Logistical information - The Third Culture? // Literature and Sociology
Despite its name, the University of Warwick is located in Coventry, not in the town of Warwick - please be aware of this when making travel arrangements for the conference. The University of Warwick is a campus university located about 3 miles (5 km) from Coventry city centre, in the south-western part of Coventry. Please also make sure you make arrangements to travel to University of Warwick and not University of Coventry, which is the other university located in Coventry city centre.
Getting to Warwick Campus
BY AIR:
- Birmingham International Airport (BHX) is the nearest airport. If possible, we recommend you fly to BHX (rather than to one of the London airports), which is about 15 miles (24 km) from the university. A taxi to the university from the airport costs about £25 to £30. Alternatively you can take a train from the Airport Railway Station to Coventry Railway Station (there are about 4 an hour) at about £3, then a taxi to the University for about £10 or a bus to campus for £2 per single fare (see below for information on the bus connection between Coventry and Warwick campus). Click here to find out about rail times and fares.
- London Heathrow is about 90 miles (144 km) away. To get to the university, you may find it more convenient to take a National Express coach directly to Coventry Pool Meadow Bus and Coach Station, rather than travelling into London to take a train to Coventry. The coach costs about £32.00 (internet fare, prices are cheaper if you book in advance), takes about two hours, and leaves directly from Heathrow. When you get to Pool Meadow, take a taxi to the University, which should cost about £12-£15. Alternatively, a number 12X, 11 or 11U bus serves Warwick Campus from Pool Meadow Bus Station. See below for more information.
- London Luton and London Stansted airports are about 50 miles (80 km) away. Again National Express has direct coaches to Coventry Pool Meadow, which take about 2 to 3 hours. The costs are approximately £15 and £22 respectively (internet fares). London Gatwick is further to the South, but also offers direct coaches to Coventry.
You can book coach tickets via the National Express website. Alternatively, if you prefer to travel by train from one of the London airports, make your way to London Euston railway station and get a direct train to Coventry Railway station.
BY RAIL:
Coventry Station is the nearest railway station to the University of Warwick. There are train services from London Euston Station and Birmingham New Street Station. From Euston, the journey takes about one hour; from New Street, about 20 minutes. From Coventry Station, you can take a taxi, which will cost about £10-£12. Alternatively, catch a number 12X, 11 or 11U bus from the bus interchange outside Coventry Station (see below for more information). Click here to find out about rail times and fares. We recommend that you book your train tickets well in advance as they will be considerably cheaper than tickets bought on the day of travel.
Eurostar rail services go to London St Pancras Station. There are frequent services from Paris, Brussels and Lille, all of which are connected to the European railway networks. Delegates living in Europe therefore may prefer to use this route rather than taking an airplane. St Pancras Station to Euston Station is only 5 minutes by taxi or 10-15 minutes on foot. Click here for more information.
BY BUS:
The 12X, 11 and 11U bus services serve Warwick Campus from Coventry City Centre. They leave from Pool Meadow Bus Station in the city centre, then stop at the bus interchange outside Coventry Station and go on to Warwick campus. During daytime, they operate every 5-10 minutes and will take you to Warwick campus for £2.20 per single fare. Please note that you'll need the exact fare as the bus drivers don't give change - although contactless payment is now available. The 12X service is the fastest bus service and will take you directly to campus, while the 11 and 11U services take a little detour of about 10 mins before going to campus. Alight at the bus interchange on main campus or ask the driver to let you know when you reach the Warwick Campus Interchange. You can view the timetable for all three bus services here.
Accommodation
We suggest that you find accommodation either on campus or in a nearby B&B (through AirBnB, Booking.com, etc.) - Coventry is unfortunately not a very walkable city!
Alternatively, you can find a list of hotels here. We would advise you not to book accommodation in Kenilworth or Leamington Spa, as they are quite far from campus. Moreover, it is likely easiest to book a hotel which is on the route of the 11/11U (i.e. Village Hotel) or 12X bus. Both of these buses stop at Warwick University bus interchange, the closest stop to where we will be holding the conference. If you wish to stay in the city centre, please book accommodation that is within the ring-road of Coventry city centre and as close as possible to Pool Meadows bus station. Alternatively, please book accommodation which is very close to Coventry train station. Please also note that Coventry has three main stations: Coventry, Canley and Tile Hill.
For more information: thirdcultureconference@gmail.com
