how do Glastonbury locals cope?

[Stroopwaffels]

With 200k people descending on a very rural location? The traffic is bad enough in Glasgow when there's a single big concert on, Ed Sheeran played last week and the 60k people attending caused gridlock all over the place. And that's in a major city with motorways.

How do people go to work, get their kids to school, pop to Tesco?

It’s more important that the pretend hippies go to their spiritual ground and seek attention by pushing kids around in wheelbarrows.
the locals just have to get with the program and perhaps get high as a kite and feel the love (man)

I don't know if it's still the case but years ago (over 20 ) had a colleague who moved from Bath to a small hamlet near Pilton because they used to get a free invite.
I live 40 minutes up the road between Bristol and Bath and the roads are always busier around town as people use our town as a cut through to the A37. We also see hitchhikers around too.

They do get free tickets. I imagine they rent out rooms, take annual leave, get shopping in advance walk to school.

We have a massive sporting event for 2 weeks a year on our otherwise exceptionally quiet Island. A lot of people leave and rent out their homes. Others join in enthusiastically. Others seethe quietly - it's not a surprise though - it's being going on for over 100years in our case.

I guess they get used to it. I grew up in a very popular seaside resort that used to be packed out with tourists for most of the summer. You just work round it

Massive four day annual event (100k people each day) but the traffic system is excellent and very well stewarded. The town gets busy and its noisy but all in all great for the local economy. However, its a very different demographic to a bunch of pissed, stoned pretend-hipppies. The thought of Glastonbury festival makes me shudder. No way could I live anywhere near it.

It’s been going on for decades. If people don’t like the idea, maybe don’t move to Glastonbury?

I live near Reading & Henley. Basically avoid each place like the plague in the lead up to, during and immediately after the events.
Both events have been happening for a while, so everyone just works around them.

It's not actually IN Glastonbury town though

I live near a different festival site, 82k drunk teenagers isn’t fun but you just get on with it.

Its very loud obviously but the main bulk of traffic problems tends to be when people arrive and leave, during the days themselves it’s not to bad.
The main roads around the area are closed to normal traffic and are residents access only and the council put in residents only parking to stop people being blocked in for 5 days.

Have you actually been to Glastonbury? It adds tons to the local economy. The high street is somewhat different to most 🤣

Not the same, but I lived for 5 years next to a large premier league football ground. You get used to 30,000 people descending every other weekend and just plan your days around it. I firmly believe that if it predates your moving to a place, then you either (1) don’t move somewhere or (2) don’t moan about it.

I think I'd really like it, having an amazing festival like that on the doorstep. Obviously you have to plan your life around it when it's happening

In the village they get free passes. Many locals love it.

To be fair, every other shop in Glastonbury sells herbal tea, healing crystals or tie tie dye clothing, so if you live there you kind of know what to expect or you moved there to be part of that scene.

My parents live about 10 minutes away from the site. They go to the supermarket on the Monday before and don’t leave their village until the following Tuesday. Luckily they are retired and so don’t have to battle the traffic.

Also. It’s not in Glastonbury. It’s in Pilton.

I'm a local and love it. Seeing all the people and of course going to glastonbury myself

I moved here 3 years ago. If I stand in our paddock I can hear Glastonbury right now.

My husband said Shepton Mallet which is where o
our nearest Tesco is is full of hippies.

Roads aren't too bad atm, I was surprised when I moved here that the festival is a little way from Glastonbury.

My son in law saw Mike Eavis at the chippy a couple of weeks ago, we qualify ( or our village does ) for tickets ( we are in the furthest zone though ) I suppose a day ticket would be fun but I'm not into festivals really.

Whenever I see the size of Glastonbury festival on the tv I'm always shocked at the size of it, I also hate camping and wonder how on earth people find their tents.

My friend is coming up from Exeter tomorrow morning and I do wonder if the traffic on the A303 will be crap.

I used to live nearby, I didn’t have a problem with it but traffic increased and a very good country pub took the decision to close for a week in 2019 after their loos were trashed. People using them to wash clothes, their hair etc and dumping tents and general rubbish after attending the festival in 2018.

Surely the traffic issues are on the first day and the last day / morning after the last day. In fact, probably mainly on the first day. When we went about ten years ago, I don’t recall any issues with traffic leaving on the Monday morning because everyone seems to go at different times. However, we queued for ages getting in on the first day.

It takes a heavy toll on the NHS here that's for sure. We're very very busy during Glasto especially with alcohol poisoning, accidents, drug incidents.
The traffic is bad but as the event isn't in Glastonbury but a farm in Pilton 7 miles away it doesn't really make a huge difference.

My DM lived a short distance from Pilton. The locals in her village would mostly get a big shop in in advance then hole up as much as possible for the duration.

My brother lives very close. He tends to book annual leave around that time and go away somewhere if he’s not actually attending that year.
this year he has gone hiking in Wales somewhere!

Not too long ago I moved into a studio flat in Wembley for work and study and within 6 months I had moved out.

1. The Noise was ridiculous, beyond even the expected levels.


2. Whenever there was any event at literally either arena they would shut off main access to the Lidl and other stores meaning us with a disability couldn't get to a store/or affordable store. And no events were not regularly advertised even the websites wouldn't say anything until day of.


3. The CO-OP and Sainsburys had nothing unless you wanted to pay 3-5 pounds for a frozen pizza.


4. Tube trains themselves were much more hygenic but much longer than advertised.


5. I was mugged once and 2 friends had been mugged 3 times within the area.


6. Crime was blatant.


7. Event organisers do not give a damn about residents.