When
Doors will open at shortly after 9:30 on Saturday 30th Nov. Sessions will finish just before 16:30.
In the evening, we have tables booked at a nearby pub from 18:00 to 21:30.
The times for Sunday 1st Dec are doors at 10:00 and finishing just before 16:00.
Where
The daytime venue is:
Heartlands High School
Station Road
London
N22 7SX
The correct entrance is this one and NOT the one off New River Path / Wood Green Common that Google Maps would have you think if you ask it to get you there.*
Getting There
Train: It is very close to Alexandra Palace station. There are services from/to King's Cross (every 30 minutes, takes 10 minutes) and Highbury & Islington (four trains an hour, takes 14 minutes, cheaper).
Engineering work further north on the line the weekend of BiCon 2024 means that its usual services from Potters Bar etc may not run – see National Rail's journey planner for more details.
Although it has a portable ramp to help get up or down the step at the station entrance, there is no lift or ramp from there to the platforms, just stairs.
Underground:
The nearest tube station is Wood Green (Piccadilly line), which Google Maps would think is about ten minutes walk away if it took you to the right place (see above!)
I've not been inside it recently, but it looks like it's not shown as being step free on TfL because it has escalators rather than a lift. If you can manage an escalator but stairs are a problem, you'll probably be better off going there.
Bus: See Transport for London's journey planner.
London bus routes W3 and 184 pass the venue, 221 and N91 are also close by.
Bus routes to Alexandra Palace
Cycling: There are plenty of cycle parking spots on site, including some under cover.
If you want to avoid going up hills, and are cycling from the south, the area to the west of the railway is not for you (or me…) because you can easily find yourself going up the steep hill that the actual Alexandra Palace is on top of.
Car: Although the venue has a large car park, we only have access to a few spaces for disabled people. If you haven't asked for one and we have confirmed you have one, you would need to park elsewhere..
.. but parking on Station Road towards Wood Green or Park Avenue opposite the entrance to the venue is 'permit only' on Saturday and spaces may be very hard to find on Sundays.
The parking spaces nearest Alexandra Palace Station are 'pay by phone, max stay two hours, no return within two hours' on Saturday.
Short version: come by public transport, taxi or cycle.
More on the venue..
Google Streetview – the entrance to the venue.
Getting there from Alexandra Palace Station
Google Streetview – Alexandra Palace Station – the bus stop for buses from the south is to the right of the picture. If you rotate the view, you'll see the bus stop for buses from the north 'behind' you.
Google Streetview – looking to the left from the same place as the above, and zooming in a bit. The school is just off the road to to the right: the silver car probably came out of it.
Rotate the images above to see the rough distance you'll need to walk between the two.
Google Streetview – the entrance to the venue.
Getting there from Wood Green underground
Google Streetview – Wood Green station – taken from Station Road, which is the one you want to go along. (Annoyingly, buses got in the way of Google's cameras closer to the tube station!)
Google Streetview – the way you want to go from Wood Green.
Google Streetview – after a while, you get to a mini-roundabout – go straight across it.
Google Streetview – the venue is off to the left of this image, but even though Google Maps might try and take you across the park to it, keep going along the road. If you're coming by bus this way, the stop on the left is one before the venue, but getting off at the next stop will result in a shorter walk for you – see the 'from Alexandra Palace Station' section above.
Google Streetview – a zebra crossing just before the entrance to the left.
Google Streetview – the entrance to the venue is at the mini-roundabout exit to the left.
Google Streetview – the entrance to the venue.
Into the venue..
If the main gates aren't open when you arrive, the pedestrian gate to their left may be, or you use..
Again, this may be open when you arrive – if not, use the intercom to the right.
The Access page has photos of the interior.
Food
There is no on-site catering. You're welcome to bring your own and bring some – labelled with ingredients (particularly allergens) please! – to share, but please don't bring any alcohol to drink there.
The shops between Wood Green and Turnpike Lane stations include a Morrisons, a Lidl and a Tesco Express as well as many assorted eating places (zoom in for more!) and takeaways.
Saturday evening
The Nag's Head
203 High Road
London
N22 6DR
.. otherwise known as 'diagonally opposite Wood Green tube station'.
We have tables booked there between 18:00 (6pm) and 21:30 (9.30pm). You're welcome to arrive earlier: as well as drinks, they serve food if you don't fancy one of the other restaurants in the area.
It is a pub, so don't expect to be able to drink anything you haven't brought from there. They have a 'no under-18s' policy.
* There is an entrance where Google wants to take you, but it's for pupils at the start and end of the school day. It won't be open during BiCon. We'll be using the car park entrance, as used by teachers and shown on Google Maps as the location of SoleStar Arts. It's not, but clearly they use the same entrance as we will.