Transportation
Air Travel to the London Area
Kingston University, Knights Park Campus, is within reasonable travel distance from the London’s two largest international airports, Heathrow and Gatwick. Other airport options include Luton and Stanstead.
- Heathrow
Kingston is a half-hour drive from Heathrow Airport. By bus, take the express X26 direct to Kingston. Heathrow is also accessible via London Underground by taking the Piccadilly Line to Central London. A peak time public transport travel card (usable on trains, tubes, and buses before 9:30 a.m.) costs £17.00 while a non-peak time travel card (usable after 9:30 a.m.) costs £8.90. Seven-day travel cards are also available for a total cost £57.20. You can also get a taxi from the airport to Kingston. The cheapest way to do this is to pre-book a mini-cab to collect you at Arrivals. These cost between £28 and £35 and the journey takes about 45 minutes. Details of reputable mini-cab companies will be posted nearer the time. If you flag down an official London taxi (the famous black cabs) from the airport, the cost will be around £50, possibly a little more.
- Gatwick
Gatwick Airport is 45 minutes away from Kingston by road. Alternate routes, including the Gatwick Express to Central London (a return ticket costs £34.90), which takes 30 minutes and leaves every 15 minutes, or Southern Trainlines offer a service between Gatwick Airport and Clapham Junction, where travelers can connect to a direct train service to either Kingston or Surbiton stations (both of which are about a 15-20-minute walk to the university campus and surrounding hotels). You can also get a taxi direct to Kingston. As with Heathrow above, the cheapest way is to pre-book a mini cab, which will meet you at arrivals. The cost will be around £35-£40 and the journey takes about 45-50 minutes. You can also flag a black cab but these will cost upwards of £50. Again, details of local cab companies will be posted nearer the time.
- Luton and Stanstead
Many European flights are accessible via Luton Airport and Stanstead Airport. Trains operate from Luton to Wimbledon Station, which then only requires one change for trains either to Surbiton or Kingston. The Stanstead Express runs from Stanstead Airport to Central London. Trains depart every 15 minutes with an average journey time of 45 minutes. They arrive into London Liverpool Street Station with easy connections to London Waterloo and then to either Kingston or Surbiton Stations.
Ground Travel from Central London to Kingston University, Knights Park Campus
Kingston is best reached from Central London by train from Waterloo Station. Waterloo is on the London Underground and can be reached via the Northern, Bakerloo and Jubilee Lines. The university is equidistant between two stations: Kingston and Surbiton. Once you are in Kingston, if you wish to travel back to Central London, the fastest way is via these two stations. There are slightly more trains from Surbiton than from Kingston, and Surbiton Station has a taxi rank, which Kingston does not. There are two main types of taxis: the famous black cabs which tend to sit at stations, although you can flag them down New York-style if you see one, and the other types are mini-cabs, which look like ordinary cars and can be booked by phone. The government has run a campaign for many years advising people not to get into mini-cabs unless you have booked them, so please don't. Either call a mini-cab, or jump in a black cab. We will provide numbers for reputable mini-cab companies in the area.
Ground Travel around Kingston
The Kingston University website offers an interactive map with directions to its many campuses by way of public transit, driving, cycling, or walking. See that map here.
To get around locally, Kingston is extremely well served by bus routes to and from the local area. If you stay in Kingston itself, Knights Park Campus within an easy 10-15-minute walking distance from more or less anywhere. Surbiton, which is also the site of the student accommodation at Seething Wells, is a 15-20-minute walk away (along the Thames), or a 5-minute bus ride. If you choose to stay in Teddington, Twickenham, or Hampton Court, you will need to take a bus to Kingston, but buses are regular and cheap. Cash is not accepted on London buses, so if you are travelling by bus you will need to purchase an Oyster Card, which is a pre-paid card, like a credit card. You can purchase these at most train and underground stations, and top them up at the majority of small convenience stores in the area (these are small stores where you can buy a newspaper, pint of milk, chocolate bar, etc.). A bus map can be found here. It is fantastically complicated and daunting, but if you contact the organisers we can help you decipher it. Full details of the Oyster Card can be found here. You can also use Oyster Cards on the trains into Central London.
To get around locally, Kingston is extremely well served by bus routes to and from the local area. If you stay in Kingston itself, Knights Park Campus within an easy 10-15-minute walking distance from more or less anywhere. Surbiton, which is also the site of the student accommodation at Seething Wells, is a 15-20-minute walk away (along the Thames), or a 5-minute bus ride. If you choose to stay in Teddington, Twickenham, or Hampton Court, you will need to take a bus to Kingston, but buses are regular and cheap. Cash is not accepted on London buses, so if you are travelling by bus you will need to purchase an Oyster Card, which is a pre-paid card, like a credit card. You can purchase these at most train and underground stations, and top them up at the majority of small convenience stores in the area (these are small stores where you can buy a newspaper, pint of milk, chocolate bar, etc.). A bus map can be found here. It is fantastically complicated and daunting, but if you contact the organisers we can help you decipher it. Full details of the Oyster Card can be found here. You can also use Oyster Cards on the trains into Central London.