AMIDA TRUST Diploma Courses Home TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION AT THE BUDDHIST HOUSE GETTING TO THE BUDDHIST HOUSE By Air: Narborough is within easy reach of Birmingham, East Midlands, Stanstead and and Luton airports. Flightlink buses connect Leicester directly to Stanstead, Heathrow and Gatwick (though Gatwick is south of London so is least convenient.) By Rail: Narborough station is literally just round the corner from us. It is on the line between Leicester and Birmingham. From the station, walk up the hill to a mini roundabout (two minutes) and turn left and you will find the house a further two minutes walk on left, after the Narborough arms & the Nat West bank. Details of trains can be found at www.thetrainline.com By Coach: The nearest National Express buses come to Leicester (St Margaret's Street Bus Station). From there you can either walk to Haymarket Bus station (about five minutes, ask at the information desk for directions) and catch a bus to Narborough, or else you can get a taxi which will cost around £12-£14. Details of buses including Flightlink can be found at www.gobycoach.com By Car: Come to the junction of the M69 and M1 motorways. At this junction leave motorway and follow Leicester signs at the roundabout under the motorway (The M69 goes in the opposite direction). As soon as you leave this roundabout, get into the right hand lane. Do not take the left slip road signed to Leicester. You will come to a large roundabout. Here you will see Narborough signs. These will direct you to the right. (If you take a wrong turn at the motorway junction you may find yourself at a different roundabout, but do not worry. Narborough is signed on all the roundabouts in the vicinity. Follow Narborough signs at the first roundabout you come to) Keep following Narborough signs, straight on crossing Foxhunters roundabout till you cross under the motorway bridge (about a mile from M1/M69 junction). Here you reach a left turn, which is signed to Narborough & Littlethorpe. Take this and come into the centre of the village. The house is in the middle of the village, just after the Narborough arms & the Nat West Bank. There are two mini roundabout in the village centre. Go straight on at each of these and the house is just after the second one on the left. You can probably park in the entrance. The house is easy to spot as it has the biggest chimneys in the village! You can find us on google maps STAYING AT THE BUDDHIST HOUSE If you are attending a course or other training event, you are welcome to stay in The Buddhist House. At the Buddhist House we also welcome visitors who would like to come and stay to practice Buddhism with us and learn more about our way of life. Individual visits and retreats are possible at most times when there is not another event taking place. If there is a course on, it may still be possible to stay if there is sufficient space. We offer different sorts of accommodation in the house. Single rooms with made up beds(not always available on busy courses) Twin guest rooms with a comfortable made up bed in a twin bedded room. At quieter times you may well have the room to yourself, during courses you will share with someone of the same gender. Dormitory or basic accommodation. If you would like basic accommodation you need to bring a sleeping bag. You will be given space in a shared room, with a bed or mattress on the floor. Pillows are provided with basic accommodation. If you are coming to The Buddhist House for a course or other event, please confirm which nights you wish to stay and what accommodation you want. Payment for accommodation is on a donations basis, but most people prefer us to suggest suitable rates. We therefore suggest that if you bring a sleeping bag you contribute Costs are: Basic £15; Twin rooms £25; Single rooms £35. All costs are based on full board accommodation. If you have extra meals we suggest £5 per meal (ie for a one night weekend add £4 to your overnight charge for the second lunch). Students and those who are attending courses for which they are paying are offered a 10% discount. The diet in the house is vegetarian. If you have special dietary needs please let us know in advance, particularly if you have alergies. We have vegan members of the community, so there is usually a vegan option. You are welcome to stay extra days before or after a course or event if you wish. Check that this arrangement is possible. As a community we are dependent on the contributions of visitors to finance the running of the house. To book contact courses@amidatrust.com The Buddhist House community generally consists of around twelve to fifteen long term residents. This community is supported through the courses we run and donations for household expenses. We have a house schedule of meditation, work periods and seminars that visitors are welcome to join. If you are attending for a course, you are most welcome to join in most other house events including Buddhist practice, but there is no obligation to do so. During course times, there is generally daily practice in the house. You can check the house notice board for details of the daily schedule. GETTING INVOLVED If you stay at the Buddhist House there are always opportunities to get involved, whether gardening or washing up, talking about your specialism in a seminar or helping with a mailing. The Amida community is an international network, and we appreciate the very different contributions which our various visitors bring. During your stay you will probably meet people from all walks of life and different geographical origins. Do take time to get to know us and stay in touch when you leave through our ning site at http://amidatrust.ning.com