How to Plan a Getaway to London’s Camden Crawl

Camden, one of London’s most bustling, exciting and downright cool areas, plays host to the Camden Crawl every year; a two day alternative music ‘mini-festival’ spread over numerous venues and featuring a whole host of the hottest new musical talent around.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Call the Camden Crawl hotline or Stargreen ticket office to buy your ticket for the Crawl. You can either buy a two day pass that allows entry to all venues on both the Thursday and the Friday of the festival and usually costs around £45 or a single day pass for either of the two days generally priced about £25.
2. Avoid paying the additional fees that are usually charged if you book your tickets over the phone by picking up advance tickets from the Camden branch of CD shop Fopp.
3. Reach Camden on the Northern Line of the London Underground or by any of the many buses from Central London. The last tubes home from Camden depart at about 12.45am, although night buses run from midnight right through until the next day. The area is very close to King’s Cross for intercity train or bus travel and trains to Luton airport.
4. Arrive in Camden around 12pm. The action kicks off around 1pm each day and goes on until 4am the next morning.
5. Swap your ticket for a wristband that allows entry into all the venues participating in the Camden Crawl at the ticket exchange point. If you have a two day pass, you’ll need to exchange your ticket for a new wristband again on the second day.
6. Consult the free CD given to you when you exchange your ticket for details of what’s going on during the two days. Not only does the CD feature all the artists performing at the Camden Crawl, it also has a detailed list of the line-up and timings of each day and venue.
7. Be prepared to queue for up to an hour to get into the venues where the biggest name acts are playing, especially during the night time schedule. Queues are often stretching down the pavements on the Friday of the Crawl, so make sure you leave enough time to get in to see the band!

Tips & Warnings

• If you’re travelling to the Crawl from outside London, try booking yourself into one of the B&Bs in nearby Hampstead, or head to Camden Lock’s Holiday Inn. It’s pretty cheap and located on the canal very close to the Crawl venues.
• Don’t drink on the street. If a policeman stops you, you could be fined up to £500.
• There is very little public parking in Camden and the surrounding areas.