Workshop2015:logistics

Location Info

Place: Liverpool, UK

Dates: 10-13 November 2015

Venue: Open Labs located in the IC1 building close to the Astrophysics Research Institute

  IC1 Liverpool Science Park
  131 Mount Pleasant
  Liverpool
  L3 5TF
  United Kingdom
  +44 (0)151 705 3400

The Gaia Workshop 2015 venue is marked in red. The Astrophysics Research Institute is on the 2^nd floor of the building marked in blue. To view in more detail goto Google maps.

Streetview shown below as viewed from Mount Pleasant. Building is directly ahead. Access from Great Orford St:

Travel

Air Travel

These are a couple of useful flight search engines.

• momondo
• Sky Scanner

There are two airports providing access to the city of Liverpool.

LPL - Liverpool John Lennon Airport

• Liverpool John Lennon Airport is located 14km from Liverpool city centre.

Airlines flying to Liverpool airport are easyJet, RyanAir, Blue Air, Wizz Air, Czech Airlines, Thomson and Aer Lingus.

Although there is no rail link at the airport there are frequent bus services to Liverpool South Parkway railway station, which is 10km from the city centre.
Liverpool South Parkway is a double railway station providing two separate rail routes into Liverpool Lime Street or Liverpool Central stations, which are in the city centre.

After 9:30am a SaveAway combined bus+train ticket can be purchased at the Information Desk on the lower level of the airport.
A SaveAway ticket including Zones A,B,C & D is suitable for a single journey to destinations in the city of Liverpool and costs £3.90.

The Arriva bus services from the airport direct to Liverpool are 500, 80A, and 86A, click on numbers to view routes and stops. These buses terminate at the Liverpool One bus station.
Services 80A and 86A go via Liverpool South Parkway railway station if you wish to travel into Liverpool city by train.
The journey time into Liverpool by bus/train is approximately 25-45 minutes.

A taxi to Liverpool city centre costs around £15.00 - £20.00 and takes approximately 20 minutes.

MAN - Manchester Airport

• Manchester Airport is located 57km from Liverpool city centre.

This airport is larger than Liverpool's so a greater number of airlines fly to this destination.

The rail link at this airport is Manchester Airport [MIA] station. Trains operated by Northern Rail go direct to Liverpool Lime Street station every hour. Timetable.
The journey time is approximately 1 hour.

An alternative train route is from the airport station to Manchester Piccadilly [MAN] station and change there for trains to Liverpool Lime Street [LIV].
Several train companies operate this alternative route. The journey time is approximately 1.5 hours.
Refer to National Rail Enquiries for train times. You can enter the three letter abbreviated [TLA] railway station IDs as shown.

A taxi from Manchester airport to Liverpool city centre costs around £60. Journey is normally about 1 hour but will be longer if travelling during the rush hour.

Rail Travel

National Rail Enquiries is useful for planning rail travel with all UK train companies and for checking on delays or cancellations.
The Trainline.com is a search engine for finding low cost tickets.

In Liverpool

• Liverpool Lime Street [LIV] is the main railway station destination located in the city.
• Liverpool Central [LVC] station located in the city and is a local commuter destination for Merseyrail trains.
• Liverpool South Parkway [LPY] station is located 10km from the city and 4.5km from Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

The railway system local to Liverpool is operated by Merseyrail. The stations in and around the city can be view on this map.

From London

Trains to Liverpool Lime Street leave from London Euston [EUS]. There are a few trains direct but most require changing at Crewe [CRE] station.

Virgin Trains operate the fastest service from London Euston to Liverpool Lime Street, the journey takes approximately 2.5 hours. Travelling Off-Peak between 09:27 → 15:00 and after 18:45 is much cheaper. The cheapest tickets type is Advance booking and can be purchased online up to 12 weeks prior to travel but are limited in availability and only valid for travel on the booked train. Tickets can be collected at the station but you must have the original credit/debit card used when purchasing.

London Midland Trains operate a slower but cheaper train service. Travelling to Liverpool always requires a change of train at either Stafford [STA] or Crewe [CRE] and the journey time is approximately 3.5 hours.

Eurostar

Eurostar trains to the UK terminate at London St. Pancras International [STP] which is 1km from London Euston where train to Liverpool Lime Street depart.
St. Pancras to Euston is a 12 minute walk or via the London Underground on the Victoria Line or Northern Line.

