Social events

Welcome Reception

On Monday evening there will be a welcome reception at Ogden Centre West (where we will have lunches and coffee breaks) with light snacks at the end of the day.. This event will provide a great opportunity for attendees to meet and network in a relaxed setting at the start of the conference. We look forward to seeing you there and kicking off our event in style! It will take place immediately after the science sessions, also in the same venue. 

Conference Dinner

The Conference dinner will be held at Grey College on Thursday at 7pm. The college bar will be open from 6pm. The theme of the conference dinner will be a celebration of "Cultures Across the Continents". We encourage participants to adorn in their cultural/heritage wear or something that represents/highlights your cultural background for the evening!  The college bar will be open from 6pm. You will need to have registered for the conference dinner to attend. 

Trip to Newcastle

On Wednesday we will go to Newcastle. We have organised buses to pick up all participants at 08:15 from the Ogden Centre West. The buses will pick us up at the end of the day and bring us back to Durham, and we expect to be back around 21:00 but pllease note that the bus pick up time from Newcastle is to be confirmed.

The outline of the day is:

• Coffee and visiting the Space Investigators exhibit at the Great North Museum, followed by a short plenary session with talks

• Catered lunch and a further chance to see the Space Investigators exhibit

• Excursions in Newcastle – based on your preference at registration (we will clarify your allocation at the conference on arrival and you will be guided to the start of the tours from the museum).

  • A visit to St. James Park, the home of the Newcastle United FC a.k.a. the "Magpies". 

  • A historical tour of the city of Newcastle including a visit to the old town and the Newcastle castle, which dates back to AD 100s during the reign of Emperor Hadrian who established Newcastle Upon Tyne as a Roman Province of the then Brittania. This will start at St Andrew's Church. 

• Dinner across the city – we have organised participants into groups, with more information provided at registration on the Monday. We have noted everyone’s dietary restrictions from the registration form. If you haven’t provided it already please let us know ASAP so we can accommodate it. Please note that most participants should pay for their own meals at the restaurants. Only those who are on full-financial support will we be covering the dinner cost in Newcastle. 

The main location across Newcastle are pinned on this map below: