Practical Info

Foot

If arriving in Bangor by bus or train, it’s a short walk to The Walled Garden, The Court House or Ward Park

Bus & Train

One of the loveliest train journeys in Northern Ireland is the Belfast to Bangor coastal route. The journey can take up to 40 minutes from Great Victoria Street Station and as little as 23 minutes from Belfast Lanyon Place, depending on the number of stops.

The majority of our events finish in time to get the last train back to Belfast. When this is an option, it will be indicated by ‘train friendly’ in the event description.

Buses and trains run regularly to and from Bangor Bus and Rail Station to Belfast.
For timetable and best value fares please check: www.translink.co.uk

Car

The Walled Garden is well sign-posted and has ample free car parking at the Aurora Leisure Centre.

For city centre events including those at The Court House or Ward Park, there is free parking in Quay Street, Queen Parade and Castle Street car parks. There is also very affordable parking in The Flagship Centre – £0.60 per hour and capped at £2 throughout the summer.

For our Picnic In The Park events, we kindly ask you not to park on the smaller streets surrounding Ward Park as it disrupts local residents trying to park at their homes.

Taxi

Bangor taxi firms:
Bangor Cabs – Tel 028 9145 6456
DC Cabs – Tel 028 9145 9666
Kare Kabs – 028 9145 6777

Belfast taxi firms:
FonaCAB – Tel 028 9033 3333
Value Cabs – Tel 028 9080 9080

Plane

George Best Belfast City Airport on the Belfast-Bangor A2 is just a 20 minute drive from the centre of Bangor. The airport is also accessible by train, with just a short walk from Sydenham Station to the terminal.
For details of routes and airlines, go to:
www.belfastcityairport.com Tel: 028 9093 9093
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Belfast International Airport is a 40 minute drive from Bangor. There is no direct bus or rail service from the town, however the Translink Airbus connects with bus services at Laganside Bus centre, and with rail services at Great Victoria Street and Belfast Lanyon Place stations.
For details of routes and airlines, go to:
www.belfastairport.com Tel: 028 9448 4848

Boat

A choice of car ferry services operate from Scotland, England and the Isle of Mann to Belfast and Larne, with crossings from 90 minutes to eight hours. (We don’t recommend swimming…)

For routes and timetables go to:
P&O Ferries: www.poferries.com Tel: 0871 664 6464
Stena Line: www.stenaline.com Tel: 028 9074 7747

Or why not sail your own boat into Bangor and berth at the marina? For details and rates, go to:
www.quaymarinas.com/our-marinas/bangor-marina Tel: 028 9145 3297

As an independent Festival, we pride ourselves on giving care and attention to all our customers. We’re also committed to providing a Festival that’s accessible to all.

If you are a wheelchair user, or  require special assistance, please let us know when booking your ticket, or at any time before your arrival. This will help us make your experience much more enjoyable. We operate a Buddy scheme for customers who need someone to accompany them, providing one complimentary carer ticket – please let us know at the time of booking.

You can get in touch with us here.

Our small team depends on volunteers to help us deliver Open House Festival events, by assisting with ticketing, seating, event set-up, litter picking, and many other vital duties. They help to create a happy, welcoming environment and carry out their responsibilities with pride and huge smiles on their faces.

If you have queries about volunteering please contact our Co-ordinator janet@openhousefestival.com

Tickets can be purchased directly through this website. Please don’t print your tickets – they have a QR code in the top corner which we scan upon entry. It’s much quicker for us to scan them from a phone – and much better for the environment.

Events at the Walled Garden are all unreserved seating. Check the event description for all other events.

We only offer refunds or exchange tickets in the case of a cancelled event or exceptional circumstances.

We recently partnered with Twickets to provide an easy and secure way to re-sell or buy second-hand tickets. If you can’t attend an event, sign up to our Twickets page and add your tickets there. If anyone is looking to go, they’ll be notified when you add your tickets.

Similarly, if you want to attend an event that is sold out, head to the event page and click the Twickets button. You should be able to see other people selling their tickets. If no one is selling a ticket yet you can set up an alert to be notified as soon as some become available.

You are welcome to bring your own refreshments into the Walled Garden or Ward Park – but please use the litter bins provided or bring your rubbish home with you, and be respectful of the beautiful surroundings and other audience members.

The Court House has a licensed bar and food is not permitted inside the venue.

As always, we highly recommend taking advantage of the fantastic restaurants and bars available in Bangor before and/or after events.

The audience and stage area of the Walled Garden will be covered with a stretch tent canopy, so rain should not affect the events. However, as you will still be outdoors it may get chilly, so please dress accordingly.

Ward Park is an open air space and weather dependant. However, events will only be cancelled if the weather becomes unsafe. Hopefully we’ll have a lot more Sundays where the need for sunscreen is greater than the need for umbrellas!

If you leave something behind at an event, please email us at boxoffice@openhousefestival.com and we’ll do our best to help.

Some of the events do have age restrictions and these are clearly listed at the point of sale. Please note, it is inadvisable to bring very young children and babies to any event.

The Court House is a licensed venue and under 18s are not permitted after 6pm.

There are no age restrictions for our Music in the Park events.

Unfortunately, only assistance dogs can attend events in the Walled Garden and The Court House. However you are more than welcome to bring a dog to our Music in the Park events as long as they are on a lead.