Important information about Visiting the Exhibition
Icons for Hope and Faith – British Association of Iconographers (BAI)
Please read the following important information carefully to plan your visit to the Abbey.
Date and opening time of Exhibition (to the public)
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18th September (Thursday) 9:30am – 4:30pm
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19th September (Friday) 9:30am – 4:30pm
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20th September (Saturday) 9:30am – 1:30pm (exhibition closes early)
How to get to the Abbey
Westminster Abbey, 20 Dean’s Yard, London, SW1P 3PA.
Click Plan Your Visit for more information.
There is NO parking for visiting the Abbey. For registered disabled visitors, click here to pre-plan your visit.
Underground
Westminster station – Jubilee, District & Circle Lines (0.3 miles) – 4 min walk
St. James’s Park – District and Circle Lines (0.4 miles) – 6 min walk
National Rail
London Victoria – (0.8 miles) – 12 min walk
London Waterloo – (0.9 miles) – 14 min walk
Find your best journey via the Transport for London website
Find your way to the exhibition.
A clear map of the Abbey layout is shown below. Please print to help your bearings inside the very large Abbey. As you arrive in front of the Abbey, please use the Cloister Entrance (blue arrow). If come to the regular services before visiting the Exhibition, please use the Great West Door (green arrow).
Different Methods to visit by family, friends and communities. On the Exhibition pages on the Abbey’s website, you may have noticed a red button saying Buy Tickets to the Abbey – this refers to the normal tickets to the entire Abbey that include our Exhibition. Thanks to the special arrangement with the Abbey, we now have different methods to see the Exhibition.
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Full access to the whole Abbey. Visitors can buy normal admission tickets. There are other available offers on the website – Please read Prices & entry times Westminster Abbey carefully to find one that may apply to you. Note the train travel 2for1 offer for individuals and the Church pass: the latter allows churches to apply for a pass which can be used by groups up to 6 times within a year. Clergy are also allowed free entry. (Associates members refers to the Abbey’s own Associates, not BAI members).
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Exhibition only (blue zone only) BAI members, family and friends of exhibitors are allowed one free visit to the exhibition including the demo/mini talks at Chapter House. This will not include other parts of the Abbey. Please respect this privilege by staying within the allowed areas only. When arriving, use the Cloister Entrance (see map), let security know you are visiting the exhibition, and you will receive a coloured wristband that allows entry to the cloisters, which lead to the Undercroft and Chapterhouse for the exhibition. (Entry may close early when too busy to allow time for bag checking)
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Thursday and Friday only – visitors can couple their visit to the exhibition with a service in the Abbey that is free to the public. They can attend either the Holy Communion Service at 12:30pm in the Nave or 5pm Evensong at the Quire. They will use the Great West Door for entry to the services. The Abbey Marshall will let them through to the exhibition before or after the service. Please check opening hours.
Chapter House demo and drop-in talks. To serve as an introduction to the exhibition in the Undercroft, you are welcome to visit the Chapter House – where several posters of prayers and interesting iconography facts, together with some icons are set up. Iconographer Hanna Ward will be writing (painting) her icon throughout the day while Iconographer Ka-yee Chan and Sr Esther, (President of the BAI) will give out short drop-in talks at 11am, 1pm and 3pm on Thursday and Friday; 11am and 1pm on Saturday.
Please note: even if each exhibitor only brings 5 friends, it will be over 300 people!! The capacity of the Undercroft is only 80. Be prepared that there will be long queues during busy time, especially Saturday. As much as this is a rare opportunity, we kindly ask people to be very considerate about bringing in family and friends.
Download Visiting Exhibition Information (PDF) : https://www.bai.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/WA-Info-BAI-Exhibition.pdf
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