Location

The meeting will be held at the Institute for Astronomy (IfA) at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh. The IfA is one of four major components of the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh.

The address is:

Institute for Astronomy
University of Edinburgh
Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill
Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, United Kingdom

Power and WiFi

There will be UK power outlets in the IfA LT - don’t forget your adapators.

The site has eduroam, which should work for most participants. However, we will also have a dedicated conference wifi - connection details available at the meeting.

However, we strongly ask you to respect the presenters not check email during the talks. That is not why we are gathering!

Code of Conduct

The University of Edinburgh has a Code of Conduct/dignity and respect policy. This can be found here

Local Information

We have compiled some useful Edinburgh Tips for you, including information about visiting Edinburgh, about going to Festival events, and about the local bus system.

Here is a map of the ROE site, with some key locations marked.

Here is a Google map with some of the key locations marked - ROE, airport, conference dinner location, Student Castle and Braid Hills hotel.

If you are staying at either the Braid Hills Hotel or Student Castle, the easiest way to get to ROE is probably by taxi. (You could organise yourselves and share.) Alternatively, its about a 20-25 minute walk from either location. From Braid Hills its a particularly nice walk, through the Hermitage and Blackford Hill. (You could take a detour to the Agassiz rock.) From Student Castle you can get a 67 or 42 bus to the corner of the Kings Buildings campus, but this still leaves you a 10 minute walk. Whichever way you go, we are afraid there is no avoiding the necessity of getting up Blackford Hill!

Accommodation Suggestions

Accommodation in Edinburgh in August is very hard to get and can be very expensive, so book early. Here are two options that we have reserved for you and that we recommend.

• Braid Hills Hotel. Must be contacted direct to make the reservation for the discounted rooms. When booking, you must state that you want to book a room from the ``Royal Observatory block booking and the reference number: BHH67597’’. A credit or debit card will be require to make and secure each reservation. No bookings will be accepted after the 07th July 2019.

• Student Castle, Causewayside. We have 35 rooms set aside for the meeting, for four nights, 5th - 9th August, that’s 4 nights. 20 of these rooms have an option for the fifth night, e.g. the Sunday 4th August. Note, the Student Castle rooms are self-catering. You can book these rooms through our registration process, which we strongly recommend. Note, the Student Castle rooms are self-catering.

• If you would like to sort accommodation options yourself, there are several options listed here, as well as numerous AirBnBs in the town.

• Do contact the LOC using QuasarsInCrisis@gmail.com if needs be.

Travel

Edinburgh can be easily reached by plane or train.

There are direct and often daily flights into Edinburgh from: Amsterdam (KLM), Barcelona (Vueling), Beijing (Hainan), Doha (Qatar), Dubai (Emirates), Frankfurt (Lufthansa), Istanbul (Turkish), Munich (Lufthansa), Newark (United). There are seasonal (appropriate for August) flights operating from Boston (Delta), Chicago (United), New York-JFK (Delta), Philadelphia (American), Toronto (Air Canada) and Washington-Dulles (United).

London (Heathrow or Gatwick), Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam or Dublin are the usual connections (all ~1 hour flying time).

easyJet is a great economical way to travel too, e.g. from Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Munich.

Trains connecting via e.g. London (Kings Cross) are approximately 5 hours in travel time, and arrive into the city center at Edinburgh Waverley station.

You may need a visa to come to the U.K.
UK Gov Border Control and UK Gov Visa Application should have all the necessary details.