Before you Arrive

The Principal Investigator or Alternate Contacts need to complete the Session Investigators form in UAS. In order to do this firstly ensure that:

• all those planning to come to Diamond must be registered in UAS
• all investigators have watched the health and safety video and completed the test. 

The Session Investigators form should be submitted as soon as your experimental team is confirmed, and no later than 2 weeks before the start of your session. 

If the Session Investigators form is submitted late, it may not be possible to make the required arrangements in time for your session start. Where no form is submitted by the session start time, the session will be cancelled.

The number of users eligible for travel and subsistence will derive from the ERA grading. 

Once the Session Investigators form is submitted accommodation and arrangements will be booked by the User Office.  Change requests must be made by email to the User Office. Repeated or late changes may not be possible.

The Principal Investigator or Alternate Contacts need to submit the ERA (Experimental Risk Assessment) in UAS.

All samples and equipment that will be brought to Diamond must be specified in the session ERA. If it is necessary to bring your own sample environments this must be discussed with your local contact (whose name can be found on your booking arrangements form) well in advance of your beamtime and declared on the ERA where required. Please note this is not something the user office can advise on.

The ERA, must be submitted no later than 15 working days before the session start date. If this is submitted late, it may not be possible to make the necessary arrangements for your experiment.

The Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) team will review the submitted ERA. Risk levels will be based on safety, complexity and compliance requirements. The ERA will be graded into one of the following categories according to risk:

• Low (Green): the session has no restrictions. 3 users may be eligible for travel and subsistence. This is the default support unless further approval has been granted.
• Medium (Yellow): the session has specific restrictions or requirements (e.g. supervision, monitoring, special controls/conditions, checks, sample count-in/count-out, records, etc.). No more than 4 users may be eligible for travel and subsistence. 
• High (Red): the session has specific restrictions or requirements (e.g. supervision, monitoring, special controls/conditions, checks, sample count-in/count-out, records, etc.). No more than 4 users may be eligible for travel and subsistence. 
• Not Permitted (Black): the session cannot go ahead as currently planned. Please discuss with your local contact as soon as possible to resolve any issues raised.

Lab Access

If you require lab space during beamtime, please select “Yes” under ERA Lab Access section and complete the form for use of Diamond’s peripheral labs.

Lab Services Team operate Monday-Friday between 08.00-16.00.

Please ensure you follow the instructions provided in your Lab Induction. 

Eligibility for funding is detailed in the Financial Support & Expenses Procedure for Diamond Users

Users attending an a experiment who may require support with access to the beamline or other work areas (eg hutches, work stations), should refer to the relevant Instument page for accessibility Information.

If you require support for any additional access needs during your session at Diamond please check whether you need to complete the Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) for the beamline you plan to visit and follow the process as advised. This is found here.

Further information on access is available in the Diamond Diability Access policy.

Using Public Transport:

Diamond expects users to use the most cost effective means of travel.  Please see the Diamond policies on Expense Procedure to indicate who Diamond may reimburse for travel costs, the means of travel that are covered and how to claim.  

If the travel expenses were incurred by your establishment or a third party, it is their responsibility to raise an invoice attaching all associated receipts and send it to expenses@diamond.ac.uk. The invoice must reference the session number and the names of the users. Failure to do this will result in rejection of the invoice.  

Taxi Travel 

Taxis should only be used where public transport is not available.  Reimbursement of claims for use of taxis not approved and booked by the User Office will be rejected.

As buses are dewar friendly, we expect this form of transport to be used first.  Dewars can be shipped in advance of your experiment - please click here for details. 

If you are eligible, Diamond User Office may approve a pre-booked taxi. This will be confirmed in your sesson booking email.  

Bus Travel 

All buses are dewar friendly and we expect this form of transport to be used first.

There are several bus services that come to the Harwell Campus: Current services, timetables and maps are available on the Oxford Bus website at https://www.oxfordbus.co.uk/services/harwell

Rail travel

The nearest train station to Diamond is Didcot Parkway. 

