Visitor Information

Durham Map: showing University buildings 

A very useful map of the city on which you can toggle the university buildings, colleges, museums, and other useful sites is now available here. 

Conference Venue

The conference will be held at St John's College, 3 South Bailey, Durham DH1 3RJ - just go through the big wooden front door and our conference team will be inside waiting to welcome you (please see the link to 'St John's College' on the tab above this post or click here for further directions and information about coming to the College).


Our poetry reading on the first evening of the conference is to be held in The Williams Library at St Chad's College, 18 North Bailey - just down the road from St John's towards the town centre - and is open and free to anyone who would like to attend. 




If at any point you find yourself lost in a college, go to the main entrance where the helpful staff at reception will help you find your way. We will endeavour to display as many posters as possible to help our guests find their way.

Coming to Durham

Travel:

According to the university website, Durham is easily accessible by air, rail and road. Direct international connections are available via Newcastle International Airport. Durham is also situated close to the A1(M) London to Edinburgh road and is on the main East coast London to Scotland rail line.

By Air:

The closest airports are Newcastle International and Durham Tees Valley Airports (approximately 30 minutes from the Business School). 

By Rail:
Durham lies on the East Coast Mainline and high speed trains run hourly between Durham and London Kings Cross, taking just over 3 hours. Booking in advance on the East Coast website is strongly recommended as buying tickets on the day can be very expensive.

Trains run frequently between Durham and Newcastle Central Station and take around 15 minutes. If you are flying to Newcastle Airport you might consider using the Newcastle Metro to get from the airport to Newcastle Central. More information on the Metro can be found here.

There is a roughly hourly service between Durham and Edinburgh that takes about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Trains travelling to many other parts of the country are run by both Cross Country Trains, whose website can be found here, and East Coast (website here).

Arriving by rail:

The city has just one train station from which is about 15 minutes' walk to St John's College. The walk is straightforward and pleasant, but pleased be warned it is a little hilly - particularly on the way back to the station from the college. Taxis are available from outside the station: they often stop outside both platforms, and there is a rank on Platform 2 (the side which you will arrive at if you are travelling from the south of England). The taxi service which serves the station can be contacted on 0191 386 6622. 

For further information about the station see The National Rail website here.

Maps are available to purchase for about £2 from a machine on the station platform, although the route to the city centre and cathedral is also marked by signposts from the station. 

By Road:
Durham is 264 miles from London, 187 miles from Birmingham, 125 miles from Edinburgh.

Durham city centre is 2 miles from the A1(M), a major north-south route.

Using your car in Durham:
Durham city is small and very easy to walk around. Parking, however, can be nightmarish and there is even a charge for driving through the centre of the city, so for your ease and peace of mind we recommend travelling to the city, and to St John's particularly, by other means. If, however, you do bring your car, please get in contact with us so we can help you to make prior parking and driving arrangements.


If you do get a parking permit through St John's, you should be able to park in any University car park that does not have a barrier swipe. The nearest car park to the college is Palmers Garth (indicated on the map below). Please disregard the Durham Cathedral car park.

St John's and the nearest car park (Palmers Garth) are indicated