The venue is the Sussex County Croquet Club (in Southwick, 5 miles to the west of Brighton and 55 miles south of London) on the South Coast of England with 10 lawns.
The Qualifying Tournament is being held at the Compton Croquet Club (in the centre of Eastbourne) with five lawns for the Qualifying event. It is 30 miles east of Southwick (60 minutes by car) and about 80 minutes by train plus a 10 minute walk, changing at Brighton.
Sussex County Croquet Club was founded in 1869 by Henry Jones and John Hinde Hale. (These two gentlemen were subsequently involved in forming Wimbledon Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club.) Originally based outside The Royal Pavilion in Brighton, the club moved to its present location in 1901 where its first annual tournament was held in the presence of The Duke of Cambridge.
In 2012 the decision was taken to renovate all its lawns with the work being completed in 2017. Since then the club has hosted a number of major events including the 2019 and 2022 Golf Croquet World Championships.
How to get here
By car
Car parks available for officials, players and visitors will be announced in due course.
SatNav: Don't use the Club postcode as a destination as it takes you to the club back door! Use Kingston Lane, junction with St Julian's Lane or enter BN43 6YW (postcode for Shoreham College opposite the club). Our entrance is just opposite the college.
Parking:
Sussex County Croquet Club is reached from Kingston Lane, Southwick, West Sussex, shown on the map below:
Parking onsite is very limited, and so is restricted to officials only, however it is expected that parking at Shoreham College opposite will be available.
By bus
From Worthing, Shoreham-by Sea or Brighton and Hove, use Coastliner Service 700 operated by Stagecoach, approximately every 10 minutes (Mon - Sat), every 20 mins (Sunday). Timetable here.
From Hollingbury, North Southwick or Holmebush areas service 46 may be useful. Service runs approximately every 20 mins (Mon - Sat) or 30 mins (Sunday) Timetable here.
By train
There are approximately 2 services each hour (Mon - Sat) on the Coastway route between Brighton and Hove to the east, and Worthing to the west, 2 services per hour on Sunday. Live train information here.
Train timetables can be seen here: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk. The Trainline website http://www.trainline.com has the timetables too, but also allows you to book tickets and has an app also.
A walking route from the Southwick railway station to the Club is marked on the map above and takes less than 10 minutes.
Facilities
Internet: WiFi access is available in and adjacent to the clubhouse. Connection details are published in the clubhouse.
Catering: weather permitting, we'll be BBQing every lunchtime and also offering light lunches in the clubhouse. Tea /coffee will be available throughout the day. We’ll also be offering afternoon tea and cake/scones with jam and cream/ice creams from the marquee by lawn 1, at various prices. Please let us know of any food allergies which we will do our best to accommodate. There will always be something vegetarian available.
The club has a fully licensed bar which will be serving alcoholic and soft drinks.
If you're interested in the current weather at these locations see the BBC Weather site.
Google Maps provides useful information about travel including public transport in the UK - other mapping services are available.
Travel to the Brighton area
By Air: The nearest International Airport with excellent links to the Brighton area is London Gatwick. There are direct rail links to Brighton & Southwick with a very regular service. Trains to Brighton can take less than 30 minutes and trains to Southwick 40 minutes.
London Heathrow is between 1.5 & 2 hours drive to Brighton. Alternatively one can go via London by train or by catching a regular coach service from Heathrow to Gatwick and then by train to Brighton.
Luton Airport is a possibility for European visitors with direct train times of just over 2 hours to Brighton. Stansted could be used but will require 2 changes by train and a journey time of 2.5 hours to Brighton.
There are good bus/coach links from Heathrow and Gatwick to Brighton as well as between the airports.
Car Hire:
This is a recommended option for overseas visitors. It is the easiest way to get from Heathrow and Stansted Airports to the Brighton area. Some major rental companies are:
Accommodation - Staying in Sussex
Please see here.
