Mike66: Local Information

Mike66 Mike66 is a workshop in honour of Professor Mike Paterson's 66th birthday to be held at DIMAP, University of Warwick, September 18 - 19, 2008. Full participation (lunches included) is per invitation only. Talks are available for general public.

Location

The workshop will take place on the campus of the University of Warwick [online campus map / campus map in pdf / interactive campus map].

The workshop will be held at the Centre for Discrete Mathematics and its Applications (DIMAP), in the building of the Warwick Mathematics Institute (number 35 on the campus map).

The registration will be on Thursday morning in the building of the Warwick Mathematics Institute. The first talk is planned to start on Thursday at around 9:30am. The last talk is planned to finish on Friday at around 5:30pm. The talks are expected to be about 30 minutes long.

Accommodation

The participants are expected to be staying in local hotels and B&Bs either on the campus, or in Coventry, or in Kenilworth or Leamington Spa. See our web page with detailed information about local accommodation.

Travel

The following two links contain generic information about travel to/from the University of Warwick:

When travelling to the University of Warwick, make sure that you're not traveling to Warwick; Warwick is a town a few miles away from the campus (with a beautiful castle, one of the most impressive and frequently visited castles in the UK).

By Plane

For those flying to the UK, we recommend, if possible, flying to Birmingham International Airport (BHX), which is less than half an hour's drive from Coventry, Kenilworth and the University. Typical time for travel from Heathrow Airport is about 2-2.5 hours, and typical travel time from Gatwick Airport is about 3-3.5 hours.

By Train

Generic university information about travelling to the University by train is available at http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/about/visiting/directions/train/.

There are frequent services between Coventry and major cities in the UK (including Birmingham International Airport (BHX); but be aware that Sunday train services are typically very limited). The nearest train station to the University and Coventry, is Coventry station; for travel to Kenilworth we recommend to travel to either Coventry and Leamington Spa.

Coventry Station is about 10 minutes from the campus by taxi and 15 minutes from Kenilworth. There are local bus services between Coventry Station (bus stop is 1 minute walk from the station) and Kenilworth / the University (buses 16/12/X17). The train station in Leamington Spa is about 15-20 minutes from the campus by taxi, and about 10 minutes from Kenilworth by taxi. The local bus services between the train station in Leamington Spa and Kenilworth / the University are buses (16/12/Unibus (U1/U2)).

The UK rail schedule is available at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/, from which one can find details of train connections between Coventry / Leamington Spa and major airports (including Birmingham airport, and all London airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, etc)).

By Coach

National Express coaches (http://www.nationalexpress.com/) are more convenient if someone wants to go directly from/to the London airports and avoid traffic in London. They minimize the number of changes needed and go to/from Coventry Pool Meadow coach station 24/7. Coventry Pool Meadow coach station is about 10 minutes from the campus and about 15 minutes from Kenilworth by taxi; public transportation (buses 16/12/X17) between Kenilworth / the University and the coach station is also available.

Coaches depart frequently and tickets can be bought from the National Express desk in airports' arrivals halls. If you plan to use this service, it is advisable to book your ticket in advance through the National Express web page, as the coaches can get very full. From central London or Heathrow to Coventry will take approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes, or 3 hours and 30 minutes from Gatwick.

Coaches vs. Trains

Compared to coaches, trains from/to London airports require more changes and don't go throughout the night, but may be preferable if someone wants to visit London before/after the workshop.

Travel to/from Birmingham International Airport

Birmingham International Airport (BHX) is the closest major airport to the University, Coventry, and Kenilworth .

For those willing to use public transportation to travel from Birmingham Airport: take a train to Coventry and then take a bus (buses 16/12) to the University of Warwick or a bus (buses 16/12/X17) to Kenilworth. The bus stop is next to the station (1 minute walk). The total price should be less than £6.

Taxis from Birmingham International Airport will take 20-30 minutes and should cost about £30-40. Taxis are available outside the terminal building.

In your free time (Local attractions)

Attending the workshop may give you some opportunities to visit some of the many attractions in the neighborhood of the University of Warwick.

Royal Leamington Spa, a fashionable town with beautiful Georgian and Victorian architecture is a few miles away from the campus. They have a good selection of nice restaurants and pubs, and some night clubs. This town is also a headquarter of Mike, who has been living here for a few decades.
Stratford upon Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare and one of the main tourist attractions in United Kingdom is about 20 miles away from the campus (30 minutes by car); see also this link. One of the main attractions in the town is the famous "Shakespeare" theatre, owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, with an outstanding program of classical performances (RSC is arguably the most famous classical theatre company in the world).
Kenilworth has its well known castle; even though now these are mostly ruins, it is still a really beautiful place to walk, certainly worth visiting during a nice day.
Warwick town (a few miles away from the campus) has one of the most impressive and frequently visited castles in the UK. The town has also some nice restaurants.
Cotswolds, one of the most romantic areas of UK ("one of the most 'quintessentially English' and unspoiled regions of England"), is about 20-30 miles away (south) from the campus.
Of course, you can also travel to London ...