Zeeman Building, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7A
Room: MS.04

PLATIAL’19 takes place in the Zeeman building of the University of Warwick. The University of Warwick is still fairly young, having received its Royal Charter in 1965. Since then, Warwick has quickly developed into one of the UK’s best universities and is generally ranked in the top 10 in national rankings. This year’s host department, the Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies (CIM), was established in 2012. It is a place where experimental research designs are explored across disciplinary boundaries. This makes it a unique facility in the UK research landscape and a perfect place for GIScience research.

Coventry and the West Midlands

The city of Coventry has a long history and has been one of the UK’s major cities ever since the middle ages. Having been the capital for a short medieval period, Coventry gained particular importance in the industrialisation period, becoming the countries main automotive production site. Recently, Coventry is again seeing tremendous changes with more and more students coming to the city attending its two universities. This makes Coventry one of the ten youngest cities in the UK, one of the countries most international cities, as well as the UK’s number four most innovative place. Main sights include the iconic Coventry Cathedral ruins, the historic St Mary’s Guildhall, Lunt Roman Fort (an archeological site of a Roman fort), and several exquisite museums (Music Museum, Transport Museum). Coventry has further been named UK City of Culture 2021.

Not only Coventry but also its surrounding historic county Warwickshire is of big interest to visitors. Several vibrant, attractive places are found just around the city including Kenilworth with its Elisabethan castle ruin, Royal Leamington Spa with its bustling student life and regency architecture, as well as Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Many of these places are directly connected to Warwick university campus. Why not extending your trip and exploring the West Midlands?

Directions

Coventry and the University of Warwick are well-connected both nationally but also to international destinations. Below you find directions for various modes of travel.

Air travel: The University of Warwick is easy to reach from two international airports. Birmingham International Airport is the closest option. Take a train to Coventry Railway Station (trains run approximately every half hour during the day; a 20 minute journey) and then take a bus (buses 12X or 11) to the University of Warwick. The bus stop is next to the station (1 minute walk). The total price should be less than £6 and total travel time will be around 30-45 minutes. The other option for air travel is to go via one of the London airports, especially Heathrow. This is well possible too, but the travel time increases to approximately 2.5 hours with this option.

Arriving by train: Coventry train station is well connected by long-haul (Virgin) and regional trains (West Midlands and Cross Country services). Services from Birmingham New Street run about 20 minutes, and the train ride from London Euston takes about 1 hour (on long-haul trains, 1:50 hours on regional trains). Via Birmingham New Street and London Euston, Coventry can be reached from large parts of the UK and neighbouring countries (France, via Eurostar) in ca 4 hours.

From the main station: Take a bus (buses 12X or 11) to the University of Warwick. The bus stop is next to the station (1 minute walk) and you should get off the bus at the Warwick University Interchange (the main bus interchange serving the university).


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