For attendees who will stay at Hilton Garden Inn, please avoid walking to the conference venue!

Even though the hotel is within a walking distance to Putteridge Bury, the conference venue, walking is not recommended since a busy high-speed road has to be crossed without a proper and safe pedestrian crossing or footpath! Instead, order a taxi from the hotel reception or using the links below.

Travelling to Luton

Luton benefits from being a host to one of the busiest British airports and from proximity of all London airports that make the busiest airport hub network in the world.

Luton is home to London Luton Airport, the fifth busiest British airport that served more than 14 million passengers in 2016. London Luton Airport is a base for several low-cost airlines, such as Easyjet, Ryanair, Monarch and Thomson Airways and it is connected to more than 100 destinations in Europe, Mid-East and North Africa with direct regular or seasonal flights. The airport is only 10 mins away from the town centre and 15 mins from the conference centre.

Heathrow Airport, the largest British airport hub, one of the major European hubs and the third busiest airport in the world by total passenger traffic, is located only 35 miles (55 km) away from Luton. Direct flights or convenient connections are provided to all major cities in the world. This airport is connected to Luton by regular direct bus services (National Express line 707 goes every 20 minutes, takes 50 minutes and costs around £20) and railway connections via central London that run every few minutes.

London area hosts four more international airports: Gatwick, Stansted, City, and Southend. While Gatwick Airport is connected to inter-continental destinations being the second busiest British airport, the other three airports are mainly linked to European and Mid-East destinations. From all the four airports, Luton is reachable within 1-1.5 hours by train or bus during all 24 hours.

In addition, Luton is connected to central London and to a number of British destinations by trains (Thameslink Railway and East Midlands Trains provide these connections every few minutes and it takes 30 minutes to reach central London) and by a network of bus lines (National Express or Green Line). A direct connection to London St. Pancras international train station offers regular Eurostar railway links to Paris, France, and Brussels, Belgium, for about 2-3 hours.

Within Luton, an efficient network of local bus lines is operated by Arriva and Centrebus, whereas a number of local taxi companies offer an affordable service throughout day and night (a handy up-to-date list: www.thomsonlocal.com/Taxis/in/Luton-Bedfordshire). The conference venue will be connected also to the town centre by the University shuttle bus service 901 operated by Centrebus, which will be free of charge for registered workshop attendees. The timetable and stops are given below.

UK Visas

You can check whether you need a visa to enter the UK and apply online at the UK Visas and Immigration Services. In case you need a visa, you can request an invitation letter by contacting Vladan Velisavljevic at vladan.velisavljevic@beds.ac.uk upon registration.

Accommodation

Hotel booking will be open around the date of acceptance notification. The following hotels are recommended with a special rate for conference attendees:

• Hilton Garden Inn Luton North, Butterfield Business Park, Hitchin Rd, Luton LU2 8DL - 0.9m (1.4km) from the venue, connected by the shuttle bus - a limited number of rooms at discounted rates available until September 30! Book here
• Premier Inn Luton Town Centre, Regent St, Luton LU1 5FA, UK - 3.8m (6km) from the venue
• Hampton by Hilton, 42-50 Kimpton Rd, Luton LU2 0NB, UK - 3.9m (6.2km) from the venue, connected by the shuttle bus
• Premier Inn Luton Airport, Osborne Road, Luton LU1 3HJ, UK - 4.0m (6.5km) from the venue