Astrofest Travel Advice

[AWR]

Astrofest is only a few weeks away and I thought that one way I could repay people for all the stellar advice over the years is to offer advice on something I do know about: London travel. I’ve jotted some thoughts down but if you think I’ve forgotten something or have any further questions then please do not hesitate to ask.

Driving

Driving into Kensington is not too bad (by London standards), there is good access from both the A40 and the M4/A4. At the time of writing there are serious road works on the Hammersmith Flyover and if these are not finished they may affect your journey on the Friday, if you are coming from the A4. Saturday traffic has hardly been affected. Kensington is no longer in the congestion charging zone.

Parking

Parking in Kensington is EXPENSIVE! The car park below the town hall is convenient but it costs £12 for 3 hours, £16 for 4 or £24 for 6 hours. Pay and display in the immediate area will cost £3 or £4 per hour and is rigorously enforced. Parking slightly to the west, in Hammersmith and Fulham will cost £1.10 per ½ hour and again is rigorously enforced.

Oyster Cards

It is MUCH cheaper to pay for London travel using an Oyster card than it is to use cash. For example, a single tube ticket from London Euston to High St. Kensington costs £4.30 cash but £2 on an Oyster card. There is a £5 deposit on getting an Oyster card but you can either return the card or just keep it for next time you come to London. (It seems also that you can get a Visitor Oyster for £3 non-refundable deposit.) Another advantage is that you will avoid the queues at the ticket machines (or the even longer queues at the ticket offices), especially at the main London stations. Oyster cards can be ordered and topped up online.

Tube

The nearest tube stop is High Street Kensington (District Line) but Holland Park (Central), Notting Hill Gate (Central, District, Circle), Earl’s Court (District, Piccadilly) and Gloucester Road (District, Circle, Piccadilly) are all within 1 mile and are easily walkable. It is worth checking TfL for engineering works before you set off (nothing too serious at time of writing).

Train

If you are coming by train (especially from the south) then it is probably worth changing at Clapham Junction and getting the train to Kensington Olympia. There are 4 trains per hour and it only takes 10 minutes.

Anything else?

Just ask.

Links

TfL (Transport for London) - useful for all tube/bus related queries.

Map of the area

Tube Map

Andrew

[barkis]

Very considerate of you to post this information Andrew.

I'm sure it will be very helpful to some guys who will be travelling to Astrofest. London can be a nightmare for car drivers, not least the parking. Thanks again.

Ron.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Thankyou Andrew very helpful information. I always stay in Kew and then park at Kensington Library. I usually stay for about 6 hours and I see that will now cost me about £24.

I think I might catch a London Bus (391) from Kew which will take me to West Kensington station and then catch another bus from there to High Street Kensington. Just got to work out which bus that will be.

Mark

[AWR]

Glad to be of assistance.

The 28 goes down North End Road and then along Kensington High Street.

The tube may be quicker (but more expensive) though.

TfL journey planner is great in and around London.

(I'm not some travel nerd - I just used to work in the area - honest!)

Andrew

[michaelmorris]

Coming in on the M40/A40, I drive to an area just south on Sudbury Hill tube station, park on residental streets (Wadham Gardens), 5-6 minutes walk to the tube station, then catch the tube into London. With four of us in a car, this is both convenient and (relatively) inexpensive. I reckon on about 50-55 minutes from parking the car to being at Astrofest.

Andrew - thanks for the tip about using an Oyster card.

(Just had a look online about the Oyster card - £3.00 activation fee + £2.75 postage. You can buy one at your local British Rail station and save on the postage cost.)

[AWR]

An addition:

Buses

There are lots of buses coming into Kensington, your best bet is to look at the TfL website. If you have a OAP bus pass from another part of the country, it will be accepted on London buses (but not the tube).

Andrew

[S.A.M]

Great advice Andrew, I am sure this will come in handy to lots of people, me included.

Peter

[AWR]

Update

Driving

The Hammersmith flyover is still reduced to one lane in both directions. If you are coming from the A4 this will affect you more on Friday. Saturday traffic is not too badly affected as long as you are early enough. Coming off the A4 at Hammersmith is slower than normal but manageable.

Tubes

There only appear to be a few lines with planned work for this weekend.

[Mark at Beaufort]

Andrew - thanks for the information on the Tubes. I am still considering my arrangements for travelling from Kew Gardens. At least now I know that the District line is running OK next weekend.

Mark

[MikeP]

Thanks Andrew, I normally take the train into Victoria and then underground to High Street Ken., never thought of changing to underground at Clapham.

Mike

[Capricorn]

Been for the last 4 years and every time the circle line has had a problem - not maintenance work just something broke.

Have ended up sitting on a train twice for 30-60 minutes and once had to get there from the south side when I start from the north.

Once they simply closed St Pancreas as I walked up to the entry.

Wonder what this year will bring.

