Deep Purple : specials/RAH99/getthere.html

Richard Breese

Those people sitting in the stalls should be aware that the seats swivel - this is because of the unusual shape of the hall. If all the seats were fixed and faced the stage then a lot of them would be inaccessible, but if they were fixed and faced the centre of the Hall a lot of people would get stiff necks. Personally I don't find them particularly comfortable, but thats more to do with
my height than anything else.

Getting to RAH by Underground can be a bit of a pain - the nearest tube stations are a fair distance away. Most convenient is South Kensington ("South Ken"), other possibilities are Knightsbridge or High Street Kensington ("High Street Ken") or Gloucester Road.

Anyone arriving by train at Victoria (from Gatwick Airport perhaps) is recommended to jump on a #52 bus which will take them straight to the Hall (and if they sit on the top deck they'll be able to look into the Queen's back garden). If you're arriving at Paddington (from Heathrow Airport perhaps) your best bet is probably to enjoy the walk through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens - head for the spire of the new restored Albert Memorial.

If you're coming by car there is usually free parking available in the streets to the south west of the Hall (5 min walk), although a lot of it is reserved for diplomatic use and residents' permits. It will probably be a lot easier to find a space on Sunday than Saturday.

Excellent maps of the Underground and Central London buses (which shows
Underground stations) are available at:

http://www.londontransport.co.uk/info/lul_index.htm

and

http://www.londontransport.co.uk/info/b_info00.htm

respectively.

Street maps of London (and the whole of the UK) are available from:

http://uk.multimap.com/map/places.cgi

or more specifically for the Albert Hall area.