Getting Here

UK PonyCon is taking place at the Nottingham City Campus of NTU in Nottingham city centre, easily accessible by both public transport and car.

Please note that the venue is part of Nottingham Trent University, located within their Newton and Arkwright buildings. Please use the Goldsmith Street entrance, adjacent to the tram lines.

The venue changed names in June 2019 from its former name “Nottingham Conference Centre”. Rest assured that it is the same venue in the same great location in Nottingham’s city centre.

The information contained on this page is believed to be correct at the time of publication, however as these services are operated by third parties, the details may change over time. If you notice that this information is no longer correct, please contact us so that we can update this page for the benefit of other attendees.

What3words: ///woods.encounter.toys

By Car

The postcode for the Nottingham City Campus at NTU for sat nav is NG1 4BU, however please note that there is no on-site parking available.

We recommend using Nottingham Express Transit’s park and ride service. Parking is free at their Phoenix Park stop (657 free car parking spaces, postcode NG8 6AS) and The Forest stop (972 free car parking spaces, postcode NG7 6AQ). Journeys take approximately 20 minutes from Phoenix Park and approximately 5 minutes from The Forest. See the By Tram section below for how to buy tram tickets.

The nearest car park is the Q-Park Talbot Street car park (postcode NG1 5GG), a short three minute walk from the venue. This car park also has an entrance on Chaucer Street. Other nearby car parks are the Trinity Square car park (postcode NG1 4BT, five minute walk to venue) and the Victoria Centre car parks (postcodes NG1 3QN for north car park and NG1 3LP for south car park, 10 minute walk to the venue). Expect to pay approximately £15 to £25 per day in any city-centre car park, although many hotels offer discounted parking rates.

The venue have advised us that there is a limited quantity of disabled parking spaces on Chaucer Street, although you may find the Q-Park more convenient. There is a small loading bay on Goldsmith Street adjacent to the entrance to the venue that can be used for drop-off and pick-up only, however as Goldsmith Street is used by trams, stopping on the road is not permitted.

Discounted car parking at the Q-Park Talbot Street car park is available for stallholders, panellists and volunteers. We are not providing a car park for stallholders and volunteers this year. Information for stallholders on how to claim the Q-Park discount will be included in the Stallholder Information Pack, Panellist Information Pack or Volunteer Information Pack or you can contact us for details. This pack will also contain details on where to park for stallholder loading and unloading. The closest postcode for the loading bay for stallholders is NG1 4FQ, however note that this appears slightly past the loading bay on popular online mapping services. The exact coordinates of the loading bay are 52.9568, -1.1514 and on What3words it’s ///await.horns.held. Due to the small loading bay, signing up for allocated loading/unloading slots will be required to avoid congestion.

By Tram

Nottingham has an extensive tram network operated by Nottingham Express Transit, with fast and frequent services operating from 6am until midnight on Saturday and 6am until 11pm on Sunday.

You buy your tram tickets from ticket machines located at every stop. All ticket machines accept cash and card. If using contactless, you must tap in before boarding, and you do not need to tap out. Read more about how to buy tram tickets.

Passengers coming from the north should alight at the Nottingham Trent University stop, while passengers from the south should use the Royal Centre stop. The Nottingham City Campus of NTU is a two minute walk from either stop.

For attendees connecting on to the tram from bus, coach or train services, we suggest considering the City Centre Zone short hop fare, which lets you travel between the train station and Royal Centre stop (for UK PonyCon) or the NTU stop (for Premier Inn Goldsmith Street) for £1.50 each way. You must buy this ticket at a machine - if you tap in on a reader, you’ll be charged the standard single fare,

By Coach

Megabus operate direct long distance coaches to destinations across the UK including London, Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff, Newcastle, Bristol and Plymouth Attendees starting their journey in Scotland may wish to consider booking two Megabus tickets, changing at Newcastle or Leeds. Be sure to leave plenty of time to change coaches in case of delays.

National Express also operates direct services to Nottingham from destinations across the UK, including London and London airports, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle and Hull.

Megabus and National Expresss operate from various city-centre locations. Please check their websites carefully. You’ll find the stops are a 10-20 minute walk or short tram ride away from UK PonyCon.

By Train

Nottingham station has fast direct services to London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Leeds, Sheffield and Norwich. You can use the National Rail Enquiries Journey Planner to plan your journey to Nottingham.

Once you’ve arrived at the station, it’s a twenty minute walk to the Nottingham City Campus of NTU, or a short tram ride from the station.

International train services

Eurostar services from Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam and intermediate stations are a good option for attendees travelling from these cities. When your Eurostar train arrives at London St Pancras, simply change platform for a direct domestic service to Nottingham.

By Plane

East Midlands Airport is an international airport with direct flights to many domestic and European destinations.

The Skylink Express (formerly Skylink Clifton) is a fast and frequent bus service linking East Midlands Airport to Nottingham city centre and operates from early morning until late evening, seven days a week. The journey time is approximately 40 minutes. Alternatively, take the slower Skylink Nottingham bus service, which takes approximately one hour and operates 24 hours per day.

Attendees from further afield may wish to fly into a London airport and then take a train or coach. National Express operate coaches direct from the London airports and London Victoria Coach Station to Nottingham. Alternatively, make your way to London St Pancras International train station, where there are frequent direct train services to Nottingham.