Getting here and getting around
Train
Our closest station is СÀ¶ÊÓƵ and Southsea. It’s a 5-minute walk from the buildings on our Guildhall campus.
There are daily direct trains from London Waterloo and London Victoria (2 hours), and regular services from Southampton, Bournemouth, Chichester and Brighton. We’re only a 2-hour journey away from Bristol too.
You can plan your route with or .
Car
Take the M275 into СÀ¶ÊÓƵ (signed 'СÀ¶ÊÓƵ West') whether approaching from the east (A3(M)/A27) or the west (M27 Junction 12). Ignore the junctions signed to Southsea and Hilsea.
Park and ride
As with any city, parking in СÀ¶ÊÓƵ is limited. Therefore it's best to use the at the entrance to the city on the M275. The cost is £4 per vehicle and buses run into СÀ¶ÊÓƵ every 12 minutes. Up to 5 people can travel using 1 ticket.
Parking in the city
If you want to park in the city, follow signs for 'Historic Waterfront/Seafront' from the end of the M275. This takes you across 3 roundabouts to traffic lights by Unicorn Gate (entrance to the naval dockyard) and St John's Cathedral.
These are the traffic lights at the top of the Guildhall Campus map – the route you take from here depends which part of the campus you're heading to.
Car parks and limited on-street parking is available in the city centre for a small charge, but spaces fill up quickly.
You’ll need a visitor’s permit if you want to use a University car park. To apply for one, email car.parking@port.ac.uk. Sorry, we can’t guarantee you a space in advance.
If you have an electric car, there are a number of charging points around the city that you can use. You can find the locations for all of the points using the .
Taxi
If you're travelling to СÀ¶ÊÓƵ from one of the major London airports, taxis are fairly expensive, costing between £100 and £200. For this reason, we don't recommend taking a taxi for your journey. If you do choose to take a taxi, you should book it in advance to get the best offers possible. Once you arrive in СÀ¶ÊÓƵ, taxis are common and journeys will generally cost no more than £15 to £20.
Coach
Regular daily direct coach services run to СÀ¶ÊÓƵ from London, Bristol, Birmingham, Heathrow and other locations around the country.
All these services call at The Hard Interchange by СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Harbour railway station, which is a 15-minute walk from our Guildhall campus.
You can find out coach times and routes with and .
Air
From London
For all international connections, we’re only 1 hour 30 minutes from both Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
From Southampton
Southampton International – which has regular flights to Paris, Cherbourg, the Channel Islands, Belfast, Glasgow and more – is just 30 minutes by car and easy to reach by train too.
Sea
There are between СÀ¶ÊÓƵ and Caen, Le Havre and St Malo in France. There are also twice-weekly services to Bilbao and Santander in Spain, and regular services to Jersey and Guernsey.
There are crossings each day to the Isle of Wight too, by , , and . A also runs across the harbour to Gosport.
Local bus services
Our is available during term-time. The runs from Monday to Friday, close to where many students live in Southsea.
СÀ¶ÊÓƵ has excellent city bus services too. You can catch local and intercity buses from the main bus station at The Hard Interchange, next to СÀ¶ÊÓƵ Harbour railway station. There is also a from the M275 terminal with stops in the centre of the University campus.
Bike or foot
СÀ¶ÊÓƵ is fairly flat and there's plenty to see, so the best way to discover the city is on foot or by bike. You’ll find plenty of footpaths and cycleways to follow across the city.
Whether you’re looking for information about local cycle routes, walking maps, or links to public transport you can plan your journey using or the travel app.
Accessible travel
Blue badge holders can park free of charge in most СÀ¶ÊÓƵ City Council car parks and most on-street parking spaces.
If you have special requirements, please contact us.