All concerts for the first half of the season take place in the LIBRARY THEATRE which is on the third floor of Luton Central Library in St George's Square, Luton, LU1 2NG, right in the heart of Luton, between the Mall shopping centre and the Galaxy Centre.  Please note that all the concerts in the second half will take place in the Hat Factory Arts Centre, because the Library is being refurbished and so the theatre is closed.  However, the same car park serves both venues, so follow the directions below, and follow the note at the bottom to find the Hat Factory from the Library car park.

STOP PRESS!!

The Library Car Park has been shut on the advice of a surveyor.  For the time being, therefore, we feel that the Central car park is the best alternative: like the Library car park, it is free (after 6:00), it is patrolled, and it is easy to get to the theatre from it.

To find the theatre, use the lifts at the end of the car park furthest from the entrance.  Go to the Mall level; turn left out of the lift, and immediately right.  Proceed to the end of the Mall, and you will emerge on a balcony overlooking St George’s Square.  Turn left, go down the ramp, and then diagonally across the square, and you will be outside the library and theatre.

CLICK HERE FOR A MAP OF LUTON, AND DETAILS OF CAR PARK ACCESS

HOW TO FIND THE LIBRARY THEATRE, LUTON

Firstly, by car:

For those with Satellite Navigation, the Library's postcode is LU1 2NG.  For those without, here are directions which are tried and tested, but may not agree with those offered by SatNav, so we suggest you don't try to mix and match!

The easiest way to get to the theatre from the motorway is to start from junction 10.  This may seem illogical if you come from the north, since junction 11 is signposted for Luton, but if you don't know your way through West Luton, our way is the easiest and only a couple of minutes longer. 

So . . .

From the M1:

Leave the M1 at Junction 10 for the A1081 (signposted for LUTON/LUTON AIRPORT).  After about 500 yards you come to a roundabout where you take the first exit into London Road (ignoring the temptation of the second exit which says it takes you into Luton).

Proceed down London Road, through some traffic lights, down a steep hill, and through a second set of lights.  Shortly after these, you come to a major roundabout: here, you turn right, i.e., take the third exit signed HITCHIN A505.  This takes you down a viaduct to the next roundabout, where you take the first exit for TOWN CENTRE (this is St. Mary’s Road).

Go straight through a set of traffic lights with the church on your left (where St. Mary’s Road becomes Church Street) and then take the second left, which is off a mini-roundabout and is called Guildford Street.  Then go straight down Guildford Street for about 150 yards: before the traffic lights at Bute Street turn left down a one-way street called Cheapside.  Keep to the left-hand lane, and you will be led to the Central Car Park.

The entrance to the car park is reached via a corkscrew-style ramp, after which you will reach the entrance barrier.  You will need to take a plastic token (a ChipCoin) from the machine at the entrance barrier to get in, which you have to run through a payment machine when you get back to the car park, so when you feed it into the barrier at the exit it will raise the barrier, enabling you to leave.  Note, however, that if you arrive after 6:00, the service is free, although you still have to put the token through the machine to get out.  The car park is patrolled by security staff throughout the day and evening. 

To find the theatre, use the lifts at the end of the car park furthest from the entrance.  Go to the Mall level; turn left out of the lift, and immediately right.  Proceed to the end of the Mall, and you will emerge on a balcony overlooking St George’s Square.  Turn left, go down the ramp, and then diagonally across the square, and you will be outside the library and theatre

The Theatre is on the third floor of the Library building. There is a member of library staff on duty in the lobby.  There are stairs on the right of the lobby which will take you up to the third floor where the theatre is, or there are (newly-refurbished!) lifts facing the stairs.

From the East (Hitchin):

You will approach Luton on the A505 from Hitchin. You will come through two miles of tasteful suburbs before you reach the town centre. You will be almost there when you pass under two railway bridges, one after the other.  Immediately after the second bridge, turn right at a mini-roundabout into Guildford Street. Then go straight down Guildford Street for about 150 yards; before the traffic lights at Bute Street turn left down a one-way street called Cheapside.  Keep to the left-hand lane, and you will be led to the Central Car Park.

The entrance to the car park is reached via a corkscrew-style ramp, after which you will reach the entrance barrier.  You will need to take a plastic token (a ChipCoin) from the machine at the entrance barrier to get in, which you have to run through a payment machine when you get back to the car park, so when you feed it into the barrier at the exit it will raise the barrier, enabling you to leave.  Note, however, that if you arrive after 6:00, the service is free, although you still have to put the token through the machine to get out.  The car park is patrolled by security staff throughout the day and evening. 

To find the theatre, use the lifts at the end of the car park furthest from the entrance.  Go to the Mall level; turn left out of the lift, and immediately right.  Proceed to the end of the Mall, and you will emerge on a balcony overlooking St George’s Square.  Turn left, go down the ramp, and then diagonally across the square, and you will be outside the library and theatre.

The Theatre is on the third floor of the Library building. There is a member of library staff on duty in the lobby.  There are stairs on the right of the lobby which will take you up to the third floor where the theatre is, or there are (newly-refurbished!) lifts facing the stairs.

From the West (Aylesbury/Aston Clinton):

From this direction you will come in on the B489, which will bring you into Dunstable Town Centre, where you cross over the A5 and go towards Luton.  After leaving Dunstable there is no countryside before Luton starts: after about a mile and a half, you will come to a large roundabout with Tesco's on your right, where Luton Airport will be posted as a right turn.  Follow the Airport route, which will take you along Hatters Way, straight across a roundabout with B & Q on your right, to a double roundabout.  Turn right at both of these, and you will be in Dunstable Road, which turns firstly into Stuart Street and then into Chapel Viaduct.  At the bottom of the viaduct there is a roundabout, where you take the first exit for TOWN CENTRE (this is St Mary's Road).

Proceed through traffic lights by the church on your left (where St Mary's Road becomes Church Street) and then take the second left, which is off a mini-roundabout and is called Guildford Street.  Then go straight down Guildford Street for about 150 yards: before the traffic lights at Bute Street turn left down a one-way street called Cheapside.  Keep to the left-hand lane, and you will be led to the Central Car Park.

The entrance to the car park is reached via a corkscrew-style ramp, after which you will reach the entrance barrier.  You will need to take a plastic token (a ChipCoin) from the machine at the entrance barrier to get in, which you have to run through a payment machine when you get back to the car park, so when you feed it into the barrier at the exit it will raise the barrier, enabling you to leave.  Note, however, that if you arrive after 6:00, the service is free, although you still have to put the token through the machine to get out.  The car park is patrolled by security staff throughout the day and evening. 

To find the theatre, use the lifts at the end of the car park furthest from the entrance.  Go to the Mall level; turn left out of the lift, and immediately right.  Proceed to the end of the Mall, and you will emerge on a balcony overlooking St George’s Square.  Turn left, go down the ramp, and then diagonally across the square, and you will be outside the library and theatre.

The Theatre is on the third floor of the Library building. There is a member of library staff on duty in the lobby.  There are stairs on the right of the lobby which will take you up to the third floor where the theatre is, or there are (newly-refurbished!) lifts facing the stairs.

From the North (Bedford):

If you come into Luton on the A6 (New Bedford Road), you will go past Wardown Park on your left as you approach the Town Centre.  Go straight through the next set of lights, and in a quarter of a mile or so, you will see a set of lights just in front of a railway bridge.  Here you turn left into a one-way street (Hucklesbury Way) which runs parallel with the railway.  Yo will want to be in the right-hand lane by the time you get to the next set of traffic lights, where you turn right under the railway.  There is another set of traffic lights immediately after the bridge at which you go straight on under another bridge; then there is another set of traffic lights.  Go straight on here, and through another set of traffic lights.  About 75 yards later, there is a right turn called Cheapside: take this, and keep to the left-hand lane (it is a one-way street), and you will be led to the Central Car Park.

