UK PonyCon dates and venue announced!

And the announcement has been made a couple of months earlier than last year, too! That's probably got a lot to do with the fact that, as the official announcement states, UK PonyCon 2019 will be held at the...

Nottingham Conference Centre

on 12-13 October 2019

That's right: the exact same venue as last year! This isn't the first time UKPC has done this, as both the 2014 and 2015 iterations were held at the same hotel in Leicester, but given the watery theme this year ("Ocean Adventure") it has come as a bit of a surprise. To me and those I've discussed this with over the last few weeks, anyway. Ticket details have not yet been released, so don't go rushing off to buy one – as of yet, you can't! I don't know when they'll go on sale, I'm afraid.

How do I feel about the choice of venue? From a personal point of view, really quite pleased. Nottingham is straightforward for me to get to by train, and not desperately expensive either. (Around £33 for a walk-up off-peak return.) I also now know the city a little better than I did last year, so I shouldn't waste time finding my bearings. It'll also make it easier for me to write up guides for con-goers, as I can use much of last year's info and my 2018 experience!

The city centre is also quite compact and nicely arranged, in that there are several affordable hotels within walking distance of Nottingham Conference Centre (NCC), which itself is on the edge of the shops'n'restaurants area. A tram line runs from the main railway station and there are stops very near to the venue, plus close by are several of the all-important Wetherspoons pubs for cheap food and chat! There's even a little Tesco Express within range.

As for NCC itself, I thought it was a solid venue last year. There was a reasonable amount of square footage to wander around in, sufficient rooms including a cinema/lecture theatre and just about enough chill-out space – though UWE Bristol (2017's host) was better on that score. The venue staff were also very good, in particular one guy who was on bag-check duty a lot. It's hard to make that part of the day enjoyable, but he came as close as anyone could.

I do have a few small reservations. I'm sure NCC's inadequate café provision from 2018 will be sorted so I'm not too worried there, but I can see why some may be disappointed at returning to Nottingham. 2019 will mark the fourth iteration in six that UKPC has been in the East Midlands, which doesn't fit with the con's distinctive feature of touring the country so that as many people as possible get the chance to attend. Finally, Nottingham city centre late on a Saturday night wasn't somewhere I was wild about.

I can't yet say for certain that I'll be going to UK PonyCon for the sixth successive year, but it's more likely now than if the host city had been somewhere 300 miles away. I will have to wait to see how much it's likely to cost me before starting to firm up my decisions. I do want to go, though. We are very lucky to have such a good convention in this country, and I most certainly want to attend and support it. I hope I'll be able to!