Isle Of Wet

A muddy site caused a traffic gridlock around the Isle Of Wight Festival June 21 that grew so large that it held up the island’s ferry service.

Three boats were held in the Solent, the strait separating the Isle of Wight from mainland England, until the stuck cars had moved.

“We can’t do anything else with them until we can get into port to unload,” a spokesman for ferry operator Wightlink told The Daily Telegraph. “At the moment we are in the lap of the gods with the Isle of Wight Festival.

“As soon as the berth is free they will be able to unload, but we just don’t know when that will be. It has nothing to do with us, and it’s not a problem caused by us.”

Like most of the UK, the island has had a wet June and the ground was made worse by heavy storms earlier in the week.
Festival organiser John Giddings said the car parks were wet with the overnight rain and the rain of the last month.

“It’s taking twice as long to park people up, so it’s causing a traffic jam back along both roads to the ferry port,” he explained.

Metal tracks have been put down on the waterlogged car parks to help vehicles struggling in the muddy conditions.
The Isle Of Wight lineup June 22-24 includes Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Elbow, Pearl Jam, Biffy Clyro, and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.