Venue

Action Stations, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

The conference will be held in Action Stations, which is a unique maritime venue housed in the magnificent Boathouse Number 6 in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, featuring a 275 seat digital auditorium. The dockyard is the home of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth and is open to the general public which means visitors can immerse themselves in the maritime history of the Royal Navy, including the Mary Rose Museum, HMS Victory, HMS Warrior and more.

Transport

By Rail

If coming by train, you'll need to come to Portsmouth Harbour station. The dockyard entrance is about 100 yards from the train station exit.

By Car

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is less than 5 miles from Junction 12 of the M27, follow the brown and white signs to "Historic Dockyard" which will lead you to the dockyard car park on Admiralty Road, which has 295 spaces and is 400 yards from the dockyard entrance. If this car park is full, there are others nearby in Gunwharf Quays shopping centre, Havant Street, Wickham Street and St James's Street (Small but cheap University car park, weekend only). You can find all the information you need about parking in Portsmouth on the Parkopedia website.

By Car with Park & Ride

Portsmouth operates a park & ride system which has services to The Hard Interchange. You can find more information on the Park & Ride scheme here. Note that on Saturdays, the last bus leaves at The Hard at 19:15.

By Air (via Southampton Airport)

The closest airport is Southampton which serves many cities around the UK and Europe, mostly through Flybe and Ryanair. Transfer from the airport can be via a pre-booked airport taxi, or you can catch a train from Southampton Airport Parkway railway station to Portsmouth Harbour (change at Eastleigh).

By Air (via London Gatwick Airport)

Alternatively, you may find flights to London Gatwick Airport, which has reasonably priced direct train links to Portsmouth Harbour (see "By Rail" for more information).

By Air (via London Heathrow Airport)

For flights landing at Heathrow, it's easiest to catch the Rail-link transfer to Woking, and then a train down to Portsmouth Harbour. For schedules, check out the Trainline.com.

By Coach

If you're coming by coach, you'll need to find a coach that goes to The Hard Interchange (a.k.a. Portsmouth Harbour). The coach and bus station is just across from the dockyard entrance.

By Ferry

If you're coming over from the Isle of Wight, you need to get either the passenger or car ferry to the Portsmouth terminals. For international arrivals coming to the ferry terminal, you will need to arrange a way of getting from the terminal to the conference as the ferry terminal is on the north-west of the city.

By Hovercraft

Arrive in style from the Isle of Wight; check out the Hover Travel website for information about a speedy trip from IoW.

Accommodation

These are several hotels nearby the venue which may suit your needs:

Accessibility

The dockyard itself and the venue are "generally" wheelchair accessible. The route from the dockyard entrance to the venue has ramps, but please note that there are cobblestones on some parts which may present difficulty for some wheelchair users. The venue itself is wheelchair accessible and has lifts from both the ground floor to the first floor (the main conference breakout area and track two) as well as to the main auditorium (where track one is located).

Full information about accessibility at the Historic Dockyard can be read here (which includes information about the ships and so on in the area as well). Specifically, regarding Action Stations (the venue for the conference) the site says:

Generally Action Stations is fully accessible to visitors who use wheelchairs. There is a lift between the ground and first floor. To access Action Stations please use the walkway to the left of the mast pond.

If you need additional assistance, we can arrange a member of conference staff to guide you from the dockyard entrance to the venue itself. Please contact us on [email protected] if you would like assistance.