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ETAPS'09 will be held on the campus of the University of York, UK. Founded in 1963, the University has grown to 11,4000 undergraduates in some 30 departments, still small by UK standards. The Campus is a 200-acre site, formerly the grounds of Heslington Hall, the sixteenth-century home of Thomas Eynns, Secretary and Keeper of the Seal to the Council of the North. Now the administrative centre of the University, it retains Elizabethan towers and courtyard and the recently-restored great hall ceiling. |
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The ETAPS Reception will take place in the recreated Victorian streets of York Castle Museum, in the city centre. The museum was founded to host a collection of everyday objects made by Dr John L. Kirk, a North Yorkshire country doctor. The site was previously occupied by York Castle, a military base since Roman times, of which only the adjoining Norman bailey (Clifford's Tower) remains. The museum buildings formerly housed a prison, and an adjoining building is still the County Court.
The ETAPS Banquet will be held in the National Railway Museum, among locomotives, carriages and railway memorabilia from the entire history of railways. The Great Hall, constructed on the site of one of the largest engine sheds in the country, still has one of the original turntables. The locomotives include some icons of the railway age Mallard, holder of the world record speed for a steam locomotive; Evening Star, the last British steam locomotive; an early Japanese Shinkansen locomotive (the "bullet train"); a giant Chinese steam locomotive, and much much more. The Station Hall, once a carriage shed, features restored carriages from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including some of the original carriages built for Queen Victoria. The Works, off the Great Hall, includes the workshops where vehicles are restored (and steam engines serviced for use on Britain's rail network).
For a full set of maps and travel information, see the University Maps and Directions.
Note that all external services and prices mentioned below are indicative only and may be subject to change without notice.
The nearest airport to York is Leeds/Bradford International Airport. There is a direct coach service from this airport to York, which runs approximately once an hour, and a return ticket currently costs £15 (when bought online) and £17 (when bought on bus).
The International Airport at Manchester, although further away, has many more international flights (including to/from North America) and a rail service direct from the airport to York. Trains normally run up to every 30 minutes on weekdays, the journey takes approximately 1:45 hours, and a flexible return ticket costs approximately £35.
To travel to York from London Heathrow or Gatwick, you must first make your way into the centre of London, to King's Cross train station. Either take the Tube (Picadilly Line, direct to King's Cross, approximately 1 hour and currently £4.00 for a single ticket), or take the Heathrow Express to Paddington (approximately 15 minutes, and currently £16 for a return ticket purchased online and £25 for a return ticket purchased on board), and then the Tube (e.g., Hammersmith line or Circle/District line) to King's Cross.
York is served by regular, fast trains from London and Edinburgh (each about 2 hours by train), as well as good connections to cities such as Leeds, Doncaster (each about 25 minutes by train), Newcastle (about 50 minutes by train) and Manchester (about 1:45 hours by train). See National Rail Enquiries for train times and prices.
If you are travelling from Manchester or Leeds, you need not book your train tickets in advance: you can buy a reasonably priced ticket on the day of travel. If you are travelling from London or Edinburgh, it is to your advantage to buy a ticket in advance, and to specify your times of travel.
For example, you can buy tickets through the National Rail site which allows you to choose your best route. The site does take you through to the relevant pages to purchase in advance and choose your preferred pick-up/delivery option (e.g., you can arrange to pick up your tickets at a station such as King's Cross).
When travelling by rail in the UK, do compare the cost of a return ticket with the cost of two single tickets; there are sometimes savings to be made either way. In almost all cases, purchasing tickets in advance will be significantly cheaper than purchasing them immediately before your journey.
The University of York campus is within 30 minutes' walk of the city centre, and the frequent number 4 bus (often a purple "bendy bus"; timetable) links York Railway Station and the University. In general, a single ticket currently costs £1.90 and a return ticket £3.00. A taxi journey between railway station and campus costs approximately £7.00.
The campus map covers all locations for the conferences. ETAPS will take place in Central Hall (invited talks), the Exhibition Centre (main conferences & registration desk), and in some of the colleges (satellite events).
Please note that there is only very limited Pay and Display car parking on campus.
Internet access will be available to all delegates via wifi in all lecture halls and seminar rooms used by the ETAPS main conferences and satellite events, and via a wired network in the bedrooms on campus (please bring along an Ethernet cable).
Login details, including user names and passwords, will be provided at registration.
York packs a lot of attractions into a small area. If you are spending time sightseeing, it is worth looking at the York Pass, which gives free entry to various places in the city. For information on the many ways to pass time in York, visit the tourist web site. Here we just propose two iconic attractions, separated by a mass of medieval streets provide shopping, cafes, pubs and a daily open-air market:
York Minster is top of everyone's list. The finest, and largest Gothic cathedral in northern Europe dominates the York skyline. The tower gives dramatic views over the surrounding area, whilst the crypt preserves foundations of Roman and Norman buildings, as well as showing the lengths to which twentieth-century engineers had to go to keep the Minster standing.
The Jorvik Centre, under the Coppergate Square shops, provides a fascinating glimpse at Viking York, with reconstructions based directly on the finds of the excavation that preceded construction of Coppergate Square.
