Glastonbury Festival Travel Information

By Coach

Coach is probably the best way to arrive - not only is this more friendly to the environment, it can be more fun than a car with the chance to meet new people before you get to the Festival. The services drop you at the Festival Bus Station near Red Gate 1, right next to the entrance (much closer since 2002 than it had been previously).

NOTE: Bus & Coach Travellers without valid entrance tickets will NOT be allowed to board any of these services. We have been informed that no refunds will be given, so don't arrange to pick up your ticket from someone at the site!

You can buy coach tickets direct to the Festival from National Express from most major towns & cities. Information about these services will be available on the National Express website as well as the facility to book online.

Direct coaches from Brighton to Glastonbury.
The Brighton Peace and Environment Centre provides a direct coach service from Brighton to Glastonbury festival. Coaches run from the Tuesday to the Thursday and coming back on the Sunday and Monday. They run about every 2 hours. Prices range from £44 return to £22 for children. You can get your tickets from the Centre and The Guarana Bar. Check the website for more information:

There are normally several private buses run from around the country - some have been running for years. Please note that we have no connection with any of the services listed below, and we cannot be held responsible for any problems you may encounter.
Note that rules for all services are NO TICKET, NO TRAVEL.


By Train

The nearest train station is Castle Cary, which is on the main line from London to Plymouth (served by First Great-Western). Other services are run by Wessex Trains to destinations including Bristol. Extra train services are laid on during the Festival period to cope with the increased demand.

The Festival lays on FREE coaches from Castle Cary station but only people with valid tickets are allowed to use this service. The buses try to meet every train from Wednesday morning until Monday evening, but do get caught in traffic like everything else, and of course suffer from queues to board the buses at the busiest times. They drop you off at the Festival Bus Station - much nearer the site than it was until 2000, near Red Gate.

To check out train times from anywhere in the country, and to book your tickets online (which earns this website a commission - which helps fund the site) use the excellent QJump website.

There's varying reports about how good the bus service is - some have said awful, while others have said it worked very well. The factor seems to be how many other people are arriving/leaving at the same time, causing queues - and how patient you are. Castle Cary station is quite small, and has trouble coping with the numbers for the Festival - be prepared to be patient.

By Car

You need a car park ticket to park in the car parks (£10 in 2009) BUT ... ALL occupants of the vehicle must posses entrance tickets; any vehicles containing persons without tickets will be turned back.

Don't park in any of the unofficial car parks, as there is a chance that they will be shut down by the council. If that happens, who knows what will happen to your car?

If you have space in your car, why not offer someone a lift? Not only will you be helping the planet, you could also make a great new friend. Check both the lift-sharing forum (on the eFestivals forums) or liftshare.com (which can also be used all year round!).

A car park ticket is required for anyone bringing a car into the Festival. This is best bought with your Festival ticket - they can be bought on the gate if need be but might cost you extra. The idea of the parking fee is to discourage car use, for the benefit of the environment both through reduced pollution as well as better traffic flow in the area. There were 26,000 cars parked in the car parks in 2002.

Getting your car into or out of Glastonbury Festival can be a pain at the busiest times, with long queues and long waits - people have been known to queue for 8 hours or so. Please be patient.

Make sure that you don't leave any valuables on display inside your car - and open you glove box so any potential thief can see it's empty.

Sleeping in the car parks is prohibited by the licence (either in cars or camping), and won't be permitted by the security patrols.