Out of Hours Arrival Information for International/EU Students
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Out of Hours Arrival Information for International/EU Students 1. Arriving in the UK: Getting from the Airport to Reading Town Centre 2. Getting from Reading Town Centre to the University, Halls and other Accommodation 3. At Your Accommodation 4. Next Steps: Enrolment 5. University Halls Addresses 6. List of Hotels in Reading 1. Arriving in the UK: Getting from the Airport to Reading Town Centre FROM HEATHROW AIRPORT You do not need to go to central London By RailAir coach RailAir is a coach which goes from Heathrow Airport directly to Reading town centre, taking approximately 1 hour. It runs every 30 minutes from 05:00 in the morning to 00:51 at night. A single ticket purchased at Heathrow costs £20 (Jan 2016). This must be bought from the National Express sales desk before you get on the coach. The ticket sales desks and coach pick up points are listed below. Full information: www.railair.com Directions from The RailAir coach departs from Heathrow Central Bus Station. Terminal 2 - From Arrivals, follow the signs for bus and coach which takes you underground. Then follow the signs for the Heathrow Central Bus Station. It is around a 4 minute walk Directions from RailAir coach departs from the Heathrow Central Bus Station. From Terminal 3 - Arrivals, follow the signs for bus and coach and Heathrow Central Bus Station. This is around a 7 minute walk Directions from Use the FREE Heathrow Express shuttle service. Travel in the Terminal 4 - carriages at the rear of the train and alight at Terminals 1, 2 and 3. Follow signs for Terminals 2 and 3 but as soon as you see signs for buses and underground follow these instead. Directions from Follow signs for Local Buses upon exiting Arrivals. RailAir tickets Terminal 5 - can be purchased from the National Express Sales Desk located inside the Terminal building (turn left out of Arrivals) opposite Costa Coffee. You will find Stand 9 by exiting the terminal building opposite the National Express Sales desk By taxi If you wish to take a taxi from Heathrow to Reading, advanced booking is recommended for the best price. Loddon Cars Taxis: +44 (0)1189 321 321 or www.loddoncars.com/booking The fare for a pre-booked taxi to Reading is about £40. Taxis are also available from the taxi ranks outside Heathrow at each terminal. The fare from Heathrow to Reading may cost up to £80. A map of the taxi ranks can be found on the Heathrow Airport website: www.heathrow.com/transport-and- directions/taxis-and-minicabs. 1 Hotels at If you are concerned about travelling late at night, you may consider staying at a hotel Heathrow at the airport and travelling to Reading the next day. www.heathrow.com/plan-and-book-your-trip/heathrow-hotels FROM GATWICK AIRPORT By train Trains to Reading from Gatwick Airport take about 1 hour and 15 minutes and run every hour. They start at 05:30 in the morning and the last train is at 22:15 on weekdays and at 23:15 at the weekend (May 2016). Make sure you get a direct train so that you don’t have to change at any stations en route. Travel from Gatwick Airport - www.gatwickairport.com/to-and-from Train times - www.nationalrail.co.uk Hotels at Gatwick Airport hotel information: www.gatwickairport.com/hotels Gatwick Airport FROM STANSTED AIRPORT By train Stansted Airport has an Express train which departs every 15 minutes to London Liverpool Street station. Trains run from 05:30 until 00.30 every day (May 2016) and take about 50 minutes. From Liverpool Street station you need to take the London Underground to Paddington Station. The Circle Line or the Hammersmith & City Line (Westbound, Platform 2) are direct services to Paddington Underground Station. The London Underground Network closes between midnight and 05:30 and you are advised to use either Taxis or the Night Bus Network to get to Paddington. From Paddington station, trains go to Reading during the night but are much less frequent between midnight and 05:00. Stansted Express trains - www.stanstedairport.com/to-and-from-the-airport Train times - www.nationalrail.co.uk Hotels at Stansted Airport hotel information: www.stanstedairport.com/flights-and- Stansted Airport hotels/hotels/stansted-airport-hotels FROM LUTON AIRPORT (also known as LONDON LUTON AIRPORT) By train You will need to get a train from Luton Airport Parkway to London St Pancras International and then take the Underground from London St Pancras International to London Paddington. Trains run throughout the night from Luton Airport and the total journey to Reading takes about 1hour 40 minutes (longer during the night). From Kings Cross St Pancras Underground Station take the Circle Line or the Hammersmith & City Line (Westbound, Platform 1) both of which are direct services to Paddington