UK PonyCon revealed today the dates and venue of its 2016 iteration. The convention will be held over the weekend of 22-23 October at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds. Ticket details and prices have not been released yet, but will presumably be at some point in the next few weeks.
This is a slight surprise to me, as given that BUCK is in Manchester and BronyScot is in Edinburgh, I was expecting UK PonyCon to go for somewhere in the southern half of Britain. That said, Leeds was one northern city I did think was a possibility, so it is only a slight surprise.
From a personal point of view, unfortunately this is likely to make it a fairly expensive convention to attend. Train tickets will cost considerably more and Leeds city centre has a reputation (which on a quick search seems justified) as an expensive place for hotel rooms. Commuting in from Wakefield/Bradford is a possibility, though.
It is in fact possible to do a day trip to Leeds — it's about three hours each way, which would give almost a full day at the con — but that would only be realistic for the Saturday, given the absence of Sunday morning trains. I'd very much like to stay for the weekend, of course.
Still, from a general point of view I think Leeds is a solid choice of host city. Very well connected by rail and road, and reasonably accessible from most parts of the UK. It's also a place I haven't been to in many, many years, so it might be quite fun to see how the city has changed since the 1990s!
Well, I'm certainly glad they've been able to make an announcement so early. Unfortunately it does mean that there is quite frankly no way I can manage it this year. Too expensive and, in particular, just too far. But notwithstanding, there's always next year and hopefully you'll be able to get there yourself! :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, as soon as I saw the news I was sad on your behalf for just that reason. *hug* I suppose one small consolation is that UKPC is the most likely of all the British pony cons to keep going in the longer term, so there should be more chances. I'd really expect it to be in the southern half of the UK next year -- though of course that might end up meaning Ipswich or something!
DeleteAs for me... as you may have seen from my posts on Twitter, the money issue is the one that's going to determine it for me. Yes, I'm lucky in that I don't mind longish train journeys, but a full three-night stay as for Leicester might well be beyond me this time round.
*Hugs* Thanks, it's okay though. Chances are I wouldn't have been able to raise the money anyway, unless it had been in Worcester or Brum. Still, it's a shame, but as you say, I don't think UKPC is likely to stop any time soon. So there will always be other chances.
DeleteWell, I hope you're able to manage it somehow. I wish I knew a way to raise that kind of cash!