Conference Transport & Directions
Chester has excellent transport links with the rest of the UK and further afield.
Manchester Airport
Chester is in the north of England. The nearest international airport is Manchester with direct flights available to the USA, many cities in Europe and the Middle and Far East.
It is not necessary to fly into the London airports to reach Chester. There are regular flight connections to Manchester direct from Amsterdam, Paris and Dubai.
There is a train station in the airport and it is possible to catch a train (with one change) to Chester. The trains run frequently and the journey will take around1½ hrs. Train tickets are cheaper if booked and paid for in advance. It’s possible to print them out at the station.
The journey costs approximately £30.00 return but please be aware that rail prices in the UK can fluctuate depending upon the day of the week and the time of travel.
There is a direct coach service between Manchester Airport and Chester. Times and prices can be found at www.nationalexpress.com. The journey will take around one hour.
There is a taxi rank at the airport but these taxis are much more expensive than if you book an airport transfer in advance. Chester Zoo use Globetrotters (telephone: +44 (0)1244 371888 or email info@globetrotterz.co.uk) and the journey to Chester currently costs £39.00.
If you also book a return with Globetrotters the current return price to the airport is £35.00. This is per taxi not per person. So planning ahead and sharing a taxi will save you money!
The journey will take approximately 40 minutes depending on the time of day. The advantage of a taxi is that this will take you straight to your hotel.
Liverpool Airport
Liverpool airport is smaller than Manchester with a less trans-continental schedule and with more of the budget airlines operating from there.
There is no train station at Liverpool Airport so it’s either a train (pre-book as for Manchester), taxi (Globetrotters prices are as for Manchester above) or take the bus into Liverpool and then the best way to get to Chester is by local commuter train.
The train takes about one hour. National Express (www.nationalexpress.com) coaches also run a coach from Liverpool Airport to Chester.
This is a cheap option, but involves going via Liverpool to change coaches and can be a lengthy journey (3 hours or more).
London Airports (Gatwick and Heathrow)
If you want to fly into and out of London from outside the UK there are a number of alternatives for travel to Chester.
Flights: Catch a connecting flight to either Liverpool or Manchester and then use transport links as described above.
If you decide to take the train you will have to travel into the centre of London via a local train (from Gatwick) or via the Underground railway (from Heathrow).
Euston is the London station serving trains travelling to the North West of England. From Gatwick there is a direct fast rain ‘The Gatwick Express.’ A return ticket currently costs around £30.00 and the journey time is 35 minutes.
This takes you into London Victoria and from there you will have to use the London Underground to get across London to Euston. It is also possible to take a local commuter train which is much cheaper but takes longer, with a lot of stops.
From Heathrow the Underground will take you to Euston.
Trains: There is a direct, express train line between London and Chester. The travel time is 2 hours 10 minutes. Not all trains are direct so it is better to check. It’s also possible to make one change at the town of Crewe.
The company is Virgin Trains (www.virgintrains.co.uk or www.trainline.com) and it’s cheaper to book and pay for tickets in advance but remember that some of the cheaper tickets in advance booking are not changeable so if you miss your connection you can’t necessarily take another train.
Train ticket prices vary hugely depending on when you book and what time trains you book. Peak periods are at communing times in the morning and evening. The Virgin Trains website is easy to use and will give you all the options. It’s worth checking what effect changing your travel times will have on prices.
Chester Railway Station
The railway station is on the edge of the city. There is a taxi rank outside the station and a taxi to your hotel will be around £5. There is a free bus service from the station to the centre of the town.
You just have to show your train ticket. The bus runs as a shuttle so there is almost no waiting. The bus runs Monday to Saturday between 07:00 and 19:00 hours.
Once in the centre of the city your hotel should be within walking distance. Chester is a small city.
We’re planning on setting up a conference Facebook page so people arriving at similar times and wanting to share taxis can coordinate this. You can find more detailed options on the Marketing Cheshire website.