2024 Venue

The venue for Autscape 2024 is The Hayes conference centre, Swanwick, Alfreton, Derbyshire.

There will also be an accompanying and parallel online event, on which the presentations from the main Autscape programme will be streamed. More details when available.

(Please do not contact the venue directly! You will find details explaining how to contact Autscape on our contacts page.)

Arrival/departure times

Arrival (28 August): after 3pm.

Departure (31 August, or 1 September if you've booked the extra day): straight after lunch ends at 2pm.

Rooms

All rooms are en-suite.

We have a variety of rooms with the majority being used as singles. We also have a limited amount of twins, family rooms and accessible rooms.

You will not have to share a room unless you request a shared room.

You will be asked what type of room you would like and also whether you have any requirements or preferences, e.g. a requirement for a bath, a preference for a shower, a requirement for ground floor, a preference for top floor.

A requirement is a need without which you would not be able to attend and will take precedence over preferences.

If you have any unusual requirements please contact the registrar prior to booking as we may not be able to accommodate you.

If you are booking a few rooms for a group of people please let the registrar know if you need the rooms located together.

We will accommodate preferences if we are able to.

Accessibility

This is a large venue and the bedrooms are mainly in an accommodation block similar to a Premier Inn/Travelodge attached to the main house.

It is fully accessible with lifts and ramps to all main areas. Only a small number of bedrooms are accessible by stairs only.

We also have a limited amount of fully accessible bedrooms with wet rooms. If you need one of these rooms then please make sure you select this room option when booking.

However, if you are able to walk but have limited mobility you may prefer to be in one of the rooms closest to the communal areas. Unfortunately these areas will have a higher footfall and will not be in a quiet area. They may also not have have a shower cubicle or a bath that you require. Therefore you may need to decide which is most important to you or discuss your requirements with the registrar prior to booking.

Registered assistance dogs are also permitted but we may limit these in accordance with our Accessibility policy. Please let the registrar know if you intend to bring an assistance dog so we can make sure you have a room with enough space for your dog and easy access to a dog walking area.

Diet/food/menus

You will be asked to choose a diet from the following:

• No preference
• Vegetarian
• Vegan
• Pescatarian
• Gluten free
• Dairy free

Please tick all boxes that apply on the booking form.

Please also let us know if you have a severe allergy to any food that would cause a severe reaction that the venue need to know about. Also let us know if you have an Epi pen.

We have yet to finalise the menu and you may want to wait until we publish it before you decide to come.

Please note there is no self catering option and takeaways are not allowed on the site. Only dry food is allowed in bedrooms, e.g. crisps, biscuits, protein bars.

We can tell you that the menu will be varied and a lot of the food will be self service. The food is all home cooked and includes a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. Where possible food will be separated so you can choose the parts you like.

We understand that food can be a big issue for many of our people and approx half of our participants have some dietary issues. However, the venue cannot provide individual meals so we do our best to provide a menu and style of serving whereby almost everybody can eat something at every mealtime. If your diet is so restricted that you do not think you will be able to eat then please contact us before booking.

Crèche

A Crèche is available, run by registered child care providers Box of Frogs, who have been our childcare providers for many years and are familiar with Autscape and our children. The crèche is open during the day from after breakfast to evening dinner. However, if your child normally needs 1 to 1 support we ask that you provide this if your child will be accessing the crèche. Children are free to come and go from the crèche but are the responsibility of parents/carers if they are not attending the crèche.

Transport

We will be offering a limited number of places on mini bus transport to and from Alfreton station. There is no charge for this service but we would appreciate a donation to help cover the cost.

Selling tables

We have a small number of tables for use by people who want to sell or show things. These should be booked when you register. A table costs £10.

Further information

Please do not contact the venue directly! You will find details explaining how to contact Autscape on our contacts page.