Maps
For a map of Bristol, marked with locations relevant to the research school and workshop, see here.
Here is a link to the free maps provided through Bristol City Council; there are probably hard copies available at the hotels, and we will have copies at the workshop. You can also find some maps of the university here.
Restaurants and pubs
For a list of restaurants and pubs with short descriptions in central Bristol, please see this document. If you have dietary requirements not represented in this list, please speak to one of the local organisers about further options.
The university
The University of Bristol is one of the 24 members of the Russell Group, which consists of research-intensive British universities. The Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings places the University of Bristol among the world’s top 30 universities, and in the UK government’s 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, Bristol’s Pure Mathematics group was ranked 5th within the UK. The School is partnered with the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research, which brings together high-calibre mathematicians from various disciplines to conduct theoretical research into key areas of mathematics. The Number Theory group at Bristol is internationally recognized, and includes researchers in automorphic forms as well as in analytic number theory and additive combinatorics.
The city
The city of Bristol borders the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire, and is located near the historic cities of Bath to the south east and Gloucester to the north. The city is built around the River Avon, and it has a short coastline on the Severn Estuary, which flows into the Bristol Channel. Bristol is the largest centre of culture, employment and education in the region. Its prosperity has been linked with the sea since its earliest days. The city is famous for its music and film industries, and has a history of innovation, creativity, exploration and risk taking; for instance, the foundations of solid-state physics were laid in Bristol in the 1930s by Nevill Mott and his team, John Cabot sailed from Bristol in 1497 on his historic voyage to Newfoundland, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel built the Great Western Railway from London to Bristol in the 1830s.
Travel information
From Bristol Airport, you can take a comfortable bus, the Bristol Flyer, to the Bristol coach station, or to a stop near your hotel. Tickets may be purchased in advance via the website, or purchased on the bus (only British pounds are accepted if you purchase your ticket on the bus). Alternatively you could get a taxi, which will probably cost between £25 and £35. (To read about the etiquette of tipping in the UK, see here.)
From Heathrow, we advise taking the National Express bus, which you can book on-line, to the Bristol coach station. (The bus will be faster and easier than taking the train, and it's comfortable.) From the Bristol coach station, you can get a cab to your hotel, or walk if you are so minded. Booking ahead, the bus costs about £50 for a return trip, and you can do so here. The central bus station in Heathrow is in Terminal 3, and if you can make it to a bus earlier than your reservation, there's a £5 fee to change (you make this change inside the Heathrow bus terminal at their booking counter). In Heathrow, you can walk from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3. From Terminals 4 and 5 there is a free train to Terminal 3 called the Heathrow Express.
From other London airports it might be easiest to take a train to central London and then another train from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads. Similarly, it might be easiest to take a train from Birmingham. Make sure your train goes to Bristol Temple Meads and not Bristol Parkway (the latter is not convenient for the city centre, although there are fairly frequent trains between the two). From Temple Meads one can take a bus (8 is quickest, 9 does the same route in reverse), taxi, or walk.
Accommodation
Big hotels reasonably close to the campus (i.e. walking distance by Bristol standards), with comparatively modest prices include:- Ibis City Centre, phone (+44)1173199000
- Ibis Temple Meads Quay, phone (+44)1173199001
- King Street Premier Inn Bristol, phone (+44)8715278158
- Premier Inn Bristol City Centre, phone (+44)8715278156
- Holiday Inn Express Bristol City Centre, phone (+44)8714234896
- Future Inn Bristol, phone (+44)8450945588
- Clifton Hotels: The Clifton Hotels group consists of several smaller hotels, with a B&B option (i.e. breakfast is included). The website has links to each hotel, where you can find phone numbers. You can also book online.
- Homestay Bristol City Centre, and Homestay Bristol Park Street, phone (+44)1173303162. (Both are just a few blocks from the university's Mathematics building, where the talks will be held.)
- Rock N Bowl, Bristol, phone (+44)1173251980.
- YHA Bristol, phone (+44)8453719726.
Some of these hotels are near the Temple Meads train station, which is about a 35 minute walk from the Maths building; as well, the #8 and #9 buses run between this train station and Clifton Triangle, which is a few blocks from the Maths building.