Some festival-goers reportedly began arriving at Glastonbury on Monday in order to avoid the chaos caused by rail strikes around the UK.

The world-famous music festival will take place this weekend after a three-year absence due to coronavirus, with the gates officially opening to ticket-holders on Wednesday.

Those travelling to the event will find the journey more difficult than usual due to strikes orchestrated by the rail union RMT, meaning a severe reduction in services and an ensuing increase in road traffic.

Just 24 trains are due to run between London and Castle Cary station between Wednesday and Friday - less than half the usual number - and some Glasto-goers opted to avoid the chaos by travelling on Monday, before the strikes began.

Those people are said to be camping outside of the main gates to the festival until they are able to be let in at 8am on Wednesday morning.

A spokesperson for Great Western Railway, which operates the route, said: "We plan to maintain timetabled trains between Castle Cary and London Paddington throughout the course of the Glastonbury Festival.

"Some services might be subject to alterations to train times and we will be in contact with customers who have already booked seats on board those trains."

"Other parts of the GWR network are likely to be more affected by the strike action and customers may need to consider alternative ways to travel to a station serving Castle Cary."

Artists playing at this year's Glastonbury include Sir Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Pet Shop Boys, Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar.