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Glastonbury Festival getaway and clean-up begins

Chloe Harcombe
BBC News, West of England
Ben Birchall/PA Media A group of people leaving Glastonbury Festival. All but one of them have their backs to the camera. They are all carrying luggage and camping gear.Ben Birchall/PA Media
Ben Birchall/PA Media A field at Glastonbury covered in rubbish. There are lots of seagulls picking at the litter.Ben Birchall/PA Media
Some punters began their journeys early
The festival will not return in 2026 to allow the land to recover

Thousands of weary music fans are heading home as Glastonbury Festival comes to an end for another year.

It comes hours after US pop star Olivia Rodrigo headlined the Pyramid Stage and closed the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset.

A team of volunteers have started the major clean-up of the site to prepare the land for a fallow year in 2026. Revellers were urged to take all of their belongings with them and leave their campsite tidy.

People were encouraged to leave the site between 00:00 and 06:00 BST to get ahead of the queues and avoid the heat, as temperatures are expected to reach up to 31C (88F).

Listen: Farewell Glastonbury 2025

Those beginning their journeys later were advised to cover up with light, airy clothing, carry water and apply sunscreen regularly.

According to traffic monitoring site Inrix, there are "severe" delays on the A303 eastbound in Amesbury, near Stonehenge, due to the number of vehicles coming from Worthy Farm.

The travel time is approximately 65 minutes.

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The festival's clean-up volunteers are working their way through thousands of discarded items left on the site, including paper cups and food containers.

They are also emptying overflowing bins and removing large items left behind, such as camping chairs, inflatable mattresses, slippers, flip-flops and shopping bags.

At the scene - Tamsin Curnow, BBC West

It's a warm and muggy morning on site.

There's heavy cloud cover at the moment and it feels like a lot of people have heeded the festival's advice to head off early to avoid the fierce heat this afternoon.

There's been a gentle stream of people heading out of the main pedestrian gate towards the bus station, where extra water taps have been set up to make sure everyone can get a cold drink.

And of course as they head off site, it's what they leave behind.

The piles of recycling and rubbish are growing - so far several air beds and a suitcase have been left!

Andy Bennett/BBC Two overflowing bins at Glastonbury Festival. There is rubbish on the floor surrounding them too.Andy Bennett/BBC
Many of the bins on site are overflowing with rubbish

Thousands of tents were abandoned at the site in previous years, with some punters under the false impression they were packed away and donated to charities.

Hannah Collins, volunteer at the Muddy Lane Campsite, said: "There have been occasions, probably quite a long time ago, when we were able to leave a pile of tents and we were told they would be collected for charity - but now the advice is to take everything home.

"A lot of the stuff that's left behind isn't complete or isn't in the best condition [so can't be reused]."

A clear plastic box with a handwritten paper sign attached to it saying "Food donation box for local food banks" on the grass outside a tent in a campsite at Glastonbury. It contains some bottles of soft drink, some tinned food and a box of tea bags. There is a red Lidl Bag for Life next to it.
Many campsites have collection points for leftover food, which will be donated to the Shepton Mallet Food Bank

But one thing people are very welcome to drop off at donation points on site is leftover food, which will be given to Shepton Mallet Food Bank.

Lee Jones from Poole in Dorset is one of the litter pickers working to clear the site.

He has been volunteering at the festival for 15 years.

While out litter picking earlier, Mr Jones found a pair of silver sparkly shorts which he put on over his jeans.

Lee Jones. He has dark short hair and facial hair. He is wearing a blue recycling crew t-shirt, blue jeans, silver sparkly shorts, red gloves and sunglasses. He is standing in the field in front of the Pyramid Stage. People can be seen in the distance walking across the field.
Lee Jones litter picked some silver sparkly shorts

"I didn't want to waste them, so thought 'let's get those on'," he said.

He is not the only one dressing up for the occasion.

The Duck Gang - dressed in matching duck shirts - are volunteering to support SOS Africa.

The team consists of Angela Saxbee and Sarah Parker from Frome, Somerset, Alastair Cullen, from Winchester in Hampshire, and Gavin Eddy from Bristol.

Angela Saxbee, Alastair Cullen, Sarah Parker and Gavin Eddy. Angela has dark curly hair tied up in a ponytail, Alastair has short fair hair and facial hair, Sarah has short blonde hair and Gavin has short blonde hair. Alastair and Gavin are wearing yellow hats, while Angela and Sarah are wearing sunglasses. All of them are wearing blue volunteer t-shirts and black shirts with yellow ducks on them. They are all holding litter picking sticks and bags of rubbish.
(L-R) Angela Saxbee, Alastair Cullen, Sarah Parker and Gavin Eddy, also known as The Duck Gang

Ms Parker said: "People keep quacking at us as they walk past and I think 'what are they on about?'

"I forget what I'm wearing."

Ms Saxbee added she was feeling "anxious" about the weather, given the amber heat health alert in place for the region and much of England.

Earlier, the UK Health Security Agency extended the alert until 9:00 BST on Wednesday.

Kirstine Carr. She is wearing a blue Glastonbury volunteer t-shirt and a yellow high vis jacket. She is wearing sunglasses and a hat with two latex gloves on it. She is looking at the camera and smiling. Lots of litter picking volunteers can be seen behind her, as well as litter on the field.
Kirstine Carr is a litter picking team leader volunteer

Kirstine Carr, from Devizes in Wiltshire, is volunteering for a fifth year as a litter picking team leader.

She has been attending the festival since 2008.

This year, she is donning a hat decorated by her fellow volunteers.

The team is aiming to finish as quickly as possible so everyone can leave safely before the temperatures reach their peak.

"We're very aware of the hot weather and safety advice," Ms Carr said.

Ben Birchall/PA Media The Pyramid Stage in the distance and a large crowd of volunteers litter picking at Glastonbury. There is litter all over the field. Ben Birchall/PA Media
Hours before the clean-up began, Olivia Rodrigo was performing on the Pyramid Stage

Glastonbury Festival is set to return in 2027.

Organiser Emily Eavis told the on-site newspaper, Glastonbury Free Press, she had a "huge list of things" to improve before then.

"We're always looking to make it better. The detail is critical. Even just a small touch – like putting a new hedge in – can make a real difference.

"And that's what fallow years are for: you lay the ground to rest and you come back stronger," she added.

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