Road maps:

Multimap -- Smethwick : Foundry Lane, 1:10,000.

Street map of Smethwick, highlighting rail & metro stations (96kb).

We are on the Birmingham colour A-Z map-book -- page 99, 2H. We are at the northern end of Foundry Lane, near the junction with Rabone Lane.

 International airport:

Fly to Birmingham International Airport direct from Europe or the USA. A direct train service runs the eight miles from the airport to Smethwick Rolfe Street station. Taxis & car hire are available at the airport.

 Trains:

1. Express trains don't stop in the Smethwick area. If approaching from the south by express train then you need to get off at Birmingham New Street. If approaching from the north then get off at Wolverhampton. Then continue your journey on a local train to Smethwick Rolfe Street, or on a metro tram to Handsworth Booth St. station.

2. From Birmingham or Wolverhampton: Central Trains local train to Smethwick Rolfe Street (every half hour), get off and then walk or cycle (less than a mile) to the site. Central Trains carry bicycles for free.

3. From Hereford/Worcester or Stratford-upon-Avon: Central Trains to Smethwick Galton Bridge interchange. Then either a) cycle down the canal to the site, b) get a local train to Smethwick Rolfe Street & walk, or c) get a local taxi to the site.

4. Chiltern Railways: offer cheap train fares from London to Smethwick Galton Bridge, via a service which uses a different line from normal express trains.

Information: Check times / buy tickets / check the departure boards at Birmingham & Wolverhampton.

Taxi's from stations: (awaiting recommendations)

Car-hire: Car-hire is available at or near most mainline stations.

 Metro (tram):

1. The nearest Metro station is a short walk away from the site, at Handsworth Booth Street.

 Bus & coach:

1. Check the times & services of the national long-distance coach operators. The nearest you will be able to get by coach is probably Wolverhampton (the bus station) or Birmingham (Digbeth coach station).

2. A local bus which serves the area is Pete's 616: Black Patch to Perry Barr (for UCE campus & buses to Walsall area).

3. The site is also within walking-distance of the famous "No.11 Outer Circle" bus route around Birmingham - get off at Winson Green Prison, walk up Foundry Road into Foundry Lane.

See also: Travel West Midlands for timetables and service maps.

 Car:

Come off the M6 motorway at Junction 1. Take Kenrick Way off that Junction, then Telford Way, then Tollhouse Way. Come off the dual carriageway along Rolfe Street and then Rabone Lane. Turn into Foundry Lane for the X-ray Factory site. (Get a second opinion on directions from the AA Route Planner).

You might want to have a print-out in your car of the Ordinance Survey street-map of Soho, Smethwick, and also to tune-in your car radio to BBC local radio for the latest traffic updates.

Check the AA traffic news before you set out.

Parking at & around the X-ray Factory site is very limited. Also make sure you have security measures set, and conceal any valuables from sight.

 Cycling:

1. The SUSTRANS National Cycle Network route from Birmingham to Wolverhampton runs off-road, along the pleasant canalside cycle-path (SEE CANAL MAP BELOW). It is well signed and surfaced, and flat apart from some bridges. The route is part of the major long-distance National Cycle Network 'Route 5' which runs from the Cotswolds - via Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Birmingham, and Stafford - to Stoke-on-Trent in North Staffordshire.

The cafe at the X-Ray Factory has a half-dozen cycle-locking bars, located just outside the door.

 Boat:

1. By canal narrowboat along the Birmingham Mainline canal. Boat hire from various yards and marinas, including South Staffordshire Narrowboat Co.

Map of the canal & the canal-side cycle-path: use the 'Smethwick: Rabone Lane' on/off-point, one minute's walk from the X-ray site.

The Rabone Lane on/off-point is a modern road bridge which has a prominent mobile phone mast visible from the towpath.