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Transport from the airport
Transport from the hotel to the BT Tower
Transport from the hotel to BT Centre
Finding your way around London
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Visa
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Transport from the airport

You may find it useful to look at the website for the London airport which you are flying into:
Heathrow Airport: www.heathrowairport.com
Gatwick Airport: www.gatwickairport.com

Transport from Heathrow Airport to central London

There are trains which will take you into central London where you can continue your journey to the hotel on the Underground, by bus or by taxi. Alternatively you can use the Underground for your whole journey (see Option 3).

Option 1: Heathrow Express to Paddington

• You can get the Heathrow Express from Heathrow Airport Central (Terminals 1, 2 & 3) to Paddington for £32 (return journey, valid for 1 month).

• The trains take about 15 minutes and run every 15 minutes depending on the time of day.

• You can also get on the Heathrow Express from Terminal 5.

• If you are flying into Terminal 4, you can get the free transfer to Terminals 1, 2 & 3 and take the Heathrow Express from there.

• You can book your ticket online and print it or have it sent to your mobile phone. Take this on board the train. Alternatively you can easily book your ticket when you arrive at Heathrow.

• For more information please visit www.heathrowexpress.com.

• For continuing your journey from Paddington please see below.

Option 2: Heathrow Connect to Ealing Broadway

• The Heathrow Connect train is cheaper than the Heathrow Express. It costs £12.00 for an open return ticket to Ealing Broadway and will take just over 20 minutes.

• Book your ticket when you get to Heathrow. For more information please go to www.heathrowconnect.com.

• Once you get to Ealing Broadway station, you can easily get to the hotel in Marble Arch by travelling on the Central Line for another 20 minutes. For more details on how to do this please see below.

Option 3: London Underground to central London

• Since Heathrow Airport (all terminals) is on the Piccadilly line of the London Underground, you can use the Underground to get all the way from the airport to Marble Arch in about 1 hour.

• This is the cheapest option with a single journey costing £4 (cheaper with a Visitor Oyster card).

• Please note: if you wish to check exact times for this journey option on the Transport for London website, you must select ‘Tube’ only. If you leave this option open, the website will recommend the quickest option which is the Heathrow Express.

Transport from Gatwick Airport to Central London

Gatwick Express to Victoria

• A return ticket costs £28.80 and is valid for 1 month.

• The train will take 30 minutes and trains run every 15 minutes during the day.

• For more information please visit www.gatwickexpress.com.

There are also lots of other trains which can take you to Victoria or London Bridge. These should be cheaper for you and some are as quick as the Gatwick Express. You can then continue your journey from here using the Underground or buses. You can easily book a ticket when you arrive at Gatwick. Ask at the ticket office for the cheapest/ quickest option to your destination.

Continuing your journey in central London

• To reach The Cumberland hotel, you will have to get to Marble Arch underground station. If you wish to go straight to the BT Tower on 16th November you will need to get to Goodge Street, Warren Street or Great Portland Street underground stations. This is probably easiest by bus or the Underground.

• A single journey within central London will cost a few pounds but you could save money by buying a Visitor Oyster card.

• To plan your entire journey from the airport to Marble Arch, or another central London destination please use the Transport for London website. More details on this can be found under Finding your way around London.

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Transport from the hotel to the BT Tower

The Cumberland hotel is in Marble Arch and the BT Tower is near three underground stations. The quickest route is to Warren Street underground station which takes about 10 minutes. Take the Central line to Oxford Circus and then take the Victoria line to Warren Street. It will cost £4 for a single journey ticket, or £1.60 if you have an Oyster card. Leave at least 5 minutes to walk to the BT Tower from Warren Street underground station.

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Transport from the hotel to BT Centre

The Cumberland hotel is in Marble Arch and BT Centre is in St Paul’s. Both of these underground stations are on the Central line and so it is very easy to get between them using the Underground. It should only take about 10 minutes and will cost £4 for a single journey ticket, or £1.60 if you have an Oyster card. Both venues are very close to their respective underground stations so you won’t need extra time to walk there.

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Underground map

If you wish to use the London Underground (the Tube) to get around London please download a map here. This map shows how London is split into zones. When buying tickets you will need to know which zones you are travelling from and to.

Planning your journey

To plan the best way to get somewhere in London use the Transport for London (TFL) website www.tfl.gov.uk. This website covers different forms of transport such as the Underground, buses and overland trains. If you are travelling from the airport it also covers the Gatwick Express and Heathrow Express trains.

Tips:

• You can change the language of the TFL website on the homepage.

• On the homepage you can do a quick search for your best journey but if you want to search for specific travelling times click ‘Advanced options’.

• Under Advanced Options you can also select specific types of transport. For example, if you only wish to travel by bus you can select this option only.

Tickets

You can buy tickets for overland trains at all mainline railway stations. You can buy tickets for use on the Underground or buses at Underground stations.

Visitor Oyster Card

If your main mode of transport will be the London Underground and buses, it may be worthwhile to buy a Visitor Oyster card. This costs £2 for the card and then you top it up with money as you need it. Wherever you go it will charge you the lowest fare possible. For example, a normal Underground ticket from Heathrow to Marble Arch will cost you £4 but once you have bought an Oyster card it will only cost you £2.20 if you travel at off-peak times. You can then use your Oyster card during your whole stay in London by topping it up as you need to. These can only be bought from certain places so please check before you travel.

Travelcards

Or you could buy a Travelcard. A 7-day Travelcard for zones 1-6 (which includes Heathrow Airport) costs £47.60 so this would cover you for all of your transport if you only wish to use the Underground and buses. If you don’t want to take the Underground from Heathrow, or if you are coming from another airport, you won’t need zones 1-6 and it will be cheaper. A 7-day Travelcard for zones 1-2 will cover you for all your transport in Central London and costs £25.80. You can also buy 3-day Travelcards.

The fares and timetable information provided in this section may be subject to change and the WBA and/or BT Openzone make no representations as to the accuracy of the information or the availability of any of the services. Please check the relevant websites or enquire at the ticket desk when you arrive in the UK before buying tickets and travelling.

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The currency in London is British Pounds (£).

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In November London can be quite cold and it is often the wettest month of the year so you should come prepared for rain!

Average temperatures:

• Average High: 50°F (10°C)

• Average Low: 41°F (5°C)

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Electricity

UK plugs have three flat prongs and are unlike plugs used anywhere else in Europe. If you use dual voltage appliances and devices, all you will need is a simple UK Adaptor Plug.

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For more information or to find out whether you need a VISA for the UK, please go to www.ukvisas.gov.uk.

The VISA application process varies for different countries. Please check with the immigration department in your country. If a formal invitation letter is required from BT for your VISA application, please kindly contact naivasha.elworthy@bt.com by 16 October 2009.

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WBA Events Coordinator

Ms Alice Lai
Secretariat and Membership Services
Email: events@wballiance.net   
Mobile: +852 9250 8389 

BT Openzone Events Coordinator

Miss Naivasha Elworthy
Marketing Manager
Email: naivasha.elworthy@bt.com
Landline: +44 (0) 20 7728 7171
Mobile: +44 (0) 791 872 7561

The Cumberland Hotel

Reservations
Email: groups.thecumberland@guoman.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 871 977 229
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7206 7561

Booking Reference Block Code: BTOP161109

General

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