About our venue
Convention takes place in central York, in York St John Creative Centre, a new, award-winning building built to house music, drama and other creative courses at the university. With a central auditorium seating 150, purpose-built creative break-out spaces and a surrounding atrium to mingle and browse exhibition stands, it’s the ideal venue for our return Convention
The Centre is just outside the ancient city walls, within sight of York Minster, less than a mile from the railway station and within walking distance of a range of hotels and guest houses.
You can see the location of York St John Creative Centre here and find out more about finding your way round it here.
About the city of York
York is a vibrant city with Roman roots and a Viking past, offering an adventure for everyone. Ancient walls surround incredible local businesses, attractions, shops, accommodation and eateries, with exciting events every day and inspiring festivals every month of the year.
The Visit York website has a dedicated section for conference visitors, with lots of useful information about travel, accommodation and what to see whilst you’re there: find out more here.
Finding accommodation
There is plenty of nearby accommodation to choose from in York.
- Visit York has a large searchable list of hotels, guesthouses and self catering
- There are substantial listings in York at the large accommodation sites such as booking.com, lastminute.com or Travelodge
- The nearest large hotel is York Doubletree Hilton, less than half a mile away.
- There are three Premier Inns around York city centre. The nearest is York City Centre (Layerthorpe), around 13 minutes’ walk away, or 13 minutes by car.
- Travelodge York Central Layerthorpe is less than 15 minutes’ walk away and has a car park. To follow walking directions on Google, click here or download the map to print here.
Getting to York
This ancient city is best explored on foot, and it’s easy to get from one side of the city centre to the other in just 20 minutes. Download a map of York city centre here.
By rail
York is ideally positioned in the heart of the country with direct rail links bringing you from London, Edinburgh and Manchester in around 2 hours. The railway station is the other side of the city from the Creative Centre, but it is a pleasant 20 minute walk through the historic centre. To follow walking directions on Google, click here or download the map to print here.
Please note there are engineering works (of course!) taking place during Convention weekend, however there are bus replacement services. You may need to allow extra travelling time. Find out more here.
By car
If you’re travelling into York by car, avoid the city centre traffic and the expense of parking your car and hop on the bus from one of the six Park & Ride sites surrounding the city for a hassle-free journey. Parking your car is free and a day return is less than £4. Find out more on the York Park and Ride site.
Alternatively, a number of hotels and guest houses have parking available. Please note that there is no parking on the campus. The nearest car park to the Creative Centre is Union Terrace car park, YO31 7ES, just a couple of minutes’ walk away. Find out more detail about York car parks here.
Find out more about travel to York here.
Enjoy the city of York
If you have time, why not book a longer stay in York? This ancient city is home to an amazing array of historic sites, world-class museums, art galleries and more. Just a few highlights include York Minster, York Castle Museum, the National Railway Museum, Jorvik Viking Centre and even a chocolate museum! The Visit York website has lots of information on things to do.
Download the Visit York Mini Guide 2025 to get a flavour of what there is to see in the city.