Getting to Birmingham
Situated at the very heart of England, Birmingham has a range of transport services. So whether you’re driving, flying, travelling by coach, plane or train, Birmingham is closer than you think.
Travel in the West Midlands – plan your journey
You can travel to any of our Festival venues by bus, train or tram, and there’s a great range of single, return and one day tickets to choose from. Visit networkwestmidlands.com to plan your journey and find timetable information.
By rail
Just an hour and a half from London, Birmingham has three city centre stations providing great connections to destinations near or far. New Street Station is at the hub of the national rail network, while Snow Hill and Moor Street stations extend your options. Birmingham International railway station sits right alongside the airport providing a link direct to the city centre if you’re travelling by air.
By coach
National Express links Birmingham to 500 locations in Europe and 1,200 destinations in Mainland Britain. There’s an hourly-service from London Victoria and great links to many airports; Heathrow, Gatwick, East Midlands, Stansted and Luton for example.
By road
Set at the heart of the UK motorway network, Birmingham is linked by the M5, M6, M40 and M42. The M6 Toll adds another choice. On arrival, there are plenty of parking spaces to choose from…25,000 in fact!
By air
Birmingham International Airport welcomes more than 50 airlines from over 100 destinations, and with road and rail right alongside it couldn’t be better connected. For even more flexibility, check out Coventry Airport just a few minutes down the road. If you’re flying in to London, then the easiest way to reach Birmingham is by rail from London Euston or Marylebone stations.
Walking around the city centre
If you want to plan a route in advance, or find yourself wandering aimlessly around the city centre searching for an IDFB location and your mobile phone has internet access, then we’d recommend a very useful online route planner called Walkit – the perfect website to search for walking directions.
Photo courtesy of Bullring