Are festivals ever sustainable?

Festivals don’t do so well when it comes to eco-credentials. It’s easy to see why. Single use plastics, discarded tents and the power required to keep those lights flashing are all bad for the environment.

In other words, it’s hard to imagine a sustainable festival.

But what if festivals are important to you? Well ,even if a festival is never likely to be carbon neutral, there are things you can do to help mitigate your own negative impact. One of the best ways to do this is to ditch the car and opt for public transport.

It’s time to dig that rucksack out of the loft.

Research by Oxford University suggests that 500 UK festivals produce 84,000 tonnes of CO2 a year. The largest component of this is caused by travel to and from the site. Choosing a local festival can make a big difference but if there’s nothing available nearby deciding to travel to your festival by train might be the next best thing.

It will might mean you’ll avoid those dreaded traffic queues.

According to Sustrans, CO2 emissions per passenger for train are on average six to eight times lower than car travel but not all festivals are conveniently situated next to railway stations. In fact hardly any of them are. But we have found five UK festivals you can get to by train. Which means there are more out there.

As long as you don’t mind a bit of a walk or a bus ride.

Five summer 2022 UK festivals you can travel to by train

Gone Wild Festival – Devon

We weren’t very impressed these guys put car travel top of the list and then included air travel on their website.

Dates: 25th – 28th August 2022

Type of festival: Family fun and outdoor activities

Festival travel info: Gone Wild Festival Travel

Recommended train station: Starcross

Distance from festival location: Walking 2.5 km

Taxi cost: £6 – £8

Car parking fees you won’t be paying: £21.20 (weekend)

Train travel time from London: 2.5 hours

Camp Bestival – Shropshire

What a shame. These guys also put car travel first on their list.

Dates: 18th-21st August 2022

Type of festival: A fun, family-friendly music festival

Festival travel info: Camp Bestival Travel

Recommended train stations: Telford Central (for a taxi) or Shifnal (to walk)

Distance from festival location: Walking from Shifnal Station (scenic route) 9.5 km

Taxi cost: £12 – £15

Car park charges you won’t be paying: £25 (non-advance weekend)

Train travel time from London: 2.5 hours

TRNSMT – Glasgow

Hooray! These guys are positively discouraging arrival by car.

Dates: 8th – 10th July

Type of festival: This one’s all about the music (and they want you to use public transport)

Festival travel info: TRNSMT travel

Recommended mainline station: Glasgow Central

Recommended subway stations: Bridge Street, Buchanan Street and St Enoch

Distance from festival location: Walking from Glasgow Central Station – 2 km (1 km from the subway stations)

Taxi cost: You won’t need one

Car parking fees you won’t be paying: TRNSMT doesn’t have a festival car park

Train travel time from London: 5 hours

Green Gathering Festival – Monmouthshire

Hats off to these guys. Dedicated coaches and free shuttle buses plus sustainable transport tips and advice AND camping kit hire! They also have benefits for anyone who chooses to walk a decent distance or cycle.

This is very tempting!!

Dates: 4th – 7th August 2022

Type of festival: Low impact living. ‘The original off-grid festival’

Festival travel info: Green Gathering travel info

Recommended train station: Chepstow

Distance from festival location: Walking 2 km but you don’t need to walk, there’s a free shuttle bus.

Taxi cost: Nope, you won’t need a taxi either

Car parking fees you won’t be paying: £25

Train travel time from London: 2.5 hours

WOMAD – Wiltshire

Some effort exhibited here. Bikes and buses come before cars in the list and car sharing is available via an app.

Dates: 28th – 31st July

Type of festival: World festival – arts and culture

Festival travel info: WOMAD travel info

Recommended train station: Chippenham

Distance from festival location: It’s too far to walk but you don’t need to, there’s a shuttle bus service that takes about 30 minutes.

Taxi cost: You won’t be needing a taxi

Car parking fees you won’t be paying: Parking is free if you buy a 4 or 3 day ticket

Train travel times from London: 1.5 hours

Go to your festival on a train

So there we have it. Festivals aren’t perfect but they are fun. And you can do your bit for the environment this summer by thinking about your transport. Trains can be a really relaxing way to travel, and can take you more places than you might think.

As long as there isn’t a train strike that is!

Travelling to Glastonbury Festival by train

Update – Glastonbury 2022

I’ve just had a message in from a friend who travelled to this year’s Glastonbury Festival from London by train. Despite the strike, they enjoyed a dedicated festival train to and from Paddington, which only stopped in Reading on its way to Castle Cary. They had a smooth journey and even travelled in a first class carriage on the way back.

Well done to GWR and well done to Glastonbury Festival for putting on a FREE transfer bus.