Our Research

The 10th
European VLBI Network Symposium and EVN Users Meeting:
VLBI and the new generation of radio arrays

Location

Conference Centre

All of the main science sessions and the majority of the 10th EVN symposium will be held in the Manchester conference centre which is situated on Sackville street (postcode M1 3BB) just to the south of the city centre of Manchester. (see maps of city centre and locality around conference venue.)

Manchester

Manchester is one of the UK's largest metropolitan conurbations, set in the northwest region of England in the ancient county of Lancashire, on the west side of the Pennine Hills. It is a city of the Industrial Revolution. It was born through enterprise, industry and the establishment of the textile mills through which it became prosperous and world famous - the providential coincidence of climate, natural resources and geography, the inventiveness of its people, the early building of transport infrastructures, and a powerful industrial entrepreneurial spirit which typified the region then as it does today.

Manchester is an old town which has been inhabited since Roman times, when General Julius Agricola built a fort just north of the site of present day city, though it was not until the 18th century that this hitherto remote and inconspicuous little town sprang into the forefront of world attention by being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.

The City of Manchester and innumerable small satellite towns and villages surrounding it saw the rapid growth of factories manufacturing merchandise for cotton weaving and spinning, dyeing, fulling and all aspects of the textile industry. Manchester was nicknamed "Cottonopolis" where 'King Cotton' ruled. It held onto its reputation as the prime source of world textiles until its decline in the 1950s, when cheaper foreign imports sounded the death knell for the region's pre-eminence.

Manchester is a big place. While 2.6 million people live within its actual boundaries, over 7 million others live in the wider region, making it second only to London in Great Britain.


Hotels

Both the Weston Days Hotel and the other listed hotels are situated in the south of Manchester City Centre. The Manchester Conference Centre (co-located with the Weston Days Hotel) is located within the Northern campus of the University of Manchester. This is within a couple of minutes walk from the main railway station and the city centre itself (Map of Sackville Street campus). The main university campus area is approximately 10-15 minutes walk south (Map of the main University campus).


Travel to and from the hotels and the Manchester Conference Centre

Travel by Air

Manchester Airport is one of the largest and busiest in the country. It is located about 10 miles (16km) south of the city centre.

The airport has a number of transport links to the city:

Most major airlines fly to and from Manchester. For more information please visit the Manchester Airport Website

Travel by Train

The Manchester Conference Centre and other hotels listed are located close to both Piccadilly main line station (about two and a half hours from London) and Oxford Road train station, with Victoria train station a little further away.

For details of timetables, tickets and other rail information, please ring National Rail Enquiries on 08457 48 49 50 (+44(0)20 7278 5240 from overseas) or visit: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk. Train times can also be found in Deutsch, English, Francaise and Italiano here. Train times and advance tickets can also be purchased on-line at Virgin trains.

Upon arriving at Piccadilly station follow the exit down the escalators toward the taxi ranks. From this exit turn right and cross over London Road onto Fairfield Street (past the pub [The Bulls head] on the corner), Fairfield Street turns into Whitworth Street (maps are dowloadable at the bottom of this page).

Travel by Coach

National Express coaches serve over 1,200 destinations across the UK from the Chorlton Street Coach Station, which is near Piccadilly railway station and a short walk from the Manchester Conference Centre.

You can contact the Chorlton Coach Station on: 08705 808080 (within UK).

To get to the Manchester Confence Centre turn right out of Chorlton Street Coach Station onto Chorlton Street and walk to the junction with Whitworth Street. Cross Whitworth Street and the hotel is straight ahead.


Travel information in and around Manchester

Manchester city centre is just a few minutes walk to North of the hotels.

Regular bus routes within Manchester and the surrounding areas leave from Piccadilly Bus station, which is a few minutes walk from the accommodation. (Further travel information on Buses, trams and trains within the Greater Manchester area can be found at http://www.gmpte.com/, or via telephone 0161-228-7811 (8am - 8pm).Information and tickets are also available from GMPTE Travel-shops at the bus station)

Taxis. If you need to use a taxis, for example getting back to halls after a heavy night!, any black hackney cab can be hailed at the road side or picked up at a taxi rank. Do not attempt to hail a minicab. Mini-cabs will not normally pick you up and if they do they, and you, are not covered by any insurance. Minicab have to be pre-booked via telephone call (phone numbers of a few mini-cabs firms - Taxifone: 0161-236-2322,Village Private Hire: 0161-237-3383, Radio Cars: 0161-236-8033)

Rail connections to and from Manchester airport, as well as the rest of the UK, can be caught from Manchester Piccadilly train station which is a couple minutes walk from North campus and the accommodation.

Piccadilly station is open 24 hours a day for travel, although many of the shops and facilities at the station close late in the evening. Tickets and information regarding train times etc can be obtained at the station.

  • Train timetables can be found here or via telephoning 08457 48 49 50 (from within the UK)
  • Train times can also be found in Deutsch, English, Francaise & Italiano here.
  • Train times and advance tickets can also be purchased on-line at Virgin trains.


    Shops

    The hotels are a few minutes walk south of Manchester city centre where there is a wealth of high street stores and shopping to suit all. The majority of high street stores are located in and around Market street, King street, St Anne's Square and the Arndale centre. Many of the larger shops are open until 8pm six nights a week.

