Rush to Glastonbury! Prime train tickets nearly sold out; later slots still available

Demand for trains is set to be so high that Great Western Railway requires all customers travelling to the festival to make a reservation.

Early and mid-morning trains on both Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 June are almost full; but services after midday, towards the early and late afternoon, still have plenty of seats. Secure your spot now or miss out.

GWR will run more than 40 trains from London Paddington to Castle Cary to get people to the Glastonbury Festival, as well as many other trains from other parts of the network. 

You may even be lucky enough to travel on the Shania Train, a train named after country music queen Shania Twain by BBC broadcaster Nick Grimshaw earlier this week.

With more people than ever wishing to make sustainable travel choices and avoid long queues on the roads, the train journey from London to Glastonbury has long been the best option.

Those travelling are also being warned that they may have to queue at London Paddington to board trains safely, and at Castle Cary to exit the station for the connecting bus service.

What can I take on the train?

As well as reserving a seat for the outward journey, GWR says:

• Only bring what you can carry. You will need to be able to carry your luggage over the footbridge at Castle Cary before boarding the shuttle bus service to the festival site; and luggage space is also limited on the shuttle bus 
• Do not bring trolleys or sack barrows as these will not be allowed on trains or buses 
• Remember to charge your phone if using electronic tickets (phone charging will be available at the station)
• Remember your railcard (if you have a have one) 

The journey is just an hour and 40 minutes from London Paddington to Castle Cary, where a free bus service is available to Worthy Farm, home of the world-famous festival.

The Glastonbury festival site opens to the public from Wednesday 26 June, with thousands expected to make the journey over Wednesday 26, Thursday 27 and Friday 28 for the festival, which ends on Sunday 30 – before travelling home on the Monday.

Access to trains on the way home is first-come, first-served, according to where you are travelling to – and a queuing system will be in place.

Reduced price, Advance tickets, are on sale and if you’re quick you can snap up a real bargain, with the cheapest Advance ticket costing £44.00, 28% less than an Off-Peak Single (£61.60), and 64% less than an Anytime Single (£123.60). You can also save even more money if you have a Young Person’s Railcard, which offers another third off the price of train tickets.

Did you know that there are two separate railcards for young people?

A 16-25 Student Railcard, and a 26-30 Millennial Railcard; both offer great discounts.

Tickets are available from other retailers, but often these add a booking fee on top, so save a little bit extra by buying directly from GWR.com.

Will there be enough room?

GWR is planning to run more than 40 trains from London Paddington to Castle Cary to get people to the Glastonbury Festival, as well as many other trains from other parts of the network. 

Over the three days (Wednesday to Friday), GWR will provide 28,600 plus seats on trains from London Paddington, and more than 18,800 for the return on Monday.

A further 29 trains will operate for the return journey towards London Paddington on Monday 1 July. Extra services are also being laid on between Castle Cary and Westbury and Castle Cary and Taunton, for those travelling from further afield.  

For more information on trains to Glastonbury Festival, including luggage and shuttle buses from the station, visit GWR’s guide: 

https://www.gwr.com/stations-and-destinations/travel-inspiration/festivals-and-events/glastonbury-festival 

Advance Purchase tickets are now available at GWR.com, allowing travellers to see specifically which trains they can book a seat on, and at the cheapest cost.