Travel Guide to Norwich Norwich is located on the east coast of England, about two hours away from London. We have good travel links both from abroad and within the UK, by train, coach and air. About 20 minutes outside of the city centre you can find the University of East Anglia campus. Air There are a number of ways of getting to UEA from abroad. The easiest way is to fly into Norwich International Airport via Amsterdam (Schiphol Airport) where you can get a connecting flight directly to Norwich. This flight will take around 45 minutes. Norwich Airport is small, and only a 20 minute car ride away from the UEA campus making it easy to arrive at. Alternatively, you can fly into London Heathrow, Stansted or Gatwick Airport and travel to Norwich independently by train or coach. Useful websites to start looking for flights include Skyscanner, Google flights and Expedia. PS: When you plan your journey onwards from the airport please make sure to allow yourself at least two hours at the airport from arrival time, to account for immigration/visa checks and baggage reclaim. Train The best place to book train tickets in the UK is The Train Line. Choose the airport you are arriving at as your departure station when booking your tickets. If you are arriving at Gatwick or Heathrow airport and book your train ticket from there you will have to use the London underground (called the Tube) to London Liverpool Street where the train to Norwich departs from. The underground system is very logical and easy to use, and you can use your train ticket the whole way from the airport to Norwich. After arriving at London Liverpool Street follow the signs to the train station (up the stairs from the Tube stop). The platform with the train to Norwich will be announced on the big screen and over the speakers around 10-15 minutes before departure. Stansted airport is located 1,5 hours northeast of London, and you can take a train to Norwich directly from Stansted Airport station. You can easily reach UEA from Norwich Railway Station, either by taxi or bus. You can find more information about transport to and from the airports at the Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick websites. PS: When you travel by underground and train make sure you keep hold of your ticket – you will need it when you depart the tube/train.
Coach National Express have coaches going to Norwich from Heathrow Airport, Stansted Airport, Gatwick Airport and many stations and bus stops in London. The National Express stop “University of East Anglia (Norwich)” is right here on campus, so make sure you book your ticket to this destination. You can alternatively chose “Norwich Bus Station” as your destination. Just let us know where you will be arriving, and we will help arrange your pick-up. Megabus also have coaches going to Norwich, however they only depart from Victoria Station in the centre of London. Megabus is usually the cheaper option, and if you buy in advance you can get tickets to Norwich for between £1 and £7. Chose the “Norwich, University of East Anglia” bus stop. Passing through customs and immigration at the airport When arriving in the UK all passengers will need to pass through Immigration Control. You will have to join the correct line depending whether you are an EEA / Swiss National or from anywhere else. If you are arriving from outside of the EEA you can expect an Immigration Officer to ask you some questions, this is perfectly normal and might include:
Why are you coming to the UK? Where and what are you studying? How are you going to fund your studies? Where will you be living?
You will also need to provide these documents:
A valid passport or travel document A valid Visa A completed Landing Card (given to you on the plane) All the documents (or copies) you used to apply for your Visa A health or medical certificate, including your tuberculosis certificate, if required
Useful websites On the transport pages of VisitBritain you can find more information on transport options and how to use public transport in the UK. BBC Travel News is updated continuously with news about travel and transport in the UK. London Drum - has a useful function where you can plot in what Tube (underground) station you are going from, and what station you want to go to. The website will then tell you what line to take and where to change trains, if necessary.
If you need to contact us at any point before or after arrival in the UK, please either email us at cipo@uea.ac.uk or call 01603 592255