Location
The conference will be held in Magdalen College, Oxford, which still preserves its 15th century pronunciation of "Maudele'n.".
Oxford
Oxford is a city of modest size located in the West Midlands,
approximately 90 km (56 mi) from London. Within the City of Oxford is
the University of Oxford, made up of colleges. Wealth and prestige of
Colleges is what counts in Oxford, not the thing called the University,
which is rather a small appendage to the collection of about 40
colleges and halls.
Oxford is between two rivers, the Isis (which eventually
becomes the Thames), and Cherwell. It is a somewhat industrial town,
that has some tension with the university within in it (known as the
Town and Gown split).
As Oxford is a real town, the market town for the County of
Oxford, it has all the amenities of a city (excellent roads, rail
links, and coach links, restaurants, hotels, nightclubs, shops), plus
the addition of the amenities available only at one of the finest
universities in the work: wonderful buildings, great lectures, theatre
and music, notable scientists and scholars, and some of the world's
most important libraries and museums.
Travel
Travel to Oxford from elsewhere in the UK:
from the rest of the world:
- The EuroStar to London, then bus or train to Oxford - ask the Man in Seat 61
- Closest airports in order of distance are London Luton, London Heathrow, West Midlands, London Standsted, London Gatwick, Bristol or Southampton.
Once you've reached Oxford, you can walk or take a taxi from the station to Magdalen College. Car parking in Oxford is limited and expensive. Maps of Oxford are available from the University website.
Accommodation
Registration for Accio 2008 is closed, and rooms at Magdalen College are no longer available for booking. If you have questions, please contact registration@accio.org.uk. Please DO NOT contact the college directly.
All rooms for registered participants staying in residence at Magdalen College will be equipped with a telephone, Ethernet socket, small refrigerator, and bedding, linen and small bath towels will be provided. Ensuite rooms have a private shower, toilet and wash hand basin and are equipped with tea and coffee making facilities. Standard rooms have their own wash hand basin; guests share bathrooms, showers and toilets located nearby with a few other residents. Delegates may check-in to their rooms anytime after 1.00 p.m. on Friday 25 July. Check-out is by 10.00 on Sunday, 27 July (there will be a place to store luggage until the conclusion of the conference). All residential room rates include breakfast on the mornings of 26 and 27 July.
The College is fully
booked with other events on the nights before and after the Accio
conference, but there are many Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs), hotels,
and a
youth hostel, and even camp sites available within and around the city
of Oxford. We have made no arrangements with other venues.
A good source for finding a place to stay is http://www.oxfordcity.co.uk/oxford/home_accommodation.html.
It is unlikely if you wait until 2008 that you can find rooms
elsewhere in other Oxford Colleges, however, the link for trying to do
so is: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/accommodation/.
If staying in a college is insufficiently posh, try http://deals.hotels.com/.
The sort of place to stay to make Oxford into an extended holiday might be found at http://www.hotelsandguesthouses.net/
A helpful link with a map is http://www.oxfordcity.co.uk/.
Local Attractions
Oxford is an important transport hub from where it is easy to travel to
many places of cultural and historic interest. These include:
Windsor Castle (30 km)- home to Queen Elizabeth II.
London (60 minutes to Paddington by fast train)
Bracknell - original film location for 4 Privet Drive (30 miles)
You can also visit VisitBritain.com for more ideas on places to visit.
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The Radcliffe Camera
Museum of Natural History
Oxford University Press
Sheldonian-Clarendon
Punters on the Isis
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