Venue
Manor House
University of Birmingham
Birmigham, UK
September 1-3, 2003
The meeting and accommodation place will be Manor House, University of Birmingham, UK.
Manor
House
Bristol Road South
Northfield
Birmingham
B31 2AE
Manor House is approximately 4km south west of the University Campus and is easily accessible and well served by public transport.
The information available so far was not very helpful: e.g. from the address of Manor House you might think it is on the Bristol Road South, whereas it is quite a long way off, and the online maps give very imprecise information.
Manor House is in a secluded, very pleasant area, and provides an excellent location for a conference, but getting there is not terribly convenient if you don't have a car.
If you are coming by air to Birmingham International Airport you have the choice of a taxi from the airport direct to Manor House or a train to the City centre (follow the raillair link from the terminal), after which there are several options (below).
Depending on traffic conditions I expect a taxi from the airport would take 45-50 minutes (maybe longer in bad traffic) and cost 30-40 pounds, though I am extrapolating from the cost of a taxi to Selly Park which was about 24 pounds.
If you are coming to another airport, you can either get a coach to the centre of Birmingham or come by train: head for New Street station.
A taxi from New Street station to Manor House costs about 7 or 8 pounds.
If you wish to check train times, use this web site http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/planmyjourney/ and ask for trains from Birmingham International to New Street. Fast trains take about 16 minutes, and stopping trains take about 30. Single tickets are 2.50 GBP.
During weekdays there are several trains each hour, but on a Saturday or Sunday they are less frequent, and attempts to bring the UK railway system into the 21st century are causing lots of train disruptions at weekends. You can get more detailed information by phone +44 (0)8457 48 49 50
In principle you can take a local train from New Street to Selly Oak Train station, which is much closer to Manor House, but you'll still need a taxi and it does not have a taxi rank. You can phone a local taxi company at (TOA) 0121 427 8888 or 0121 236 8888, (A2B) 0121 733 3000 or (Quinborne) 0121 427 5000.
If you are coming by car or bus it may be useful to use multimap to get the precise location:
http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?X=403000&Y=281000&scale=25000&coordsys=gb
You'll see 'Manor Ho' just to the left of centre (look for a chopper-shaped structure to the right).
If you are coming by bus from the City Centre, you'll have to ask the driver or conductor to tell you where to get off, as I think the stop is just *before* the 'Manor House' sign on the right. The bus stop is on the left heading south, so you'll have to cross main road and then go up the side road to Manor House (about half a mile walk I think). You'll see building sites on both sides of the road, which is currently quite dusty.
Manor House is sign-posted on a grotty grafitti-spoiled sign.
When you come to a fork in the road, the left fork is labelled something like 'Manor House Entrance' and the right fork something like 'Car parks'. Don't walk up the left fork as the road curves a lot as you can see from the map, and it's therefore significantly longer.
Instead walk straight on up the right branch and you'll come into Manor House from the back (walk through the archway and you should find the entrance).
This may have persuaded you to take a taxi! There is a steady stream of taxis available at New Street station.
If you come by car there are very few parking spaces in front of Manor House. However there is quite a large car park at the back. Take the right fork mentioned above, and eventually you'll come to a large car-park on your right with Manor House on the left.
Take the free bus link (marked Air/Rail and leaving from the bus stop outside Arrivals) to Birmingham International Station. Taxis are available at this station, but it is a considerable distance from the University of Birmingham, and is likely to cost you up to £20. There is a train every fifteen minutes from Birmingham International to Birmingham New Street Station; we advise that you travel to New Street and then follow the directions given below.
We strongly advise that you take a taxi from the City Centre to Manor House, especially if you are carrying heavy luggage. A black cab should cost £8-10; they are available at the front of New Street Station (follow the signs from the main concourse), and there are taxi ranks throughout the city centre, including at Moor Street Station and Digbeth Coach Station. If you prefer to get a minicab the recommended firm is Birmingham Radio Cars: phone 0121 608 8888.
If you would prefer to get a bus, services 61, 62 and 63 will all let you off near Manor House. To reach the bus stop for these services, ascend the escalators from New Street station concourse into the Palisades shopping centre; follow the signs for the way out, and descend the ramp past McDonalds and the HSBC Bank. The appropriate bus stop is located on Corporation Street, facing the ramp, near the top of the row of bus shelters (services running from each stop are marked on the shelters). The cost of the journey is 90p outside of rush hour. Ask the driver to inform you when you get to the Manor House/Griffin Close stop; this will be about a 15-20 minute journey. Manor House is about five minutes walk from the bus stop.
From the south-west:
Come off the M5 at Junction 4, and follow the A38 into Birmingham. Follow signs for Birmingham City Centre (basically a matter of following the road) for approximately two and a half miles. Manor House is signposted on the left.
From the north or south-east:
Take the M6 to junction 6, then the A38(M) towards the city centre. Continue through the city centre on the A38 (using the underpasses); follow signs for Selly Oak and Northfield. After passing through Selly Oak, continue on the A38; Manor House is signposted on the right. You will need to continue down the road and cross the central reservation at the next turning point.
Birmingham University area map. Manor House is labeled as J.