We look forward to welcoming you to Exeter for the British Science Festival 2023!
We hope that the information below will help you have a great experience. If you cannot find an answer to your question, please email us at [email protected].
Find out about:
- Attending events
- Getting to Exeter
- Moving around
- Accommodation
- Accessibility
- Places to eat
- Terms & Conditions
- Sustainability
ATTENDING EVENTS
Go to the ‘Book Now’ page to see our full programme and book your tickets. All events are free, but booking is required for most events.
All our festival events are recommended for 16+ but are open to all ages.
If for any reason you are unable to attend, please cancel your tickets as soon as possible to allow entry for other visitors.
Unsure which of the over 70 events to attend whilst at the festival? Need help with finding a venue? Have an urgent question between events? Head to one of our Info Desks where our Festival Assistants can help you with your queries.
- Campus Info Desk: 10.30 – 16.00 | 7-8 September | The Forum, University of Exeter Streatham Campus
- City Centre Info Desk: 13.00 – 17.00 | 9-10 September | Cathedral Green, Exeter City Centre
To gain entry to ticketed events, please make sure to bring your tickets with you on an electronic device or as a printout. You can access, edit, and print your tickets through your confirmation email from Ticketsolve. Please note, there will be no printing facilities available on site.
For most ticketed talks, doors close 15 mins after the stated start time to avoid disturbance to speakers and other attendees. You will not be able to gain admittance to ticketed talks after that time.
GETTING TO EXETER
We are committed to doing all we can to reduce the environmental impact of traffic travelling to our events. If you present a same-day public transport ticket (excluding Park & Ride) together with a Festival ticket at one of our Info Desks, we will show our thanks by giving you a voucher that can be redeemed at selected locations on the University of Exeter Streatham Campus. You can use this voucher to get a discount on any of your purchases, or outright exchange it for a free tea or coffee (filtered).
By train
Exeter Central station is the main railway station in Exeter. It is less than a 5-minute walk from our city centre venues, including Exeter Phoenix, Exeter Cathedral and Guildhall Shopping Centre. However, Exeter St David’s is closer to the University of Exeter Streatham Campus and its venues, including The Forum venues and Roborough Building.
If you are visiting from London, there is a Great Western Railway train from Paddington station to Exeter St David’s. The journey takes 2h 30m on average and trains run approximately 26 times per day. Alternatively, a South Western Railway service departs from London Waterloo station and stops both at Exeter Central and Exeter St David’s stations.
Companies operating in the area are Great Western Railway, Cross Country and South Western Railway.
By bus
National Express operate coach services to Exeter from most towns and cities throughout the UK. Visit National Express or call 08705 808080 for information on routes and prices. For low cost intercity bus travel to and from Exeter, visit Megabus.com or call 0901 331 0031.
There is a good local bus service in and around Devon. The area is easy to explore by public transport, and many attractions are actually located on popular bus routes.
For more details on local bus routes, times, and fares, please contact Stagecoach South West or contact Traveline on 0871 200 22 33.
The South West Falcon from Stagecoach runs up to every hour, 24/7 and connects Devon with Somerset, Bristol Airport and Bristol City Centre.
By car
Please consider joining our sustainability pledge and avoiding driving to our events – see above on how to claim a food or drink discount if you use public transport!
We recognise that using public transport is not always possible. For those times, please make sure you check and plan your route before you travel.
Exeter city centre is a 15-minute drive from the M5, giving excellent access to the national road network. Exeter’s city centre also has a range of car parks, with short, medium, and long stays. To find the best car park for you, click here.
MOVING AROUND
We are committed to doing all we can to reduce the environmental impact of traffic travelling to our events. If you present a same-day public transport ticket (excluding Park & Ride) together with a Festival ticket at one of our Info Desks, we will show our thanks by giving you a voucher that can be redeemed at selected locations on the University of Exeter Streatham Campus. You can use this voucher to get a discount on any of your purchases, or outright exchange it for a free tea or coffee (filtered).
You can find a map with all our venue locations on pages 6-9 of our event guide. In addition, you can click here for a list of all British Science Festival venues, their accessibility information, as well as details on how to find them.
To help you plan your journey, you can also click on the following links for a more detailed University of Exeter Streatham Campus map and for an Exeter City Centre map.
Walking
All our venues are within a 25-minute walk of each other.
Please note that the University of Exeter Streatham Campus (which includes The Forum venues and the Roborough Building), is located uphill on a steep incline from Exeter City Centre and Exeter St David’s train station. Please take that into account when planning your visit.
Our city centre venues (Exeter Cathedral, Exeter Phoenix and Guildhall Shopping Centre) are all within a 5-minute walk of each other.
Exeter public transport
Exeter has many bus routes running through the city, as well as local coach services, which will keep you well-connected to event venues and the University Campus during the Festival. Please see here for an in-depth bus map.
National Express coaches (08705 808080) call at Exeter Coach Station. The Coach Station is a short walk to the High Street where you can catch the local UNI bus, also known as bus D, which will take you to the Streatham Campus.
