Venue

NSS-SocialSec 2023 will be held at the Grimond Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, about 1 hour away south-east from the center of London by train.

Canterbury is a small city with a population of between 60-70 thousands people, but it is one of the most important cities in the UK because the Canterbury Cathedral, the Mother Church of the Anglican Communion and the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is located here. Founded in 597 AD by Augustine, the Canterbury Cathedral forms a World Heritage Site, along with the St. Martin's Church and the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey. Canterbury is also close to some other famous tourist sites in Kent, such as the White Cliffs of Dover, the Dover Castle and the Leeds Castle.

Accommodation

We provide on-campus accommodation and a number of single and double en-suite guest rooms have been reserved for participants of the Conference. Such on-campus rooms can be booked here using the following promotion code: NSSSEC23. They are priced at £55 per night for single en-suite and £80 per night for double en-suite, and are available to book from Sunday 13th August to Thursday 17th August inclusive.

If you travel with your family including kids, the on-campus accommodation may not be the most suitable for you. In this case, we recommend that you use some guest houses or hotels closer to the city centre and at a convenient location (e.g., walking distance from the Univeresity in less than 30 mins and/or served by a direct bus to the University), such as the following ones:

• House of Agnes
• ABode Canterbury
• Pilgrims Hotel
• Hampton by Hilton Canterbury
• Canterbury Cathedral Lodge Hotel
• Cathedral Gate Hotel
• Falstaff Hotel
• Yorke Lodge Bed and Breakfast
• Acacia Lodge
• Retro Bed & Breakfast
• Canterbury Lodge
• Travelodge Canterbury Chaucer Central (more hotel choices from Travelodge)
• Premier Inn Canterbury City Centre

From the above guest houses and hotels to the University campus, you can take buses or walk. Google Maps can usually show you different options with great accuacy, so we recommend you simply follow insutrctions given by Google Maps. If you take the bus, you may want to purchase a weekly ticket to save costs. The ticket can be purchased directly using a mobile app or from the bus driver.

If you need any help on booking a hotel room in Canterbury, feel free to contact nss-socialsec2023@kent.ac.uk.

How to get to Canterbury

To check the best directions, you are again recommended to use Google Maps that covers most public transporation tools in the UK including trains, buses, subways and trams. For more information on timetables and purchasing train tickets online, you can use National Rail's online journey planning tool or thetrainline.com (note that the latter is a one-stop solution but has a service charge; the former does not charge a fee but will redirect you to different train service operators for the actual purchase). Train tickets can also be purchased from the counter or automatic machines at any train station.

As a rule of thumb, from almost all airports of London, if you want to use the public transporation system to come to Canterbury, you will normally need to go to a major train station in London, from where you can find a direct train to Canterbury West or Caterbury East station. Between the two train stations, Canterbury West is closer to the University and the city center, and is the station fast-speed trains from London use. So if you can choose between the two train station, use Canterbury West. Once arriving at one of the train stations in Canterbury, you can call a taxi to go to the University's on-campus accommodation, your self-booked guest house or hotel. If you will stay at the University's on-campus accommodation, you can also use Uni1, Uni2 or Triangle bus services to come to the University. Google Maps can tell you when, where and which bus you can take. If you happen to be at the Canterbury main bus station in the city centre, then such bueses all depart from stops in the B area.

If you plan to use a taxi we advise you to book in advance with a Canterbury local taxi company, which will be significantly cheaper than taking a cab directly at the airport. You can use Google Search to find local taxi companies in Canterbury. Note that if you travel as a group, using a taxi can be significantly cheaper, more convenient and faster than travelling by public transport systems.

If you need any help on how to get to Canterbury, feel free to contact nss-socialsec2023@kent.ac.uk.

Visa for travelling to the UK

If you need a visa to visit the UK, we can issue an invitation letter to support your visa application. This is normally done automatically when you register for the Conference as there is a question about if you need a visa letter. In case of queries, contact the General Co-Chair Budi Arief for help. Note that the UK is not a Schengen state, so if you plan to visit the Schengen area after the Conference, you need to arrange a separate Schengen visa. France, Belgium and the Netherlands will be the most convenient Schengen nations to visit as they are served by direct EuroStar trains from London (which travel through the Channel Tunnel under the sea). Note that EuroStar trains also pass a number of cities in Kent, but for international travellers it may be easier to start from London St Pancras Interrnational Station, from where you will find more EuroStar trains.