Underground Station. The London Underground Network closes between midnight and 05:30 and you are advised to use either Taxis or the Night Bus Network to get to Paddington. From Paddington station, trains go to Reading during the night but are much less frequent between midnight and 05:00. Luton Airport transport - www.london-luton.co.uk/to-and-from-lla Train times - www.nationalrail.co.uk Hotels near Luton Airport hotel information: www.london-luton.co.uk/hotels Luton Airport FROM BIRMINGHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT By train Regular trains run from Birmingham International Airport to Reading and take about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Trains start at 06:15 and run until 22:15 on weekdays and from 09:15 until 21:15 at the weekends (May 2016). Train times - www.nationalrail.co.uk Birmingham Airport - www.birminghamairport.co.uk 2 Hotels at Birmingham Airport website hotel information: www.birminghamairport.co.uk/at- Birmingham the-airport/hotels-at-the-airport Airport USEFUL TRAVEL WEBSITES National Rail Enquiries - for travel by train National Express Coaches - for coach travel across the UK Reading Buses - for information on local bus travel within the Reading area 2. Getting from Reading Town Centre to the University, Halls and other Accommodation If you arrive at Reading railway station by train or the RailAir coach, it is advisable to get a taxi to your accommodation if it is late at night. Buses also run during the evening but if it is dark you may have difficulty finding your building. Make sure you know the name of the Halls that you need to go to. By Taxi A taxi rank is located outside the train station and taxis cost between £7 and £10 from the train station to the University campus or Hall. The postcodes for the University campuses are: Whiteknights campus - Shinfield Road and Pepper Lane entrances: RG6 6UR Whiteknights campus - Earley Gate entrance: RG6 7BE London road campus - RG1 5AQ 3 Greenlands campus - RG9 3AU A full list of University Halls addresses is available at the end of this document By Bus Buses run from Reading railway station to the University and some run through the night (Bus 21 & 17). It is only recommended if you have very little luggage and for daytime travel so that you don’t have difficulty finding your accommodation. A single journey costs £1.90 and must be purchased on the bus. You must have the correct money as no change is given. Full details of the buses to University can be found at www.reading- buses.co.uk/uni-timetables (Night Buses www.reading-buses.co.uk/night-buses-to-reading-university) Bus Bus stop at the train Drop-off point Number station 21 & 21a EJ (outside the train To Whiteknights campus: Bus stop in station) front of Whiteknights House on campus and Pepper Lane entrance 9 SA (outside main entrance To Shinfield Road: Very close to the to the train station) main entrance to Whiteknights campus 9 or 21 SA or EJ To London Road campus 19a, 19b, SA (outside main entrance To Whiteknights Road: Close to the 19c to the train station) Earley Gate entrance of Whiteknights campus 17 FN (go up Station Road To Wokingham Road: A short walk to and turn right on Friar the Earley Gate entrance of Street) Whiteknights campus 4 Private accommodation For private Halls of Residence in Reading which are not operated by the University you will have to organise key collection in advance. If you arrive out-of-hours, it may be necessary to collect the key the next day and this will have to be organised with the company directly. If you find that you need a hotel for the night, a list of hotels in the local area is provided at the end of this document. Here is a list of the addresses for the main Private Halls in Reading. Accommodation Address and Postcode Collegiate – Saxon Court Apartments Saxon Court Apartments: St Giles House, 10 Church www.collegiate-ac.com/uk-student- Street, Reading, RG1 2SQ accommodation/reading/saxon-court-apartments Unite – Kendrick Hall and Crown House Kendrick Hall: 4 Crown Place (Off London Road), RG1 5AE www.unite-students.com/reading Crown House: 10 Crown Street, Reading, RG1 2SE Fawley Bridge – Loddon House and Kings Road Loddon House: Loddon House, Regis Park Road, Reading, www.fawleybridgestudents.com RG6 7AJ Kings Road: 191 Kings Road, Reading, RG1 4EX CRM Students Queens Court: Queens Walk, Oxford Road, Reading, RG1 www.crm-students.com/crm- 7PT accommodation/reading/queens-court Fresh Student Living Central Studios, 6 Greyfriars Road, Reading, RG1 1NP www.freshstudentliving.co.uk/location/reading/ce ntral-studios-reading 5 3. At Your Accommodation University Halls Accommodation Out of Hours Arrival If your Halls reception office is closed when you arrive, there will be an Arrivals Sign outside the reception entrance explaining what you need to do.