Plan your travel for Dickens Christmas Festival

As Portsmouth prepares for another busy weekend, the council is encouraging visitors travelling to the city to use public transport.

The Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Dickens Christmas Festival takes place between Friday 30 November and Sunday 2 December. Visitors planning to travel into Portsmouth for the festival are encouraged to use public transport to avoid traffic queues.

In addition to existing bus services provided by First and Stagecoach, extra buses will run from the Park & Ride terminal at the M275 entrance to Portsmouth. At just £4 per car, the Park & Ride allows up to five people to travel on one ticket - providing an easy and affordable way to travel to the festival.

Park & Ride buses will depart every few minutes to drop passengers at The Hard Interchange, which is just three minutes' walk from the entrance to the festival.

Cllr Lynne Stagg, Cabinet Member for Traffic and Transportation, said. "Last year's Festival saw tens of thousands of visitors travel into Portsmouth. We want to ensure those visitors have a positive experience of travelling to and from the festival, while ensuring Portsmouth residents can continue to move around the city. Our excellent public transport services will help alleviate congestion allowing event goers more time to enjoy the festivities."

Visitors travelling by train should alight at Portsmouth Harbour which, like the Interchange, is just a short walk to the event.

Travelling to the event by car isn't recommended as nearby car parks and roads will be extremely busy, especially on Saturday when the University of Portsmouth host an open day.  However, if event goers choose to drive they are advised to use city centre car parks. A walking route will be clearly signposted from the Isambard Brunel multi storey car park (Alec Rose Lane, PO1 2BX) to help visitors find their way to the event.

For more information about Park & Ride, including full event timetable, visit www.parkandride.portsmouth.gov.uk. For public transport information and cycle routes visit www.myjourneyportsmouth.com