The conference will be held at the University of Bristol campus in Clifton, Bristol. All venues are a short walk from each other.
Bristol was rated the best town to live in the UK in 2017. Described as a “small city that feels like a big city”, Bristol boasts a range of cultural events, restaurants, pubs, museums and historic buildings. Go through the town and see how many Banksy paintings you can spot, or take part in one of the guided tours. The Clifton Suspension bridge is a magnificent industrial age monument based on initial designs by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Stokes Croft is a great hub for music, art and counter-cultural lifestyles. It is worth visiting https://visitbristol.co.uk to check events during your stay.
Bristol is best reached by train or aeroplane. The best-connected railway station to the campus is Bristol Temple Meads, which has connections to all major parts of the UK. Bristol Airport services several airports on the continent. Several airlines fly out of Bristol and are reasonably priced. Buses leave from Bristol airport at 10-minute intervals and run all night at less frequent intervals. These cost £7 one way or £11 return. Taxis and Uber connect to the airport and cost between £22 and £30.
Buses connect to the campus from Temple Meads with the number 8 leaving directly outside the station and stopping in the University precinct. There are also infrequent trains to the Clifton Down railway station, a 10-minute walk from campus. You can read more and plan your trip using this URL: https://visitbristol.co.uk/about-bristol/travelling-around-bristol/public-transport. Google Maps on your smartphone is also useful for navigating the city.
It is also possible to drive into Bristol by car. Unless your hotel has free parking, expect to pay between £10-16 for parking per day.
Childcare
There are nursing rooms/baby changing facilities in the basement of the Life Sciences Building as well as the Priory Road complex.
Accessibility
There is access via elevators and lifts throughout the Life Sciences and Priory Road Complex. An assistive listening / hearing enhancement system is available in each venue. For more information, see: https://www.accessable.co.uk/venues/wills-memorial-building, https://www.accessable.co.uk/venues/life-sciences-building and https://www.accessable.co.uk/venues/social-sciences-complex-priory-road-complex.
Getting to Bristol
By Train:
Bristol can be reached from any part of the UK. Your destination would be the Bristol Temple Meads railway station as Bristol Parkway is further away from the campus at a higher cost for bus or taxi. From there you can either walk (30 mins), take bus number 8 or a taxi/Uber (the ride should cost around £8-10). As some of you will be aware, the UK rail travel can be expensive. Return tickets are often more economical than two singles. Booking well in advance is advisable to avoid losing all the money that you had hoped to spend in the pub. You can book from several websites but try http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ and look for off peak times.
By Coach:
Bristol is served by both National Express (<www.nationalexpress.com>) and Megabus (<www.uk.megabus.com>). This can be a very cheap option to access Bristol from around the UK. Book in advance. Buses stop either at Bristol Bus & Coach Station or near Cabot Circus. The easiest way to get to the campus from there is on foot or by taxi. Do note that the campus is at the top of a large hill and is not for the faint-hearted.
By air:
Bristol Airport is very well connected with regular flights to all areas of Europe and is also a cheap option for people coming from the north of the UK. For more information, see http://bristolairport.co.uk. Cardiff is about an hour away and is another alternative, well connected by train to Bristol; however, note that the airport is a fair way away from the city and the railway station. You can also fly into London, but expect to add £60-140 in transport to Bristol if flying into London airports for the three-hour-plus commute in each direction.
By Car:
There are carparks around Clifton. There is limited street parking in Clifton near the university and it costs around £10-16 per day. As an example, Bristol is about 1.5-2 hours’ drive from London.
Accommodation
Delegates are responsible for booking their own accommodation. There are several hotels near the university in different price classes. Due to the festive season being at its peak, and Clifton being a popular party destination, booking well in advance is strongly advisable. Prices are high near the university and in city centre Bristol. Near the university there are youth hostels https://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/yha-bristol with beds from £25 and a range of hotels with prices starting at £60 per night and going up fast. A cheap nearby option would be The Washington http://the-washington-guesthouse-bristol.business.site. More comfortable hotels are The Berkeley Square Hotel with prices at £121 https://cliftonhotels.com/bristol-hotels/berkeley-square, or the Berkeley Square House, with prices around £94 https://www.berkeleysquarehousebristol.co.uk. Another increasingly popular option is to stay in AirBnB https://www.airbnb.co.uk or Homestay https://www.homestay.com/united-kingdom/bristol. We stress that these suggestions are not recommendations. Alternatively, good online resources are http://www.booking.com, www.trivago.co.uk or http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk.