Wakefield 2010 will be taking place at the Cedar Court Hotel, which is located at Calder Grove to the south-west of Wakefield. The venue is adjacent to junction 39 of the M1, as can be seen in the map below.

Wakefield can be easily accessed from the rest of the UK both by car and by train. A local bus service also runs near the venue.

Getting there by car

The venue is adjacent to junction 39 of the M1 and is visible from the motorway junction when approaching from the south; it is easily accessed from the M1, M62 and other major routes. Free on-site parking will be available, located in front of the venue (see the map below).

More detailed maps showing the venue’s location can be found using either StreetMap or Multimap. A copy of the map above is available in PDF format to allow it to be printed out on A4 (or larger) paper.

Download: Wakefield 2010 Location Map (43KB)

Getting there by train

A free minibus shuttle service will run all day, connecting the venue with Wakefield Westgate station. Throughout the day, the bus will run roughly every 45 minutes – in the morning it will depart from the station as required, whilst after midday it will depart from the show venue at the following (provisional) times:

12.15 – 13.00 – 13.45 – 14.30 – 15.15 – 16.00 – 16.45

There will be an announcement in the venue before the final bus departs for the station.

Please note that the courtesy shuttle minibus may not be able to wait at the station for more than a minute or two, as the forecourt area will be very busy with replacement bus services which will be running as a result of engineering work on the line (details of which are below). Therefore, visitors should keep a careful eye out for the minibus, otherwise they may miss it and have to wait for the next trip.

The station is well served by both local and intercity services. Local trains are operated by Northern Rail (some under “Metro Train” branding), with good connections at Leeds. Intercity services are operated by East Coast to London King’s Cross (as well as connections north up the east coast towards Scotland). CrossCountry run through services from Scotland via the east coast and Leeds, then south to Birmingham New Street and on to the West Country (the ‘South West to Birmingham, Manchester, the North East and Scotland’ route). Their services from other parts of the south coast, Wales and the midlands connect with this at Birmingham New Street.

The North West is served by Transpennine Express, who run trains from Liverpool and Manchester through to Leeds, and by Virgin Trains and CrossCountry, who run services up the west coast connecting at Birmingham New Street or Manchester.

Within Wakefield, Westgate and Kirkgate stations are linked by the Wakefield FreeCity Bus, which provides a free service approximately every 10 minutes between 8.30am and 5.00pm and also connects with the bus station. Trains serving Wakefield Kirkgate are mostly local services.

More information on train times can be found using the National Rail journey planner.

Network Rail are currently advising of Engineering Work between Doncaster and Wakefield Westgate on the day of the show. At present it seems likely that local services to and from Leeds (via Wakefield Westgate and Wakefield Kirkgate stations) will be running more or less normally, but there will be disruption to national services. Our understanding of the situation is as follows:

• East Coast services from London Kings Cross to Leeds will run normally to Doncaster, then on to Leeds, before returning to and terminating at Wakefield Westgate. That is, the service will still run, but it will take longer to reach Wakefield.
• Cross Country services from Leeds to Reading will divert via Wakefield Kirkgate, with a bus service between there and Wakefield Westgate. This will presumably operate in addition to the FreeCity Bus service we mention above. Edinburgh to Plymouth services will serve Doncaster, from where bus and rail services will connect to Wakefield.
• Northern Rail (and “MetroTrain”) services from Wakefield Westgate to Doncaster will be replaced by buses.

Although the above information is given in good faith, visitors are advised to check the relevant train operating companies’ timetables for details of train times, ticket validity and recommended connections before arranging travel.

We also recommend checking the service bulletins on the National Rail site nearer the show, for details of any changes or additions to the engineering work affecting services on the day.

Getting there by bus

The show venue will be served by a special free minibus shuttle service operating throughout the day from Wakefield Westgate railway station. However, it is also possible to use public bus service 435 (to Holmfirth) from stand 17 at Wakefield bus station, which is less than 10 minutes walk from Wakefield Westgate (alternatively, you can take the FreeCityBus from Westgate station to the bus station). The service runs once per hour in each direction on a Saturday, and the journey takes about 15 minutes. Timetables are available on the Metro website. Visitors should disembark on Denby Dale Road at the Cedar Court Hotel, immediately after the M1 roundabout and directly outside the venue.

We recommend that visitors planning to use local buses check on the Metro website nearer the event, for details of any service changes.

Page updated 17 April 2010 | Contact us