Members' Weekend, AGM & Conference 2022 - Travel and useful information
The Winter Garden, Compton Street, Eastbourne, BN21 4BP
Venue for the Members' Weekend, AGM & Conference 2022
The Winter Garden is part of the Devonshire Park Quarter, adjoining Devonshire Park, Devonshire Park theatre, the Congress Centre and Towner Gallery. It's half a mile south of the town centre and railway station.
Central Eastbourne map, showing Winter Garden, station and pubs
Eastbourne is easily accessible by rail and road
Rail
Eastbourne has direct rail services from London Victoria, Brighton and Ashford (Kent), all operated by Southern Railway.
From Victoria it's around 1 hour 25 minutes with generally a half-hourly frequency.
Depending where you're travelling from, it may be easier to use cross-London Thameslink services from Bedford, Cambridge, Peterborough, London St Pancras/Kings Cross and London Bridge, then change at East Croydon or Haywards Heath for an Eastbourne train.
Services from the west, including Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth and Salisbury, connect at Brighton with Eastbourne trains.
Advance tickets may be much cheaper than Anytime and Off-Peak tickets. Railcard holders can save 1/3rd on most fares.
Approximate best journey times (hours:mins):
| Lewes | 0:20 | |
| Brighton | 0:42 | |
| Portsmouth | 2:05 | - change at Brighton |
| Bexhill | 0:13 | |
| Hastings | 0:26 | |
| Battle | 0:50 | - change at St Leonards Warrior Square |
| Rye | 1:00 | |
| Ashford International | 1:20 | |
| Gatwick Airport | 0:55 | |
| East Croydon | 1:10 | |
| London Victoria | 1:25 | |
| London Bridge | 1:26 | - change at Haywards Heath or East Croydon |
| St Pancras International | 1:45 | - change at Haywards Heath or East Croydon |
| St Albans from | 2:05 | - change at Haywards Heath or East Croydon |
Air
London to Eastbourne trains call at Gatwick Airport, which is the closest and most convenient airport for air travellers.
Road
CAMRA encourages responsible drinking, including not drinking and driving.
The 24-hour multi-story NCP Trinity Place car park (BN21 3BZ) is five minutes walk away and less expensive than town centre car parks.
A smaller pay and display car park can be found in College Road (BN21 4JJ).
Surrounding streets have pay and display bays.
You may be able to find a free space in College Road, Carlisle Road and further west, away from the residents parking zones.
Disabled parking bays can be found near the Winter Garden entrance in Compton Street and outside the nearby Towner Gallery.
There are caravan and camping sites close to Eastbourne, but there's no suitable parking nearby.
Cycle racks can be found outside the Congress Centre, within the Devonshire Quarter complex.
Buses
If you don't fancy the half-mile walk from the station, buses 3 and 4, destination Meads, depart opposite the station, stop R1, every 15 minutes until about 6 pm, except on Sunday when they are just hourly. Alight at the Winter Garden bus stop, fares from £ 1.80, journey time five minutes. If you're in the town centre the bus also calls at the bottom of Cornfield Road, stop C3.
Stagecoach run town services and longer routes to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings and Uckfield.
A day ticket is £ 4.50, bought from the driver, for Stagecoach's Eastbourne Zone (everywhere in Eastbourne, Pevensey, Polegate and Hailsham). Not valid on Brighton and Hove buses.
Stagecoach Bus Map.
Brighton and Hove buses run along the coast every ten minutes during the daytime, from Brighton, Seaford and intermediate points, including Eastbourne Old Town. Later in the evening they're half-hourly.
Bus passes issued in England are accepted on all routes, but not those from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Eastbourne is not currently served by scheduled coach services like National Express.
Taxis
| 720 Taxis | 01323 720720 - booking and tracking app |
| Sussex Cars | 01323 726726 |
| Call-a-cab | 01323 746746 |
Eastbourne station has a taxi rank, another is in Bolton Road in the town centre.
Useful Information
Eastbourne Police Station, 1 Grove Road, BN21 4TW, open 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Saturday, or call 101 (24 hours)
Eastbourne District General Hospital, Kings Drive, BN21 2UD, 24 hour A&E, tel 0300 131 4500
Pharmacists:
Boots, in the Crumbles Retail Park, Pevensey Bay Road (BN23 6JH) closes the latest: midnight every day. Follow the signs to the Asda superstore, which also has its own late-night pharmacist.
In the town centre, Boots in Terminus Road (BN21 3NW) is open to 6 pm, except Sundays when it's 4.30 pm.
For other pharmacists see NHS Find a Pharmacy