    For more local amenities there is a 'Spar' (small convenience store) situated on Granby Row within the Sackville street campus. Additionally the Student Union Shop based in the Barnes Wallis Building, is open during the day, Monday to Friday. Within Piccadilly Rail station there are also several stores including a small sainsburys supermarket that is open into early evening.

    Situated on the corner of Whitworth street and Chorlton street (2 minutes walk away) there is a good deli which can provide almost any food requirement.

    The nearest chemist is a Boots on Oxford Street.


    Banks & cash-points

    The nearest bank (Natwest) to the Conference Centre is situated on Sackville street next to the Spar. At the same location there is a cash-point. The next nearest cash-point is located on the corner of Whitworth Street and Princess Street. Additionally there are also several cash-points situated within Piccadilly rail station and a Bureau de Change (on Platform 14).


    Alternatively within the main university campus there are branches of several banks.

    Manchester, like all large cities does have some levels of crime. As such it is advisable to cautious when using cashpoints, especially at night.


    Bars & places to eat

    Weston Days Hotel itself has a bar situated within the building, which would make an ideal meeting place for people before leaving for evening entertainment or meals.

    Within South Manchester and the city centre there is a plethora of bars, pubs and places to eat and far too many to list here. Within just a few minutes walk of either Weston or chandos there are several tens of bars and pubs.

    Canal street.
    Two minutes walk towards the city centre from Weston Days Hotel (crossing straight over Whitworth Street) running between Sackville St and Minshull St is Canal Street. This area, known as the 'Gay village', contains a vast number of fashionable bars (e.g. Gaia, 46 Sackville St or Taurus, 1 Canal St) and and pubs. Almost all of these serve good food.

    China town
    China town is situated in the area between Portland Road and Moseley Street, about 5 minutes walking distance towards the city centre. Within these few streets, centred on Charlotte Street, tens of Chinese and oriental restaurants covering all price brackets are located.

    Oxford Street/Oxford Road/University/Rusholme
    Oxford Road runs through centre of the main university campus, turning into Oxford Street as it enters the city centre, eventually turning into Wilmslow road south of the University.

    Within the University area itself there are several bar and pubs, notably the Kro-bar on the corner of dover street and Oxford road (opposite the Greenwood rooms) and Jabez Clegg (approximately 15m further down Dover Street).

    Between the University and city centre there many pubs & bars as well as numerous take away restaurants. For example, midway between Weston Days Hotel and Oxford Road is The Lass O Gowrie, on Charles Street, which is well worth a visit and only a couple of minutes from Weston Hall.

    Further south of the University, following Oxford Road as it turns into Wilmslow Road (past the Hospital on your left-hand side and Whitworth park on your right hand side) you will enter Rusholme. Rusholme is famed for it extremely high density of Asian and Indian restaurants. Along this approximately 3/4 mile stretch of Wilmslow road, between Moss lane East and Dickenson Road, almost every building houses an Indian restaurant. The price in each these restaurants varies, although most are relatively cheap and of good quality. In general, it is often best to take a walk down this road and just select which ever restaurant you like the look of!

    Rusholme is approximately 10-15 minutes walk from the University. Or you can easily get on one of the many buses travelling south through the university (just ask for Rusholme). Returning there are many buses, into the early hours, running towards the city centre down Wilmslow and Oxford road. These buses generally run into Piccadilly Bus station but you can alight at near to the BBC studios or Oxford road station on Oxford road, which is only a few minutes walk from Weston Days Hotel. Alternatively a Black Hackney cab will carry up to 5 people and cost ~5-8 pounds.

    Deansgate/Millennium quarter
    Many bars and restaurants are located along Deansgate and in the area known as the Millennium quarter situated near to the cathedral. On one side of Exchange square is the Printworks which houses a host bars restaurants and a large cinema.


    Cinemas, theatres etc

    The nearest cinema is the Cornerhouse complex (art house cinema) is about 5 minutes walk away next to Oxford Road Railway station on the corner of Whitworth Street and Oxford Street. Alternatively there is a large multiplex cinema within the Printworks.

    There are numerous theatres, musemums and galleries within the centre of Manchester. Much more information about various visitor attractions can be found at here.


    Tourist Information

    Tourist information office can be found at the Manchester City Town Hall in St Peters Square, next to the Library (both are marked on the map of the city centre). This is open Monday - Saturday 10am - 5:30pm & Sunday 10:30am - 4:30pm.

    A large interactive map showing many of Manchesters visitor attractions can be found here.

    Tourist information about many attractions and facilities in and around Manchester can be also found at:

  • http://www.visitmanchester.com
  • http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/tourist/


    Weather

    In September the average daytime temperatures in Manchester is around 15-18 degrees Celsius falling to around 7-10 degrees Celsius at night. Like the rest of northwest England, Manchester has a generous yearly dose of clouds and drizzle, although the weather is rarely severe. So it is always worth bringing a coat and/or an umbrella!.


    Useful Maps

  • Map of Manchester city centre and the University, All university buildings are coloured in purple.
  • Interactive map showing many of Manchesters visitor attractions.
  • Map of Sackville street campus, showing precise location of the Conference Centre.
  • Map of the main University campus
  • Locations of Taxi ranks within the centre of Manchester