[AWR]

Thanks Andrew, I normally take the train into Victoria and then underground to High Street Ken., never thought of changing to underground at Clapham.

Mike

Just for clarity it's overland from Clapham Junction to Kensington Olympia but it is definitely quicker. Just get your train ticket straight to Olympia.

Andrew

[AWR]

At least now I know that the District line is running OK next weekend.

Mark

Let's hope!

Been for the last 4 years and every time the circle line has had a problem - not maintenance work just something broke.

This is true. The Circle line (and the District) are old and it shows. There is always more trouble on the Circle than on any other line.

Check TfL before you set off and be aware of the other staions that are in walking distance.

Andrew

[AWR]

Andrew - thanks for the information on the Tubes. I am still considering my arrangements for travelling from Kew Gardens.

The 391 is showing delays due to road works until March! The tube is quicker (assuming a trouble free circle line). I'd be tempted to get off at Earl's Court and walk from there.

Andrew

[MikeP]

Just checked - return fare to Kensington Olympia is the same as the return fare to Victoria, so in effect, I get "free travel from Victoria to Kensington".

Sadly, Mrs MikeP will be coming with me on Friday to go shopping and wants to go via my old route. Since I will be going both days, I'll try the new route on Saturday.

Thanks for all the very useful information you are providing.

Mike

[nitram100]

I'm going to catch a train from Harrow and Wealdstone to Kensington Olympia, only 25 minutes journey, so very straight forward.

Thanks for the post!

[AWR]

Latest Tube News

Have a look at the TfL Live Travel News page to check the latest tube situation. There are various closures due to signal failures and a broken down train.

Andrew

[MikeP]

I went via Kensington Olympia today and I have to say it is a much longer walk from there to Astrofest than I would have expected, so unless I know the tube has problems, I won't try that route again.

To add insult to injury, I tried to go back home from Victoria but they refused to accept my ticket and said I had to return via Clapham Junction - I pointed out that the route home from Victoria went via Clapham Junction but apparently that was no good. Not quite sure I understand why there was a problem but I was too tired to argue further. As I said above, I won't go via overground again.

Mike

[AWR]

It is about a mile down the road - I should have made that clearer.

Andrew

[michaelmorris]

I went via Kensington Olympia today and I have to say it is a much longer walk from there to Astrofest than I would have expected, so unless I know the tube has problems, I won't try that route again.

Mike

I also did that once many year ago.

Harry Beck's topological underground map uses more or less equal spaces between stations, resulting in some long walks and unnecessary tube journeys.

File:London Underground Zone 1.svg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[MikeP]

Sorry Andrew, it wasn't a criticism - I looked on the map before I went and it only looked to be an inch or so

I'm glad I tried going that way, it may be useful in future.

Mike

[AWR]

No worries Mike,

I will try and put together a more complete document for next year though. (Unless the organisers see sense and pick a bigger venue).

I'd like to include walking directions from each of the nearby tube stations.

Andrew

[malc-c]

Last year (my 1st) I made the mistake of going to South Kensington rather than Kensington High street. It was a nice day so I walked, taking around 45 minutes....this year I got the right station

[Capricorn]

(Unless the organisers see sense and pick a bigger venue).

Trouble with that is if they get a bigger place it costs more, and then if the bigger place does not get the capacity then they lose money and go bust.

Places like Earls Court and Olympia will be charging significantly more.

Probably unable afterwards to swap back to Kensington. It is a delicate balancing act, and if they get it wrong no Astrofest.

Over the years I have seen a lot of well attended events pull out of the Birmingham NEC and I can only think that the cost has made it non-viable. I used to plan to visit 3 NEC exhibitions a year but have been to none for the past few years. Too expensive, and 2 have disappeared.

To be honest may not bother with Atsrofest next year as the number of retailers has dropped so not the goodies to look at, compare and purchase. The Widescreen stand seemed minimal. Many stands often more of a boot sale. They had 4 "universities" of one sort or another present - how many there were thinking of starting a degree?

[GordonH]

How can you describe the Wide screen stand as minimal, I was helping out there on both days and they had about as much variety if not more than other retailers

Trouble with that is if they get a bigger place it costs more, and then if the bigger place does not get the capacity then they lose money and go bust.

Places like Earls Court and Olympia will be charging significantly more.

Probably unable afterwards to swap back to Kensington. It is a delicate balancing act, and if they get it wrong no Astrofest.

Over the years I have seen a lot of well attended events pull out of the Birmingham NEC and I can only think that the cost has made it non-viable. I used to plan to visit 3 NEC exhibitions a year but have been to none for the past few years. Too expensive, and 2 have disappeared.

To be honest may not bother with Atsrofest next year as the number of retailers has dropped so not the goodies to look at, compare and purchase. The Widescreen stand seemed minimal. Many stands often more of a boot sale. They had 4 "universities" of one sort or another present - how many there were thinking of starting a degree?