Travelling to Summer of Sonic can sometimes be a daunting undertaking, especially if this is your first time to England’s capital! However, we have put together this guide to help you get about London easily, and find necessary accommodation should you require it.
GETTING TO THE CAMDEN CENTRE
The Camden centre is located two minutes away from the
King’s Cross St. Pancras train
station which serves a large amount of traffic coming from further
north and from the continent. Travellers coming from the north of
England by train should aim to travel into Kings
Cross or Euston station
– both of these stations are within walking
distance of the Camden Centre (N.B. the door in the picture
is a fire door – the entrance will be around the site of the
building!)
LONDON UNDERGROUND FARES:
London’s Underground train service provides a
quick way to get around London, at a reasonable cost. Most of
central London lies within Zone 1 and 2 (as is the
Camden Centre and London Kings Cross), and if you do not plan on
travelling out of the city, you won’t need to
buy anything other than zone 1 & 2 tickets. Single tickets in
this zone are £4.00 for adults and £2.00 for
under 18’s. Tickets can be purchased on day of
travel from either ticket offices in the station or from ticket
machines situated in the station. If you plan on making multiple
trips on the London Underground during a day, we recommend a day
travel card. The cost of this travel card is
£6.60 for off peak (travelling after 9:30am)
and can be use an unlimited number of times during the day. Trains
usually halt service around midnight, and resume service between
5:30-6:30am.
For
further ticket information follow this link.
You may also wish to consider purchasing an Oyster card which will give you significant discounts on your travel if you plan to sight see or travel frequently. Follow this link for more information about purchasing an Oyster card.
FROM LONDON VICTORIA:
If you chose to travel by bus to London, your most likely port of
call will be London’s Victoria station. London
King’s Cross station is a handful of stops away
on the London Underground Victoria Line (the light blue
line) heading northerly. A single one-way ticket (zone
1-2) will cost £4.00, or £2.00 for a child
fare.
FROM LONDON PADDINGTON:
Similarly, if you plan on arriving by train into Paddington
station, you can reach King’s Cross by taking
either the Circle line (yellow) or the Hammersmith and City
line (pink) eastbound.
FROM HEATHROW AIRPORT:
All airport terminals are served by the London Underground
Piccadilly line (dark blue) and travel straight
through to King’s Cross (50min-1 hour journey).
Heathrow airport is in zone 6, and therefore requires a zone 1-6
ticket at the cost of £5. This can be purchased from the
underground station on the day. A day travel card for zones 1-6
costs £8.00, and may be a consideration if you plan on
sightseeing.
FROM GATWICK AIRPORT:
Gatwick airport has no underground connections but you can travel
into central London by the train connections. Train fares start
from £9.40, and journeys take around 30 minutes. You can
book these in advance through this link. You can go directly to
St. Pancreas station from Gatwick with this
service.
For more information on tickets from Gatwick follow this
link.
ACCOMODATION
London can be an expensive place to stay, however we hope that we
can give you some ideas on places to spend the nights before and
after Summer of Sonic.
LONDON KINGS CROSS ROYAL SCOT:
Travelodge offer basic accommodation with en-suite rooms. The two
closest Travelodge hotels are London Kings Cross Royal Scot and
London Kings Cross (the latter being slightly more expensive).
Rooms start at £80 a night, with the opportunity to book
triple rooms to accommodate three people if you are travelling to
Summer of Sonic with friends and looking to split room costs.
For more information and
booking follow this link.
COMFORT INN LONDON KINGS CROSS:
The Comfort Inn offers bed and breakfast and a location about 5
minutes walk from the venue at Kings Cross. Prices start from
£100 for a single room or £130 for double or
twin en-suite rooms. A good choice if you don’t want to find
breakfast in the morning.
For more
information and booking follow this link.
NOVOTEL LONDON ST PANCRAS:
Two minutes walk from the Camden Centre, the Novotel is a
comfortable quiet four-star hotel equipped with bar and restaurant
amongst other facilities. Although its location is ideal for a stay
during the Summer of Sonic, expect to pay £135 per night
minimum, with breakfast costing additional.
For more information and booking follow this link.
PREMIER INN LONDON EUSTON:
A similar location to the Novotel, they offer similar amenities for
around the same price of about £130 a night.
For more information and booking follow this link.
YHA HOSTEL LONDON ST PANCRAS:
If you are coming to Summer of Sonic on a budget, you may want to
check out the YHA hostel. The hostel offers shared and group
dormitories, with individuals stays costing as little as
£25 a night, it has the added bonus of being on the
doorstep of the venue. If you are travelling in a large group you
can book group dormitories and reduce your costs further.
For more information and booking follow this link.
THE COUNTY HOTEL:
If you’re on a budget but don’t like the prospect of a
hostel, then the County hotel is for you. With rooms starting from
as little as £28.50 a night, you can have the comfort of
your own room in this budget hotel, with the only compromise being
a shared shower facility. With breakfast thrown in, you really
aren’t going to get better than this for this price in
London!
For more information and booking follow this link.
If you require any further information please contact tbird [at] sonicstadium [dot] org.