2009 CONFERENCE AND GATHERING

West Dean College, Chichester, West Sussex
Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September

The West Dean College conference is almost fully booked. Please contact the BLF Administrator to check if places are available.

The 2009 conference will be held at West Dean College, by Chichester, West Sussex from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 September with visits to the nearby Weald and Downland Museum.

The theme will be 'Lime in Practice' with a focus on craft skills. The conference programme shows how the event takes advantage of the facilities at both West Dean College and Weald and Downland Museum. To download a booking form click here.

A feature of this year's gathering will be the Lime Fair in the Gridshell at the Weald & Downland Museum. Click here for an invitation to be a demonstrator or to have a stand.

The conference is also the occasion for the annual Baker Memorial Lecture, which this year will be given by Rory Young, stone conservator, sculptor and plasterer.

We have arranged accommodation at West Dean College at very reasonable rates. More information is on the booking form. For other local accommodation including campsites, check out the local Tourist Information Centre. This has a list of campsites, self-catering, B&Bs, guesthouses, inns and hotels.

West Dean. West Dean College is five miles north of Chichester on the A286 Chichester-Midhurst road. For direction websites or sat-nav, the postcode is PO18 0QZ. The Ordnance Survey Reference is SU 862 126. The closest airports are Southampton (40 miles), London Heathrow (55 miles) and London Gatwick (61 miles).

Trains run half hourly from London Victoria to Chichester (journey time 1hr 30 mins) or there are trains from London Waterloo every fifteen minutes to Haslemere (Journey time 1hr) or every half hour to Petersfield (1hr 10 mins) and Havant (1hr 20 mins). On Sunday 27 September trains to London are via Havant. There are trains every half hour along the Brighton - Chichester - Southampton railway line. See National Rail Enquiries for information about train times and routes from other destinations.

There is a regular bus (Stagecoach No 60) which runs from Chichester to Midhurst, every 30 minutes during the day, every hour in the evening and on Sundays.

There is a clearly signposted car park at West Dean College (cars must not be parked in front of the main building).

Weald & Downland Museum. Weald & Downland Museum is the leading museum of historic buildings in England. Rescued from destruction, the buildings have been carefully dismantled, conserved and rebuilt to their original form and bring to life the homes, farmsteads and rural industries of the last 500 years.