There are a number rail providers that enable users to find the most economical route here:

Trainline 

National Rail 

Air Travel

Diamond is about an hours drive from Heathrow Airport and two hours or so from Gatwick Airport. When booking air travel, users are requested to prioritise public transport to travel to and from the airport. There are a number of bus and rail providers that enable users to find the most economical route here:

• Heathrow 
  A frequent coach service, Reading-Heathrow RailAir, takes passengers to Reading Station to connect with trains to Didcot Parkway Station, which is a 15 minute bus ride from Diamond. The service picks up from all four terminals and the journey time to Reading is approximately 40 minutes, depending on traffic.
• Gatwick
  A direct train service operates between Gatwick Airport and Reading Station to connect with services to Didcot Parkway Station, which is a 15 minute bus ride from Diamond. The entire journey takes just over 2 hours. Please check National Rail  for current operating times. 

Car travel

Car Hire:  

• All hire cars must have prior approval from the User Office.
• Justification must be provided before you make your booking, in order to satisfy that this is the most cost effective means to travel.
• Fuel may be reimbursed upon production of a receipt. Fuel claims without a receipt will be rejected. 

Own car:

• Where it is cost effective for you to use your car to travel to your session, a mileage allowance may be claimed, subject to eligibility.
• When claiming for mileage, please ensure evidence is provided to reflect cost effectiveness.
• Please be aware that where there is more than one person driving from the same establishment, it is expected that they will car share.
• Diamond will pay mileage from your establishment, or your home address, whichever is nearer, subject to eligibility.
• Fuel will not be reimbursed.
• A parking permit can be obtained from the main gate reception on arrival. 

EV charging

• There are new charging stations around the ring next to the Diamond Extension Building (DEB).
• The chargers are available for use with direct bank card payments.

• Please move your car to another space when charging is complete so that others can use the charger.

• Please note that STFC chargers on site are restricted to STFC car fleet and are not available to Diamond users or staff. 

The User Office endeavours to obtain rooms at Ridgeway House first, before allocating off site. 

Please see the Financial Support & Expenses Procedure to determine where Diamond may fund accommodation.

Cancellations / changes:

If you no longer require your room, please inform the User Office and your hotel as soon as practicably possible -for Ridgeway House and Premier Inn no later than 12 noon the day before you are due to arrive, for The Bear in Wantage no later than 12 noon two days before you arrive. You / your institute may be charged if you fail to do so.

As the time of the experiment approaches, we will do our best to ensure full occupancy at Ridgeway House by bringing users back to site should rooms become available and no further costs be incurred. 

Booking Accommodation 

Ridgeway House on the Harwell campus

Ridgeway House accommodation is limited, but the User Office aims to provide accommodation at Ridgeway House where possible.

Alternative Accommodation 

The Bear Hotel is located in Wantage approximately 20 minutes away. 

Address: The Bear Hotel, Market Place, Wantage, Oxfordshire, OX12 8AB.

The Premier Inn is located just off the Milton Interchange. 

Address: Milton Interchange, Milton, Nr Didcot, OX14 4TX

Milton Hill House - is located approximately 10 minutes away in Steventon.

Address: Milton Hill House, Steventon, Abingdon, Oxford, OX13 6AF.

Diamond always includes breakfast when we book your accommodation.

Users on sessions that have been awarded funded support will find that their access card has been loaded with £18 per day of instrument time. 

If you arrive the night before your experiment you can spend up to £9 on an evening meal on campus. This should be claimed after your experimental session ends. The cost of food taken on the inbound / outbound journey, or food taken off-site (eg. local pub / takeaway), will not be reimbursed by Diamond. 

All users must use the catering provision on campus:

• R22 Restaurant: The main dining room on the STFC site
• R1 Cafe: This is a cafe in the R1 building near the library
• Costa Coffee Cafe: This is a cafe serving tea, Costa coffee and refreshments located in the Satellite Applications Catapult, Electron building, Fermi Avenue
• Vending machines: These are located in the Diamond kitchens in Zone 3, Zone 7 and Zone 11

If you have special dietary needs, please approach the restaurant directly to make a request. You can do this by emailing cateringral@stfc.ac.uk.

Subsistence off Site 

If you are not staying at Ridgeway House and have been allocated a hotel off site, you can spend up to £15 for a meal off-site, which will be reimbursed providing there are supporting receipts. No alcohol will be reimbursed.

Diamond will cover the cost of shipping up to two dewars of your samples (per 8 hour shift) to beamlines and eBIC microscopes if your establishment is in the UK or EU. We shall not be liable in any way for any loss, damage or delay arising out of the shipping of samples and it shall be your responsibility to ensure you have adequate insurance to cover these (or any other) eventualities.

Due to customs clearance requirement shipments can be held up for several days, you are advised to prepare well in advance liaising with your PBS, or please liaise with your local contact regarding any sample shipping queries.

Often it is simpler, safer and more cost effective to ship samples to Diamond, rather than carry them with you. All samples must be transported following the Carriage of Dangerous Goods Act 2004. 

• If you are sending Dewars to MX please see here.
• If you are sending Dewars to eBIC please see here.
• For Mail-in experiments at I22 see here
• For Rapid Access & Mail-in on DL-SAXS see here

UK and EU users of ISPyB (link) should use the shipping tool within ISPyB (link) to arrange the shipment of samples to Diamond, which will be charged directly to the Diamond DHL account. Please see here for further details. 

For non-iSpyB shipping: As soon as you have an AWB number email it, along with a copy of the invoice to diamondgoodshandling@diamond.ac.uk and we will send clearance instructions to the relevant courier prior to its arrival in the UK, this might help to speed up the clearance. 

All other users should note that shipping samples may be reimbursed at the discretion of Diamond. This must be authorised in advance by the Diamond User Office or no reimbursement will be made. Please see here for further details.

If it is agreed that Diamond will meet these costs, the home institute will incur the cost of shipping and invoice Diamond. Please send the invoice to Accounts Payable: DLSAccountsPayable@diamond.ac.uk 

Samples being shipped should be marked for the attention of: 
The Experimental Hall Coordinators, Diamond Light Source,
Harwell Research and Innovation Campus,
Didcot, Oxfordshire,
OX11 0DE

In addition they should be labelled with the:

• Sender's name, institute and contact details
• Session number the samples are to be used for
• Instrument at which the samples will be used
• Specific storage requirements (i.e. temperature)

Due to the UK no longer being in the EU the administration and management of shipping is taking longer. It is extremely rare that samples can be sent within 24 hours and you are advised to prepare well in advance liaising with your Local Contact.

Diamond Stores are open to accept deliveries between 08:00 and 17:00 Monday - Thursday and 08:00 and 12:00 Friday.

Please note that Diamond is not able to enter into material transfer agreements as a recipient for any materials or samples which a user will be bringing to Diamond. Users are responsible for ensuring they have the correct licences, approvals, and materials transfers in place that may be required prior to conducting research at Diamond and for providing copies of same to Diamond.

Diamond continues to welcome users from anywhere in the world to submit proposals and participate in experiments.

Eligibility for financial support of users can be found in the Diamond expenses procedure.

If you require a visa following the guidance below please ensure you do this well in advance of your travel to Diamond.

Visa or Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) guidance for Users

If you are a non-UK user you may need a visa or an ETA to visit the UK.

If you are from the EU, the current rules state that you are allowed to travel to the UK for 6 months or less without needing a visa. For any travel after 2 April 2025, you will need to apply for an ETA.  

If you are non-UK/EU, you may need a visa or an ETA to visit the UK – please check here to see if you will need to apply for a Standard Visitor visa or please check here to see if you will need to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation. The UK has added 49 new countries to the list of nationalities who require an ETA for travel from 8 January 2025 so we advise you to check this list.

A Standard Visitor visa allows you to undertake certain business activities such as attending a meeting or conference or to gather information for your employment overseas and if you are a scientist, researcher or academic you can carry out research or collaborate in the UK. You cannot do paid or unpaid work for Diamond (including work placements and internships). A Standard Visitor visa allows you to stay for a maximum of 6 months per visit. For further information please see the official guidance here.

Diamond also supports research submitted as part of EU grants. For more information see Support for European Access to Life Science.