Getting to The Festival of Quilts

Visitors from any direction can travel to the NEC directly using the following motorways – M1, M5, M6, M6 Toll, M40 and M42.
The postcode for your SATNAV is B40 1NT.

The NEC has 16,500 car park spaces available. Once you’ve parked you can either take a free shuttle bus or walk to the halls 7, 8 and 9 using our sign posted footpaths. Please note that the North car parks are likely to be the ones used for The Festival of Quilts, all car parks are signposted.

Please note the NEC have recently increased their parking fees, so we strongly advice you book your space in advance to save and check updated parking prices.

Advance parking prices have increased to £13.95 and on the day parking increasing to £18.95 – book in advance to save £5.

Visit www.thenec.co.uk/visitors/parking-at-the-nec for more information and to book.

Prices are correct as of 2024 and subject to change. Please check with venue directly on 0121 780 4141.
NB. Disabled parking at the NEC is also chargeable by the venue. 

Gold VIP ticket holders will be able to park at North 1b (and overflow to N1). 

Disabled parking spaces will be offered inside Hall 16. There will be plenty of spaces available for blue badge holders.

Please book via the NEC in the normal way using this link and remember that you save £5 by booking in advance.

The NEC a five minute (covered) walk from the adjacent Birmingham International rail station. Avanti West Coast run frequent, direct services from London and the North.

London Northwestern Railway also run services to the NEC from London, the Midlands and the North West. Visit www.londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk  to book train tickets for any national rail journey with no booking fees.

Many services run direct to Birmingham International. If yours doesn’t, you can catch a connecting train at Birmingham New Street. There are regular services, and the journey only takes 10-15 minutes. Buses to the NEC can be caught at Birmingham Moor Street and Solihull stations. For further information call National Rail enquiries on 08457 484950 or visit the National Rail website.

There are often a number of local coach companies who organise a trip to Festival of Quilts each year. Click here to see the list of local coach companies and their pick-up points for the 2024 Festival of Quilts. To book your ticket, contact the coach company listed. Remember that most coach companies include the ticket within the price they charge.

Other coach services are operated by National Express and Megabus, with over 120 daily services from across the UK to Birmingham Airport. From there you can get to the NEC in minutes on the free air-rail link.

Regular local buses depart from Birmingham City Centre. The 900 service runs every 15 mins during the day taking approximately 30 mins. The 97 service operates every 30 mins, 24hrs a day taking approximately 45 mins.

Local bus services also run every 30 mins throughout the day to Solihull (service 966) and Coventry (service 900). For more information please visit the National Express or the Network West Midlands websites.

The NEC is just minutes away from Birmingham Airport (BHX) – which is very handy for international visitors and those on UK internal flights!

From the airport, simply take the free and fast Air-Rail Link to Birmingham International railway station and then it’s just a short walk to our entrance. The Air-Rail Link runs every 2 minutes and takes just 90 seconds to reach the NEC. It leaves the airport from the upper level of Terminal 1, and operates daily between 5:15am and 2am.

We run a free shuttle bus on a loop throughout the show – starting from 8.30am until 8.30pm. For 2024, we have more shuttle busses running each day to reduce waiting times.

Pick up points below:

• Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport
• Birmingham International Train Station
• Moxy Hotel
• Hilton Hotel
• Premier Inn
• Holiday Inn Express
• Crowne Plaza
• Ibis Styles