Astrofest 2014 travel

[AWR]

I thought it might be useful to re-do my Astrofest travel topic as it is almost upon us.

Driving
Driving into Kensington is not too bad (by London standards), there is good access from both the A40 and the M4/A4.  The Hammersmith flyover has reduced lane widths and some overnight closures but otherwise it is ok.   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 £13.20 for 3 hours, £17.60 for 4 or £26.40 for 6 hours. Pay and display in the immediate area will cost £3.30 or £4.40 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 £4.70 cash but £2.20 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.   It is worth checking TfL for engineering works before you set off.

Train
If you are coming by train (especially from the south) then it is possible to change at Clapham Junction and get the train to Kensington Olympia. There are 4 trains per hour and it only takes 10 minutes.  It is a 1 mile walk from Kensington Olympia to Astrofest.  Whether it is worth it or not depends on how you view a 1 mile walk!

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).

Links
TfL (Transport for London) - useful for all tube/bus related queries.
Map of the area
Tube Map

Hope this helps,

Andrew

[callump]

If you travel in to Paddington, it's a nice walk through Hyde Park if the weather is fine, and not too far...

Callum

[michaelmorris]

If you're driving in from the West (M40), try free street parking at the eastern end of Wadham Gardens in Sudbury Hill. 

https://maps.google.com/?ll=51.553138,-0.337221&spn=0.02028,0.038409&t=m&z=15

It's then only a 10 minute walk to Sudury Hill Tube station and then only another 35 minutes to High Steet Kensington (change trains at Earl's Court).

[Pete Presland]

Thanks for sharing your advice, the tube for me i think

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

[BlueAstra]

Thanks for the advice. Will be coming from 'oop north', so the travel info is very useful. I hope to be there Friday and Saturday.

[AWR]

I should have added:

Oyster Cards

You cannot buy an Oyster card from most train station ticket offices, but you can from all underground ticket offices.  Oyster cards can be topped up almost anywhere, however.

So at Euston, for example, go down to the underground first and get an Oyster card there.  It really is worth it, even if there is a queue.

Andrew

[Chris Rowland]

Mainline tickets can include underground travel as well for a small amount extra - at least the Chiltern Railways do.  That may be even more cost effective than an Oyster card.

Chris

[nickarp2000]

We are travelling down from Northampton to Euston tomorrow and for the 2 of us with the underground tickets it's only £39. They are offering a discount for underground tickets coupled with the rail tickets and for zones 1-6 it's only £4.50 each for a one day travelcard, reduced from £9. So taking out the need to park, the petrol, and the more expensive tube travel, I think that's a deal!.

In the past I have parked down the bottom of park lane in a secluded underground car park which is only £13.50 for the whole day, which for that area is a bonus. However the journey down the Edgeware Road can be a nightmare at the best of times, and then of course it's a fair walk to Kensington unless you get the travel card for the underground.

Nick

[hskygazer]

I went yesterday and the trains were delayed between Gatwick and Victoria Station.

I caught the 52 bus between Victoria and Kensington (which was on time both ways).

It is worth allowing extra travel time for possible delays. However, it was a very interesting day at the event.