Bus Travel

Merseytravel has general information about public transport in Liverpool.
They provide a bus route planner and a map of Liverpool City Centre bus routes.

Car Parking

There is no free street parking near the University and metered street parking, marked by blue and red lines, is expensive. Recommended parking close the venue is Mount Pleasant Car Park. This is a multi-story car park, marked P on the map and is a 5 minute walk to the Gaia venue. All day parking costs £4, it is open from 7:00am until 20:00pm Mon-Fri, motorcycles and disabled are free. The entrance to the car park is at the lower end of Mount Pleasant, marked by the green dot on bottom of the £4 symbol. The car park has a one way system and the exit is onto Brownlow Hill.

Full details are available from Mount Pleasant Car Park. The address is:-
  38 Mount Pleasant
  Liverpool
  L3 5TB

More information about parking in Liverpool is available from Parkopedia.

Accommodation

A large variety of hotels, hostels and B&Bs are available in Liverpool centre. Below are a selection of hotels that offer a discounted rate for the conference. There are generally 20 rooms reserved per large hotel (unless otherwise stated), most require telephone payments or payment on arrival.

Days Inn Liverpool

The Days Inn hotel is located near the River Mersey and the Docks area (~5-10 minute walk) and from the city centre (<5 min walk). It is also next to James Street Station which can be directly accessed on the Mersey Rail Network underground trains from Lime Street (a return or single from Lime Street to James Street costs less than £2). It is a ~20 minute walk from this hotel to the conference building. Parking is available nearby but isn’t cheap Q park.

To book at this hotel please contact them directly and quote GAIA LIVERPOOL to receive this discounted rate. There are 20 rooms reserved at this rate from 9-13 November 2015 and will be available to book exclusively for the conference if booked before the end of September. After that the prices may be subject to change or rooms unavailable.

Guests are able to book by calling 0151 203 1910 (option 1) Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm or can email here reservations@daysinnliverpool.com.
  £50 per night single occupancy (with Breakfast)
  £60 per night double/twin occupancy (with Breakfast)

BEST WESTERN Feathers Liverpool Hotel
0151 709 9655
E-mail: feathersreservations@feathers.uk.com

The Feathers hotel is very close to the conference venue (~1 minute away). It is ~15 minute walk from Liverpool Lime Street station and from the centre of Liverpool. Parking for this hotel is in the Mount Pleasant Car Park priced at £4 per day (see Transport Section).

To book at this hotel please contact them directly and quote GAIA LIVERPOOL to receive this discounted rate. There are approximately 20 rooms being held for the conference.
  Double for single occupancy: £69.95 (inc. breakfast and WiFi)
  Double for double occupancy: £79.95 (inc. breakfast and WiFi)
  Exec double for sole occupancy £84.95 (inc. breakfast and WiFi)
  Exec double for double occupancy £89.95 (inc. breakfast and WiFi)

Aachen Hotel,
89-91 Mount Pleasant
Liverpool
L3 5TB
T: +44 (0)151 709 3477
T: +44 (0)151 709 3633

The Aachen Hotel is a small hotel on the same street as the conference venue (~5 min walk). There are no rooms reserved due to the size of the hotel but if you quote GAIA LIVERPOOL you can receive the discounted rate. Parking for this hotel is in the Mount Pleasant Car Park priced at £4 per day (see Transport Section).
  £59 for a twin/double room

Adagio Aparthotel Liverpool City Centre
1 Fairclough Street
L1 1FS Liverpool
E-mail: h7332-sl@adagio-city.com

The Adagio Aparthotel is next to Liverpool Central Station (accessible via the Wirral line, one stop from Liverpool Lime street station). It is ~15 minute walk from here to the conference venue and the hotel is right in the middle of the city centre. Please contact the hotel directly via the email address above to book at these rates and quote GAIA LIVERPOOL.
  Studio apartment for sole occupancy - £65 B&B
  Studio apartment for double occupancy - £75 B&B

There are both studio apartments with double and twin beds (limited number of twins).

Visitor Information

There will be a public lecture, First Light, given by Prof. James Dunlop on Tuesday 10th November 2015 at 18:00. Click here to book free tickets.

General visitor information is available on the Visiting Liverpool website.
This site has a map of recommended pubs and inns selling traditional beers and ales.

The city has several fine Museums and Art Galleries.