Show night planner
Pick your venue and date, enter how long your journey takes, and get a leave-by time you can save as a calendar reminder. It is built for the 14 Come Fry With Me shows and works out your timing backwards from the doors.
Plan your journey
How to use the planner
- Choose the venue you have tickets for, then the night.
- Check the doors or start time. It is filled in when the venue has published one; otherwise type the time from your ticket.
- Enter your door-to-door journey time in minutes, including the walk at each end.
- Leave the safety margin at 30 minutes, or change it to suit you.
- Read your leave-by time, and save it to your calendar if you want a reminder 15 minutes before.
How it works
The sum is simple: leave-by time = reference time minus journey time minus margin. The reference time is the doors time (or the start time, if that is what you prefer to aim for). The margin is the cushion for things that always take longer than planned: a delayed train, a queue to get in, the cloakroom, a bag check, finding your seat and a quick stop for a drink.
The planner runs entirely in your browser. The venue list, dates and any published doors times come from this site's own tour data, which we check against the promoters' and venues' pages. At the last check (3 of the 10 venues had published doors times: Newcastle 18:30, Manchester 18:30, London 19:00). Where a venue has not published a time, the tool asks you to enter one rather than guessing.
The calendar file is generated on your device with the date you selected, so nothing leaves your browser. It uses a floating local time, so it appears at the same clock time in whatever time zone your calendar is set to.
Worked examples
A weeknight in Newcastle
You are seeing the show at O2 City Hall on Wednesday 6 October 2027, with doors at 18:30. You live 40 minutes away by train and want a 30-minute margin. Leave by 17:20 (18:30 minus 40 minus 30 minutes), arriving around 18:00.
A Friday night in Manchester
For the O2 Apollo, doors are listed at 18:30. Journeys to Ardwick on a Friday evening are slower, so you allow 60 minutes and a 30-minute margin. Leave by 17:00 to be at the venue around 18:00.
The London finale
Doors at the Eventim Apollo are at 19:00 on both nights. If you are travelling 75 minutes by Underground and want a 20-minute margin, leave by 17:25. Check TfL for planned closures, which are common at weekends.
Tips and common mistakes
- Include the walk to the station and from the destination station to the venue; people often forget it.
- Venues away from the centre (the O2 Apollo in Ardwick, De Montfort Hall in Leicester, the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith) need more time than the map suggests.
- If you are driving, add time to park. See the venue's own guidance on car parks.
- On a Friday or Saturday, add extra time for rush-hour traffic and busy trains.
- Check that you chose the right night for two-night venues: each night is a separate ticket.
- Screenshot your ticket and have it ready offline before you leave home.
- If you need step-free access, arrive early enough to use the access entrance and contact the venue beforehand.
Who this is for
- First-timers who have not been to the venue before and do not know how long entry takes.
- Groups who need everyone to arrive at the same time.
- Long-distance travellers combining trains with a hotel check-in.
- Anyone with access needs who wants extra time at the door.
Related tools and pages
- Trip budget calculator: add up tickets, travel, a hotel and food.
- Closest show finder: find the nearest venue to your town.
- Ticket guide: where to buy and how to avoid resale traps.
- Travel and hotels: nearest stations and where to stay in each city.
- Manchester: an out-of-centre venue where leaving time matters.
- FAQ: doors, length, age guidance and more.
Questions about this tool
What time should I leave for the show?
Work backwards from the doors time: subtract your journey time and a margin of at least 20 to 30 minutes. This planner does the sum and gives you a leave-by time you can save as a calendar reminder.
Do I need to arrive when doors open?
No. Doors open before the show starts, so arriving shortly after doors is normal. Arriving early helps with bag checks, the cloakroom, toilets and finding your seat, especially at larger venues.
What if the venue has not published a doors time?
Enter the time printed on your ticket or in the seller's confirmation email. Where a venue has not published times, the planner leaves the field empty rather than guess.
Is the leave-by time accurate?
It is only as accurate as the journey time you enter. Check live train, bus or road conditions on the day, and add extra margin for engineering works, events and rush hour.
Does the calendar file work with my phone?
The downloaded .ics file opens in Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Outlook and most other calendar apps. It is saved in your own calendar and nothing is uploaded.
What happens if I arrive late to the show?
Late-entry rules are set by each venue and are often strict, so you may be asked to wait for a suitable break. Check the venue's own information page and give yourself a generous margin.
Sources and method notes
- Live Nation UK: doors times for Newcastle and Manchester.
- Eventim Apollo: doors time for London.
- National Rail: live train times and disruption.
- TfL journey planner: for the London show.
Last reviewed 2026-10-06. Spotted a mistake? Tell us. This tool is free and runs entirely in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere.