The collaboration meeting will be held in the Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London. This is accessible from Prince Consort Road. Imperial College London is located in the South Kensington area of London.
Arriving by air
London is served by Heathrow, Gatwick, City and Luton airports. I would suggest you try to travel to either Heathrow or Gatwick and the outside, City. Given the London traffic, there are almost no circumstances under which I would take a taxi from the airport. Public transport is advised.
From Heathrow airport
Take the Underground Piccadilly Line from Heathrow Airport to Gloucester Road Station (40 mins, every few mins) and then walk to college (6 mins). Alternatively, take the Heathrow Express train to London Paddington (15mins, every 15mins during peak times), and then walk across the park (20mins).
From Gatwick airport
Take a British Rail train from Gatwick to London Victoria station (journey time 40 minutes) and then take the Underground from Victoria, (Circle or District Line; westbound) to Gloucester Road.
The nearest underground stations to college are Gloucester Road and South Kensington which are served by the Circle, District and Piccadilly Lines. Gloucester Road is marginally closer to the physics department.
A Visitor Travel Guide to London can be downloaded here. The guide includes London travel maps and information on public travel services.
London's public transport network is fully integrated so it's very easy to switch between the different services. If you intend to travel by public transport, I would recommend that you buy an Oyster card online in advance so that you can use it as soon as you arrive. Alternatively, you can purchase Oyster and paper tickets from London Travel Information Centres, stations, buses and tram stops. An Oyster card is a smart card that's pre-loaded with money for travel around London. The system automatically calculates the cost of each journey you make based on the service you use, when you travel and which zone(s) you travel in. It's the cheapest way to make single journeys on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground and most National Rail train services in London.
For more information and to order advance visitor tickets, please visit http://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk
