Venue
The conference will take place on the main Oxford Road campus of the University of Manchester, which is on the sourthern edge of Manchester city centre. The exact building is to be confirmed.
Getting to Manchester
From the UK. The University is 20 minutes walk (or 10 minutes by taxi or on the number 147 bus) from Manchester Piccadilly railway station, which is the main terminus for trains from the south. Manchester Oxford Road station is even more convenient for the University, but has trains to fewer places. Some trains from the north arrive at Manchester Victoria, which is on the other side of the city centre and can be accessed by a longer walk, a taxi or a number 41 bus. Driving into Manchester is not recommended, but if you do need to bring a car then your hotel may offer parking or (expensive) parking is available on campus in the Aquatics Centre Car Park.
From Overseas (by Land/Sea). From continental Europe you can use the Eurostar (channel tunnel train) from Brussels, Paris, Lille, Rotterdam or Amsterdam to London; you then have to change stations in London but it is a well-signposted 15-minute walk or a short metro ride, and then a 2-hour train ride to Manchester Piccadilly. Interrail is often the cheapest ticket option, although there is a supplement for the Eurostar trains. We also recommend the overnight North Sea ferries from Rotterdam to Hull; they are very comfortable and there are regular direct trains from Hull to Manchester. Channel ferries (e.g. Dover-Calais) are cheaper and faster, but it is quite a complicated journey from the south coast to Manchester.
From Overseas (by Air). It is usually best to arrive at Manchester Airport (MAN), which has direct flights across Europe and to major hubs worldwide. From the airport you can take a train to the city centre, a number 43 bus directly to the University, or a taxi anywhere. Liverpool (LJL) and Birmingham (BHX) airports also have reasonable train or bus links to Manchester. Ground transportation from London airports is possible but can be expensive and time-consuming.
Please feel free to contact the organisers with any travel queries.
Accommodation
Manchester has many hotels, but rooms can be in short supply and subject to surge pricing during major events, so early booking is advised. Any hotel in the southern half of the city centre should be within walking distance from the University; from the northern part of the city centre or the suburbs you may need to take a bus. Here are some that past visitors have used:
- The Hyatt Regency Manchester is on campus and excellent quality but quite expensive.
- The Ibis Hotel Princess Street.
- The Holiday Inn Express Oxford Road.
- The Premier Inn Princess Street.
- The Premier Inn Portland Street.
- The Travelodge Upper Brook Street is also handy for the university but further from the city centre.
- The Travelodge East Didsbury is a 30-minute bus ride out into the suburbs, but is sometimes very cheap, and maybe a good bet if you are bringing a car but happy to leave it at the hotel.
- Luther King House offers more basic student-style accommodation a 10-minute bus ride from campus.
Unless otherwise stated these are all between campus and the city centre, and fairly convenient for everything. Note that many of the above are chains which have many other hotels in Manchester, so be careful to check the location of the exact hotel you are booking.
Weather
The climate is (famously) moist temperate. Typical September temperatures range from around +5℃ at night to +20℃ in the day, but extremes can be about 10 degrees hotter or colder than this. The weather can change rapidly, so a lightweight raincoat is handy even on an ostensibly sunny day; umbrellas are less useful because rain is often accompanied by wind.