Mon) timetables and fares, see below.
Castle Cary railway station
There’s a free shuttle bus for Festival ticket-holders running between Castle Cary Station and the Festival Bus Station throughout the Festival. The bus station is next to Pedestrian Gate A. The shuttle operates from Wednesday to Monday (there is no service during the night when trains aren’t running). Remember you will need your Festival ticket to use the bus service to the site.
Glastonbury Town shuttle bus
Service GF1
Fare £4 (single)
From 12:00 each day this calls at West Pennard bus stop, 10 minutes after departing from Glastonbury Town Hall.
2019 Shepton Mallet town bus shuttle
Service GF2
Shepton Mallet Town Centre (Cenotaph) via Cannards Grave. N.B. For departures from Cannards Grave, please use times from Cenotaph as a guide. Fare £3 (single)
2019 Festival Bus Station – Bristol Temple Meads (Sunday & Monday only)
Service GF3
Fare £15 single
2019 Castle Cary Station – Worthy View Campsite Shuttle Service
Service GF4
Shuttle between Castle Cary Station and Worthy View. This is a free service for guests staying at Worthy View. This service will operate on Wednesday & Thursday, Sunday & Monday to connect to and from rail services.
2019 Festival Bus Station – Worthy View Campsite Shuttle Service
Service GF5
Shuttle between Festival Bus Station and Worthy View. This is a free service for guests staying at Worthy View. The service operates from Wednesday to Monday.
2019 Wells Bus Station Shuttle
Service GF6
Fare: £4 (single)
Calls at North Wootton (Crossways Hotel) 15 minutes after departing Wells Coach Station.
Train
The best railway station to reach the festival is Castle Cary. There is a FREE shuttle bus for ticket-holders between the station and the festival.
On Sunday and Monday, a bus service will run from the Festival Bus Station, next to Pedestrian Gate A, to Bristol Temple Meads railway station. Fare £15 (single).
Bike
Festival organisers encourage people to cycle to the Glastonbury. The site is just a few miles south of route three of the National Cycle Network, which runs between Glastonbury and Wells.
For route planning advice, check out Cycle Streets’ Glastonbury Route Planner.
Cyclists can get free secure bicycle lockups on site and there is a cyclists' campsite.
For a small fee, cyclists can also use a luggage delivery service from pre-arranged drop-off sites around Somerset and Bristol.
Motorbike
Motorcycles (including quad bikes) are not allowed on site. They must be parked in the free, secure compound near the Festival Bus Station.
To find this, follow signs for Yellow Route and staff will then direct you. Motorcycles do not require a car parking pass.
Once at the motorbike compound, security staff will fill in a slip with your bike details on, colour, number plate, make, model etc, and you park it up. This slip enables you to re-enter the compound to get the bike out. There are lockups available once inside the Festival site if you don’t want to leave your helmet chained to your bike.
If arriving on two wheels, make sure you don’t load up with more than you can carry. Get the weight distributed so it does not affect the bike’s centre of balance. Give everything a good tug once loaded; it’s better that it comes off now than whilst on the road.
