Venue etc.

Venue

Barring any last minute hitches, IBiS 2026 will be held in the University of Bristol Fry Building (School of Mathematics). The oral sessions will be presented in room Lecture Hall LG.02 and posters displayed in the foyer outside that room. From the city centre to the venue it is a 15 minute walk (up a hill). Please let us know if you have mobility or accessibility questions or concerns.

The best entrance to come into the building for the meeting is here: https://w3w.co/analogy.prop.solve.

We will have three additional rooms booked round the corner from the main space, one designated a quiet space and two others for any meetings you may need to attend. 

Food

The conference dinner, icebreaker, light lunches (e.g. sandwiches), and coffee + snacks during the morning and afternoon breaks are included in the meeting fee. Please bring a reusable water bottle if possible to reduce waste. We should have reusable coffee cups for you to use and take home. Dietary requirements as noted in the registration form have been accommodated to the best of our ability. There are also sandwich shops, cafes, grocery stores and bakeries within a 10 minute walk of the conference venue, many of which offer vegetarian, vegan, halal and GF options.

The reception on Monday night will be at the Waterfront, where a range of vegetarian, vegan and gluten free food options are available to purchase in the adjoining restaurant bar and bring into our hired room.

IBiS dinner will be at the Grain Barge on Tuesday, and will be a choice of vegan (with cheese available on the side) or fish tacos. 

Accommodation

There are a range of accommodations in Bristol including hostels, hotels and short-term self-catered homestays, bookable through your preferred hotel booking website. 

To name a few examples:

The Royal Marriott Hotel is conveniently located a short walk from the conference venue, right in the heart of the city. 

For those with less of a budget, the YHA Youth Hostel down by the harbourside is a reasonably priced alternative with dorm beds and private rooms, again in a central location close to the meeting venue. 

Somewhere in between, hotels like The Regency also offer economical options with single and shared rooms. 

Getting to Bristol

We highly encourage green travel options such as train or coach. Bristol is ~1.5 hours from London's Paddington Station by train or ~3 hours from London's Victoria Station by coach bus; both trains and coaches run regularly. For trains,  you can book directly via Trainline or GWR. For coaches, National Express and FlixBus both offer low-cost transport from destinations and airports across the country. For both trains and coaches, tickets are much cheaper when bought in advance. From Bristol Temple Meads train station or the Bristol Bus & Coach Station (BBCS), local buses can take you to the conference venue or to most places in the city, as can Uber or the blue taxis waiting outside the station (most take contactless/card payment). From Temple Meads the number 8 bus runs very close to the University, and from the coach station the venue is a 15 minute walk up the hill. 

If you're coming from Bristol Airport, the Bristol Flyer bus runs every 10 minutes or so and can drop you off at Temple Meads train or the bus station for £9 (buying a return ticket works out cheaper, and if you have a student ID, show it for a discounted fare).

If you're coming from Heathrow or Gatwick airports, National Express coach buses run directly and regularly to Bristol Bus and Coach Station (~2.5 hours from Heathrow, ~4 hours from Gatwick).

Getting around Bristol

Bristol is a very walkable city that is also well serviced by bus, local train, scooter and ebike.

All local buses are tap on, tap off, so you don't need cash or to buy a ticket in advance. Buses are often delayed by a few minutes, so the First Bus app can be useful for checking when a bus will actually arrive.

Taking the GWR train between stations within Bristol is easy and cheap (£1.50 single, £2.10 return). Tickets can be bought at the platform, using the GWR website or app, or directly from the friendly conductors while on the train. They don't need to be bought in advance. If you're taking the train to Temple Meads to make a connecting train, be aware that delays on the commuter trains are common- we advise that you check live departures from your stop via GWR or Google Maps. 

Temple Meads Main Railway Terminus to conference venue: 35-minute walk, or take bus numbers 8, 72, 71 (or others)

Bus station to conference venue: 15-18-minute walk, or a variety of buses - e.g. 5, 8, 77, U1

Other information

Weather: https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/forecast/gcnhtnumz#?date=2026-03-24

Bristol has a cat pub...