General Information

Travel

Workshop Venue

Accommodation (bus information)

Workshop dinner

Travelling to Cambridge

Please find below methods for getting to Cambridge by air, rail, Eurostar or coach. Directions (especially how to reach the Cavendish Laboratory) can also be found here.

Air

London Stansted Airport: This is the closest major airport, about 25 miles from Cambridge (40 minutes by car). It is well served by airlines flying from European destinations. For flight information try the BAA Stansted website or contact the airlines directly (budget airlines easyJet, Germanwings, airberlin and Ryanair operate direct flights to Stansted from many European airports).

Cambridge is within easy reach by rail, coach or taxi. The railway station is part of the terminal. The services to Cambridge take about 30 minutes. The times of trains between Stansted Airport and Cambridge can be found on the National Rail website.

The coach services to Cambridge run once per hour, and take about 50 minutes. Tickets can be purchased from the coach ticket desk in the arrivals area of the terminal or on the coach. The service is run by National Express.

London Heathrow Airport: Many airlines fly to London Heathrow. The easiest way to get to Cambridge is to take a direct coach service. The coach runs at least once per hour, see the National Express website, and takes at least 2.5 hours to reach Cambridge (often much longer, depending on traffic).

A fast train service, the Heathrow Express, connects the airport with London Paddington station. From there use the underground to connect to rail or coach services listed below to reach Cambridge.

The airport is also served by the London Underground (Piccadilly line) which takes you directly (in about one hour) to Kings Cross station, from where fast trains to Cambridge depart (see instructions below).

Renting and charing a car to drive to Cambridge might be an option. However, the only reasonably direct route to Cambridge is along the M25, London's orbital motorway, on which there are frequently traffic jams.

London Gatwick Airport: This airport is located to the south of London. A direct train service connects the airport with Kings Cross station. From Kings Cross follow the instructions below to reach Cambridge. There is also a fast train service, the Gatwick Express, to London's Victoria station. From there, use the London Underground (Victoria line, northbound) to reach Kings Cross. Alternatively, coach services run directly from Victoria coach station (next to the railway station) to Cambridge.

There is also a direct National Express coach service to Cambridge that takes around 4 hours, but the coaches go around the M25 and can be affected by heavy traffic.

London Luton Airport: Some budget airlines (e.g. easyJet) use Luton airport, which is about 35 miles from Cambridge. Contact the Luton Airport website for a list of operating companies.

There is no efficient train connection from Luton airport to Cambridge, but there is a National Express coach service that runs once every two hours, departing from just outside the terminal building.  It takes about 1.5 hours to reach Cambridge.

London City Airport: The City airport is located very close to the centre of London. It serves major European cities. See the London City Airport website for details. There is a shuttle bus from the airport that connects to the London Underground network.

Rail

General information about UK train services is available on the National Rail web site. In general, trains are quicker but more expensive than coaches.

Stagecoach Cambridge services run frequently between Cambridge rail station and the city centre, from where you can take a bus or taxi to the Department. It is also possible to take a taxi from just outside the station directly to the Department.

There are regular train connections to Cambridge from London. Trains depart from Kings Cross or Liverpool Street stations in London. The journey time of the faster Kings Cross trains is about 45 minutes, while the other trains take around 70 minutes, or longer.

Moreover, for your convenience, here are details of the London transport system including London Buses and the London Underground.

Eurostar

London can be reached from Paris or Brussels by the Eurostar train which uses the channel tunnel. You will arrive at London St Pancras International station which is within walking distance from Kings Cross station. See above for details how to get from London to Cambridge by train and by bus or taxi to the Department.

Coach

There are frequent coach connections from the centre of London to Cambridge. These depart from Victoria coach station (near Victoria railway station) and take about 2 hours (more during peak hours).

Coach tickets can be bought from the driver. Please note that delays are common because of heavy traffic in and around London.

The Cambridge coach station is next to Parker's Piece and close to the city centre and there is an adjacent taxi rank (see enlarged map of the venue for the location of the coach station).

The coach services from London and other long distance services are run by National Express. Stagecoach runs services in Cambridge and to/from nearby villages and towns. The Cavendish Laboratory can be reached within Cambridge using Stagecoach services Citi 4 or Uni 4.

Workshop Venue

The workshop is hosted by Cavendish Astrophysics and will be held primarily in the Ryle seminar room in the Rutherford building of the Cavendish Laboratory. Directions to the department can be found above and here.

Astrophysics Group

Cavendish Laboratory

JJ Thomson Avenue

Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK

Tel:  +44 (0)1223 337294

Fax:  +44 (0)1223 354599

Accommodation

A block booking of 20 rooms for the nights of the 24th and 25th of March has been arranged for the Workshop at the Royal Cambridge Hotel. Attendees will need to call the hotel directly (Telephone: +44 (0)1223 351 631; further contact details are available here) and give the code of 'LOFAR' to confirm their booking. The hotel will need to know if they need both nights or just the night of the 25th of March and will also require credit card details to secure the booking. All bookings need to be completed by February 15th. After this date the hotel will release the rooms.

Bus from the Royal Cambridge Hotel to the Department:

The bus operating is the Uni 4. Please, wave at the bus driver to stop. This bus stops right outside the Cavendish Laboratory on JJ Thomson Avenue. The bus starts running at 7.25am and runs every 20 minutes. It takes about 15 minutes to get to the Cavendish.

Workshop dinner

We will have a workshop dinner on the evening of the 25th of March in Selwyn College. Please, let us us know by email if you have any special dietary requirements.

For any further information please contact us.