Hi Wannabeglider,
Is it always a strict 'start til finish' routine? I can barely get up at 10:00 at the weekends let alone be at an airfield an hour away for 8:00!!
Here's something else about gliding that I can't imagine will have changed much since I was gliding. On a gliding site at the start of every day the instructors will open a fresh 'flying list' on which people who wish to fly that day will put their names down. People fly in strict order of their names appearing on that list. As people have their flights their names are crossed off the list. So the higher your name is on that list, the earlier you get to fly
When I was gliding, it was common for that flying list to be thirty or more names long by 9 a.m. So if you get there in the mid-morning, you can still put your name down, but there will still be about twenty odd names above yours. It was quite common for the people at the bottom of the list not to fly at all that day, (especially if the weather changed during the day,) this after putting in a hard day's work heaving gliders and cables on the ground.
Some clubs, (notably Dunstable,) used to have botheys. These were effectively dormitories where you could stay overnight and eat breakfast the following morning in the club canteen. So you could arrive the night before, sleep in the bothey and crawl out in time for the commencement of activities the following morning. It might be worth asking if this service is still available.
In regard to how to get started, I would say do a trial flight. If you like it, do a week's course.
Regards,
BP.