The school takes place at:
University of Cumbria
Rydal Road
Ambleside
LA22 9BB
Tel: +44 (0) 15394 30300.
When to arrive
You should aim to arrive mid-to-late afternoon on Sunday 11th July. Registration for the school will take place in the Scale How building, up the hill from the car park and bus stops on Rydal Road as shown on this map. Report here on arrival to collect the key for your room. You will be greeted at a reception in the Scale How building at 7.30pm at which an evening meal buffet will be served.
Arrival by road
From the South - leave the M6 at junction 36, follow the A590 and A591 towards Windermere, continue past Windermere towards Ambleside and Keswick. As you leave Ambleside, you will cross a narrow bridge and encounter a mini-roundabout. Turn left at the roundabout. The turning into the campus is immediately to the right.
From the North - leave the M6 at junction 40, follow the A66 towards Keswick, turn onto the A591 which will take you past Grasmere to Ambleside. The campus is situated on the left-hand side of the road before you reach the town centre. The turning is just after the health centre.
Use a journey planner, like the one provided by the AA for more detailed driving instructions. Specify Rydal Road, Ambleside as your destination.
Arrival by rail
The nearest railway station is at Windermere, 4 miles south of Ambleside. On Sundays, most journeys will involve a change at Oxenholme, which is on the West Coast mainline between London and Glasgow/Edinburgh. The exception is a 4pm direct train from Manchester Airport that passes through Manchester Piccadilly and Lancaster before arriving in Windermere at 6pm. (If you take this train, make sure you get on the right end, as it splits at Preston).
Use the journey planner provided by National Rail Enquiries, (or the more bearable interface to the same information at TrainTimes.org.uk) for train times, specifying Windermere as your destination. A PDF timetable for trains between Oxenholme and Windermere is also available for download.
On arrival at Windermere there are three options:
- Bus - service 555 (for Keswick) and the open top 599 (for Grasmere) both depart from outside the railway station and call at the bus stop on Rydal Road, opposite the campus - this is the first stop after the main bus stance in downtown Ambleside. Tickets are purchased from the driver and cost around £3.
- Bike - just cycle up the A591. You may need to make a special booking to take your bike on a train.
- Taxi - there is a taxi rank at the station. Shared between four people, this will likely work out at a similar cost to the bus.
Actually, there are two further options: walking and taking a boat (or a cruise, as its operators prefer to call it), but these may not turn out to be practical.
Arrival by plane
The biggest airport in North-West England is Manchester. Trains to Manchester, Preston and beyond depart from The Station which is located between Terminals 1 and 2. See above for information about how to reach Ambleside by train.
Other large UK airports that allow access to the West Coast main line include Glasgow and Birmingham. Those starting from really exotic locations may have no option but to travel via London Heathrow.
When to leave
The school finishes at 1pm on the last day (Friday 23rd July). Lunch will be provided.
