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As the sun rises over SW19, about 1,500 bleary-eyed campers are being ushered from their tents to take part in one of Wimbledon’s long-running customs. From the four corners of Britain they come, to revel in a peculiarly British tradition. Today the Wimbledon queue begins.

At 6am the stewards from the All England club begin to shake the tents of those who camp overnight to reserve a place, shooing the unwashed and half-asleep spectators into a marquee where at 7.30am they are expected to be issued with wristbands that cement their slot.

This year, however, there has been a change to the procedure. Previously the faithful fans snaked towards the gates of Wimbledon in two queues, sleeping on the pavement. The first 500 are eligible for tickets to Centre Court. Now, after fears for their safety, they have been amalgamated into a single crowd. Rather than sleeping on stone slabs, they are accommodated by night in the leafier surroundings of Wimbledon Park. And, instead of spending their days huddled by the roadside, the queue will cross the lush fairways of the Wimbledon Park Golf Club.

It is a change that some believe has been too long coming. “There’s a lot less noise over here, and it’s much more comfortable pitching your tent on grass,” said Felicity Ryan, 45, a veteran of 27 years of Wimbledon queueing. “It definitely makes it safer away from the cars.”

It is not only the drivers who have caused problems in the past. Joe Martin, 12, camping with his mother, Ally, said: “Last year some people came and threw potatoes at us from their car at half past three in the morning. Then some foxes came and started fighting over the potatoes. I didn’t get any sleep.”

Andrew Gairdner, who as chief honorary steward of the tournament oversees the queueing procedure, is sending stewards to railway stations in the vicinity of the Championships to explain the new arrangements to those arriving to join the wait.

He said: “Over the years I felt that it has become increasingly hazardous. Where it is now it means that they are in a safe environment, with no cars around. We’ve tried to anticipate the problems of people who have been doing the same thing for 20 years. The people who come to the front of the queue are not just here for the day. They come every day, and they’ve been coming, some of them, for decades. They seem very comfortable with the new arrangements.

“The key is the Wimbledon tradition of selling 8,000 or so passes for the tennis on the day. No other major tournament sells tickets like this. This is a tradition that we are determined to maintain.”

Once inside the grounds, spectators can expect to pay a hefty premium on the traditional strawberries and cream. Increases in the cost of food production have meant that the customary punnet of no fewer than ten strawberries is up by 12.5 per cent to £2.25, the first price rise since 2003.

Those tempted to queue can take heart from the weather forecast. The Met Office yesterday predicted a week filled with sunshine, a stark contrast to last year, when showers ruined the first three days of the tournament.

Dave Elliott, a Met Office forecaster, said: “There may be the odd shower on Wednesday, but if there is going to be rain it’s going to come in patches next week.”

The weather may not hold any nasty surprises for the players but their preparations yesterday were hampered by a problem of a different sort: a swarm of bees. Rafael Nadal was among a group of players who had to flee for cover when a swarm settled around the players’ lawn. Later a pest controller was called to douse the swarm in poisonous chemicals.

An All England Club spokesman said: “It seemed they were keen on having a look and it made for an unusual start to the week.”