Travelling to Birmingham

[PilotX]

as we are only a couple of weeks from finalising the programme, I thought it might be good to put up some travel information for people so they can start looking at routes ..

for international travellers:

Birmingham International Airport - if you can fly there do - it's a 15min, very regular, train journey to Birmingham New Street which is then a 10min walk to the Custard Factory.
If you can't fly directly to Birmingham, but can fly to say Amsterdam or Copenhagen and then to Birmingham I would suggest doing that (depending on the price - but beware the cost of train travel in the UK)

If you can't get to Birmingham International, then it's a fairly even choice between London Heathrow or Gatwick, Manchester or Bristol airports.. these are all between an hour and two hours train journey away - although I have no idea what the train connections are like at Manchester or Bristol airports.. Heathrow nad Gatwick are a tube ride away from Paddington or Euston Station where you can travel to Birmingham

"London" Luton is not so good - you will have to travel into London (30-45min?) and then up to Birmingham.. so try to avoid it, although this is where cheap flights to London tend to go.

There are 3 train stations in the centre of Birmingham - New Street, Moor Street and Snowhill. New Street and Moor Street are both similar distances from the Custard Factory (Moor Street is slightly closer), whilst Snowhill is on the other side of the city, and about 20mins walk away.

Train Info/Booking Website (http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/planmyjourney/time_table/journey_requirements.asp?&T2ID=9877_200521316844)

Multimap of Custard Factory Location (http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&db=pc&cidr_client=none&lang=&pc=B94AA&advanced=&client=public&addr2=&quicksearch=b9+4aa&addr3=&addr1=)
(I am currently sorting out a more useful map)

[cat]

So whats going on exactly? I've seen virtually no information about the event bar the date, so spill the beans, whats going on and who's doing what?

[PilotX]

I'm waiting to confirm things now that we know about money.. but i'll start a thread with the things that are confirmed and add to it - a timetable will be complete at the start of february..

[topherz]

Hi AVIT pilgrims,

I figure there must be a few others like myself interested in combining a London trip with AVIT. So here is what I have found:

Good train deal. 5 Pounds when booked a week in advance. Ride seems to take about 2 hours.
http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/
Just 15 also seems like a good option, as it looks to be available on Sunday:
http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/pages/tickets/offers/info.asp

Anyone from the UK have an opinion on the chiltern railways?

This website was helpful, as it shows all trainfares side by side, but annoying as you have to regsiter:
http://www.thetrainline.com/

Alternatively, this site is easy to use for the bus fares.
http://www.nationalexpress.com/

There is a bus that goes Luton Airport to Birmingham in 2 hours and 20 minutes, for 12.50 Pounds. If the timing is right, seems like that could be a good option.

-topher

[PilotX]

Hi Topherz,


I don't know Chiltern Railways I'm afraid (unless they used to be silverlink?). Probably they are fine, just a bit slower (ie: more stations to stop at) than Virgin (who have a terrible reliability record anyway).

The bus is a good option - sorry I forgot about buses - the National Express coach station is on Digbeth High Street, less than 5 minutes walk from the Custard Factory, so that is a good option.

[sleepytom]

the best site for uk train / travel info is
www.bahn.de
(!)

[syzygy]

Chiltern railways are great. I always use them to get between Birmingham and London. It takes very slightly longer than an on-time Virgin train but I've had less delays on Chiltern and they're much cheaper.

The station they come into in Birmingham is the closest one to the Custard Factory too (5-10 minutes walk)

Dan.

[questionmark]

Quote from Chiltern Railways site:

>How do I get through the ticket gates?
>At London Marylebone you?ll need to show your E-Day ticket .....

Does anybody know this
Do I need to fly to London Stansted, Luton or Gatwick to get close to London Marylebone?

[syzygy]

Marylebone is to the North of the centre of London.

Luton is a fair way out from London.

Gatwick takes 30 mins by train to get to London Victoria. You then need to go two stops north on the Victoria line tube to Oxford circus, then two stops north on the bakerloo line tube to Marylebone.

Stansted takes 45 mins by train to get to London Liverpool street. You then need to go 7 stops west on the circle, hammersmith and city or metropolitan line tubes to Baker Street then one stop north on the bakerloo line to Marylebone.


I'd make the decision based on where you can get the cheapest flight to, but if they're pretty much the same then the Gatwick route will be a bit quicker both on the train into London and the tube.


Hope this helps.

Dan.

[syzygy]

I should also have mentioned that National Express (http://www.nationalexpress.com) run bus services from the London airports to Digbeth Bus Station in Birmingham, which is 5 minutes walk from the Custard Factory.


They are usually cheaper than trains, especially when you add getting from the airport into London and across London on the tube.

[questionmark]

just found out:

National Express:
Stansted - Birmingham (via London Central) return: 31.50 pounds

If you'd go by Chiltern train: return : 2x 5 pounda (booked 7 days in advance) + costs for tube to Marylebone.

[syzygy]

bear in mind that the stansted express that is the easiest way to get into central london and back again costs ?24.00 for a return.

There are probably cheaper ways to get between stansted and central London, but they will take a lot longer...

Dan.