The entrance to the car park is reached via a corkscrew-style ramp, after which you will reach the entrance barrier.  You will need to take a plastic token (a ChipCoin) from the machine at the entrance barrier to get in, which you have to run through a payment machine when you get back to the car park, so when you feed it into the barrier at the exit it will raise the barrier, enabling you to leave.  Note, however, that if you arrive after 6:00, the service is free, although you still have to put the token through the machine to get out.  The car park is patrolled by security staff throughout the day and evening. 

To find the theatre, use the lifts at the end of the car park furthest from the entrance.  Go to the Mall level; turn left out of the lift, and immediately right.  Proceed to the end of the Mall, and you will emerge on a balcony overlooking St George’s Square.  Turn left, go down the ramp, and then diagonally across the square, and you will be outside the library and theatre.

The Theatre is on the third floor of the Library building. There is a member of library staff on duty in the lobby.  There are stairs on the right of the lobby which will take you up to the third floor where the theatre is, or there are (newly-refurbished!) lifts facing the stairs.

Or, by public transport:

Since the last re-organisation, most local buses finish up in Silver Street, so these directions start from there.  (It might be as well to check with the driver; if your bus ends its' journey at St George's Square, so much the better - that's where the Library is!  Otherwise, the driver will direct you to the Library).  The large majority, however, enter Silver Street from the same end (it is one-way), so whatever local bus you are on the directions are the same: leave the bus and walk the same way the bus was travelling.  You will pass under a walkway and the Thistle Hotel will be on your left.  Silver Street becomes  Library Road; carry on to the end of Library Road (no more than 150 yards), at the traffic lights turn left, and left again at the end of the building.  The Library entrance is now on your left, after the Blood Donor Centre.  Total walking time at a leisurely pace is no more than five minutes, and Ramblers will do it in two!

The Theatre is on the third floor of the Library building: the entrance is on the other side of the building facing St George's Square, which is pedestrianised.  There is a member of library staff on duty in the lobby.  There are stairs on the right of the lobby which will take you up to the third floor, or there are (newly-refurbished!) lifts facing the stairs.

Longer-distance buses use the Station Road.  When you get off the bus, you will see the station across the road, and stairs that lead up to the booking office and a walkway.  Go up the stairs and turn right onto the walkway; this will take you to Bute Street, where you will find the Hat Factory where the season’s second half will take place, but if you are coming before 2009, continue downhill, across Guildford Street to the Mall shopping centre.  Here you turn right, under a walkway which links the Thistle Hotel with the car park on the right.  Turn left into the disabled car park, and the library is now on your right, with the entrance facing on to the square ahead of you.

The Train Station has two levels, and most platforms are served via the upper, so these directions start from there.  After you come out of the ticket barriers, you are on a walkway which slopes gently as it passes through the station.  Proceed downhill, and you will find yourself at the top of Bute Street, with the Hat Factory Arts Centre on your right (where the second half of the season takes place).  If you are coming in 2008, however, go down Bute Street to the traffic lights where it crosses Guildford Street: turn right into Guildford Street and left at the next lights.  You are now within sight of the Library, which is on the next left-hand corner.  The entrance is reached by going straight on (leaving the building on your left) and turning left at the first opportunity: the Library entrance is on your left, after the Blood Donor Centre.  Total walking time at a leisurely pace is no more than six minutes, and Ramblers will do it in three!

For the second half of the season, the concerts will take place at the Hat Factory,  Bute Street, LU1 2EY.  The easiest way to find your way there from the Central car park is to leave the car park via the lifts furthest from the car park entrance, go to the Ground Floor level, turn right out of the lift and  leave the Mall.  You are now at the bottom of Bute Street; cross the road and walk past Rufios’s Wine Bar, across Guildford Street at the lights, and the Hat Factory is on your left shortly afterwards.