The UNI bus goes from the University of Exeter Streatham Campus to the city centre, including the Bus Station and Exeter Central train station. During the Thursday 7 and Friday 8 of September, the UNI bus will be free for everyone. You can find their timetable here. Please note that the festival is not taking place during term time.
In addition, a free shuttle bus service between Exeter St David’s train station and the University of Exeter Streatham campus will be available on Thursday 7 and Friday 8 September. This service is hosted by the University of Exeter and is a separate service to the public buses. Visitors wanting to access The Forum can alight at Stocker Road.
Morning service
- Operates from 7:45am – 10:30am
- This morning service is on a constant loop, with regular pickup
- Picks up at St David’s Station (by Simple Car Hire)
- Drops at Stocker Road (Streatham Campus Car Park C)
Afternoon Service
- Runs from 4pm – 6:20pm
- This service runs to fixed times as follows;
- Leaving Streatham at Stocker Road (Car Park C) at 16.00, 16.20, 16.40, 17.20, 17.40, 18.00 and 18.20
- Drops off at St David’s Station
Fast and frequent Park and Ride services operate into the heart of Exeter from three locations.
Cycling
Exeter has many dedicated cycle paths – more information can be found here. The city centre is a 6-minute cycle ride from the University of Exeter Streatham Campus.
The University provides bike parking facilities across the campus. For maps and trails please see here.
You can view more information about cycling around Devon here.
Parking
Please consider joining our sustainability pledge and avoiding driving to our events – see above on how to claim a food or drink discount if you use public transport!
We recognise that using public transport is not always possible. For those times, please make sure you check and plan your route before you travel.
There will be very limited Pay & Display parking available on the University of Exeter Streatham Campus, offered at a first-come-first-served basis.
Exeter’s city centre has a range of available car parking spaces – to find the best car park for you, click here.
You will also be able to find electric vehicle charging points in Exeter.
For more information on disabled access please click here.
Shopmobility
Exeter offers a Shopmobility service, offering a loan of scooter, power-assisted wheelchairs or manual wheelchairs to residents and visitors. Exeter’s Shopmobility office is located on Paris Street, part of the Princesshay Quarter. Free parking for Shopmobility users is available on level three of the Princesshay Car Park.
You will need to join to use the service, membership is free – please phone 01392 494001 for details or visit the Shopmobility website. Pre-booking is advised to avoid disappointment, and equipment is not available for loan after 2.30pm.
Taxis
Taxi ranks are located across the city; including Exeter airport, Exeter St David’s train station, and Exeter bus station. There are also a number of private hire taxi services available in the city.
ACCOMMODATION
There are several hotels located in Exeter. Go to Visit Exeter or other accommodation platforms to see what’s available and book your stay.
ACCESSIBILITY
We endeavour to be a Festival that everyone can enjoy and aim to provide as many details as possible to help you plan your visit.
Please visit our ‘Accessibility‘ page for general accessibility information, as well as details for each British Science Festival venue.
If you have additional accessibility questions, please email us at [email protected].
PLACES TO EAT
Food on the University of Exeter Streatham Campus
There are a number of food outlets available on the University of Exeter Streatham Campus. On this link, you can see the outlets that are currently open. Please make sure to adjust the search terms to see outlet opening times on other days / terms / vacations and to filter outlets by type and campus.
Please note that the campus is cashless – only card payments are possible on University of Exeter outlets.
There are water fountains and bottle filling stations located in all of our campus venues on campus – please ask our Festival Assistants for directions.
Food in Exeter City Centre
The campus is a 25-minute walk from the centre of Exeter with all of its shops and restaurants. You can see a list of restaurants, bars, and cafés located in Exeter city centre on Visit Exeter.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
Film & Photography
Filming and photography will be taking place at events. If you don’t wish to be filmed/photographed, please ask one of our Festival Assistants for a yellow lanyard at the door of our events or at one of our Info Desks.
Code of Conduct
Whilst the Festival endeavours to be a platform for constructive debate, it is also dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone regardless of their gender, race, nationality, ethnicity, disability, religious or other similar belief, sexual orientation, or age. We do not tolerate any form of harassment towards Festival speakers/participants, staff, volunteers, or attendees. We retain the right to refuse admission to an event or the Festival as a whole to anyone who we reasonably consider does not abide by this Code of Conduct.
Safety & Security
Please notify a member of staff in case of injury. We have First Aid provisions across the Festival site and will be able to help.
For your safety, enhanced security measures will be in place and we will be conducting random bag searches. We retain the right to request identification of or remove anyone for the safety and security of all Festival speakers/participants, staff, volunteers, or attendees.
Please note that there are no cloakroom facilities available throughout the Festival, so please make alternative arrangements for any large bags. You will not be permitted to leave any personal belongings unattended or in spaces where they pose a health & safety risk or disrupt the other attendees’ experience (e.g. aisles, fire exits, seats/chairs in busy event venues).
SUSTAINABILITY
Visit our ‘Our sustainability policy‘ page to see how we have redesigned our approach to improve the Festival’s environmental and social sustainability, and find ways to join us in our sustainability pledge!