Canterbury: travel & accommodation

 

Canterbury is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with Roman city walls and a Norman Cathedral, the site of the martyrdom of Archbishop Thomas Becket (†1170), and a European pilgrimage shrine thereafter. Canterbury attracts more than seven million visitors each year, and almost 30.000 students attend its three universities.

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Canterbury can be reached by train from London (St Pancras International including the Eurostar terminal, Victoria and Charing Cross) or coach from Victoria (see below for more).  The Channel port of Dover is easily accessible by car, bus or train. The most convenient airports are London City, Gatwick and Luton. You can find more information on the Visit Canterbury website, including train times. Please note you may need a Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to enter the UK. The conference venues are all in the historic inner city of Canterbury, see the map at the bottom of the programme page. Car parking is at a premium in the city and expensive. 

 

Canterbury has excellent accommodation in all price brackets. You can find an overview on the Visit Canterbury website. We are delighted that Hampton by Hilton Canterbury is our official conference hotel. It is centrally located and minutes from the Cathedral Lodge and the Beaney. Conference delegates receive 15% off accommodation at whatever the current rate is at the time of booking. Book by emailing reservations@hbhcanterbury.com and quoting 3rd Biblio/Poetry Therapy Conference. There are not many rooms left! Please note that the conference organisers take no responsibility for booking accommodation so direct all queries to the hotel and ensure you have appropriate insurance in case of cancellations. Don't wait to book your accommodation; rooms are selling out long ahead.

Canterbury city centre also offers many restaurants, pubs, and shops, like Waterstones, the Conference bookshop.

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Both Canterbury East and Canterbury West stations, are approximately 10 minutes walk to the Cathedral Lodge and Hampton by Hilton Hotel: Directions for walking to the Lodge from Canterbury West or East Train Station. There are taxis but as Canterbury's historic centre is largely closed to traffic, and the ring road very congested, they can take longer than walking. Our preferred taxi company is Longleys, +44 (0) 1227 710777 .

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Trains from London depart from St Pancras International (the high-speed, journey time less than an hour for direct trains, more expensive) and Charing Cross and Waterloo East to Canterbury West and depart from Victoria to Canterbury East. Return tickets cost significantly less than two singles. The website the thetrainline.com may be helpful. There are also coaches from Victoria Coach Station which arrive into Canterbury bus station, approximately 5 minutes walk to the Cathedral Lodge and Hampton by Hilton.

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