Travel

By Foot: The Informatics Forum is located very close to the centre of Edinburgh. From Waverley train station or the St. Andrew's Square bus station the Forum is approximately a 15 minute walk. The simplest route is to make your way to Princes Street, and from there onto the North Bridge (at the east end of Princes Street) and then South Bridge. Once over the South Bridge you are almost on the University campus. Walk past the Festival Theatre on your right, take the next right into Nicolson Square, and the Forum is across the road at the far side of the square. Edinburgh is a small city and you will probably find that you can get everywhere you want to go on foot.

By Bus: The Edinburgh Tourist Board website has information on travelling to Edinburgh by bus.

If you have arrived in Edinburgh by train or by the airport shuttle (bus number 100) then you will be in the vicinity of Waverley Station. From Waverley Station it is a short walk along Princes St westwards (i.e. towards the Castle end) to The Mound. From here you can catch the number 42 bus which will take you to a stop next to the Forum in under 10 minutes (depending on traffic). If you have taken the '35' service from the airport into the centre of the city then you should disembark upon reaching Chambers Street. From here it is a 5 minute stroll to the Informatics Forum. The following page also contains useful bus information relating to the Forum: http://www.inf.ed.ac.uk/about/contact.html. In the centre of Edinburgh there are two bus companies, Lothian and First; Lothian buses are red/white/maroon and First buses are white/pink/purple. A single journey on the Lothian buses costs £1.10 (no changes allowed) so if you are going to take 3 rides or more it is best to get a 'day-saver' for £2.50 which you can use throughout the day and to get a reduction on the night buses. You must have the correct money as the buses don't give change. The Lothian buses website has timetables, maps and fare information. The First bus website for the Edinburgh area also has service details. Buses run till about midnight, and there are hourly nightbuses throughout the night.

By Taxi: Edinburgh has many 'black cabs' which should be easy to find at most times of the day in the city centre. There is a taxi rank outside Waverley Station, and taking a taxi to The Informatics Forum (or ask to be taken to `George Square' as the local cab drivers may not yet be familiar with the new building!) will usually cost around £5. A taxi from the airport to the Forum should cost about £20.

By Car: From the city bypass take the A701 into the city until it becomes the A7. As you get to the shops area, look for a Tesco Metro on the right-hand side. At the next traffic lights turn left onto West Nicolson Street. The central University campus (George Square area) and Appleton Tower are just ahead of you and the Forum is diagonally to the right. Parking is rather tricky in Edinburgh. There is on-street metered parking in Buccleuch (pronounced 'Buckloo') Place: turn left at the end of West Nicolson Street and take the first right. But you will probably find it easier to leave your car at home and use public transport.

By Plane: Many airlines fly to Edinburgh (EasyJet, BMI, BA, among others) for a huge range of fares, so the best policy is to do an internet search for the cheapest. From landing in the airport to the centre of town, by bus, with luggage, will take just over an hour. The airport shuttle (bus number 100) costs £3 single and £5 for an open return. There are buses every 10 minutes. You can also get a Lothian bus number '35' from the airport to Forrest Road - 5 minutes from the Forum - for the measly price of £1.10 (or get a daysaver, see above); it takes about 55 minutes.

By Train:The easiest way to find out about trains to Edinburgh seems to be via The TrainLine. The main station is Edinburgh Waverley. Trains from London take about 5 hours, from Bristol about 6 hours. When you're looking for cheap tickets, bear in mind that two singles could be cheaper than a return and that if you split the journey up into sections (e.g. London - York, then York - Edinburgh) you might get a cheaper fare than if you get one ticket for the whole journey. The only hardship to you would be that you would have to change your seat at the end of each section.

Where Is The Forum? Look for postcode EH8 9AB on Streetmap and you will see the George Square area and a car park on Crichton Street. That car park is now the Forum. Likewise if you search for 'Crichton Street' on Google Maps you will see a lot of cars. The building looks like this.