The 18th Summer Working Group on Model-Based Clustering will be held in Glasgow, July 17-23, 2011. The sessions will be in room 214 of the Mathematics Building in the University of Glasgow and accomodation can be booked (at University agreed discounted rates) through the link given below. The organizing committee this year consists of Brendan Murphy, Gilles Celeux, Rebecca Nugent, Nema Dean and Adrian Raftery.

It will start with an opening social event on Sunday July 17, sessions in the mornings Monday-Friday July 18-22 (timetable available here), and a hike on Saturday July 23.

Social Event - Sunday 17 July
The Working Group will be meeting at Cottiers Bar and Restaurant on 93 Hyndland Street (see map) at 7pm Sunday 17th July. Food and drinks can be ordered there and if the weather is fine, barbequed food can be ordered.

Useful Links

Travelling to/from Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is located in the West End of Glasgow.

There are two airports serving Glasgow: Glasgow International and Glasgow Prestwick/Prestwick International.

Glasgow International airport is only 15 minutes drive from Glasgow City Center and the West End of Glasgow (where the University is located). It is 7 miles west of the University of Glasgow.
There is a bus service (number 747) from the airport to the West End (near the University of Glasgow) that costs around £4 and takes about 45 minutes. A taxi from the airport to the West End will cost around £20 (there is a fixed price charge of £16 to go from the West End to the airport). There is also a bus service (number 500) that goes from the airport to the city centre that takes about 30 minutes and cost around £5.

Glasgow Prestwick airport (also known as Prestwick International airport) is not located within the city of Glasgow proper. It is 22 miles south west of the University of Glasgow. It has its own rail station and the journey by train from Central Station (in the city centre) takes about an hour. There is also a bus service to the city centre and a taxi one way could cost around £70.

Edinburgh International airport is 42 miles east of the University of Glasgow but there is a convenient frequent train between Edinburgh and Glasgow City Centre (Queen Street and Central Stations) that takes around 50 minutes.

Buchanan Bus Station in the city centre is the main terminus for long distance coaches. Timetables can be found at www.travelinescotland.com.

There are Intercity train links from Glasgow to all major cities. Frequent services to Edinburgh (50 minutes) and London (5 hours). There are two city-centre terminals, Queen Street and Central (served by Buchanan St and St Enoch subway stations respectively). Timetables can be found at www.travelinescotland.com.

Travelling within Glasgow
A simplified map of Glasgow is available here.

The easiest way of travelling from the city centre to the University of Glasgow is the Glasgow underground/subway, which takes approximately 10 minutes to go from the city centre (either Buchanan St or St Enoch subway stations) to the West End (Hillhead is the nearest station to the University of Glasgow), it runs every 5 or 6 minutes and costs £1.20 for a single ticket.

In terms of buses:
Routes 11, 44 and 44A run through the main campus from the city centre.
Other routes serve Dumbarton Road, Great Western Road and Byres Road.
A seasonal tourist bus stops at the University.

The nearest suburban rail station is Partick, about one mile west of the University.

Accomodation
Various hotel options are available through the university booking service.
To book, click the "Hotel Booking Service" link on the left hand side. A list of options from 2 to 5 star hotels will appear on the left hand side. Once you have decided which hotel option suits you best, click on the "Make an Enquiry" link and fill in the relevant details. For the Organisation/group name, please put "Model-Based Clustering Working Group".
Please note where the website says 5 minutes walking, read 10 minutes for a real person (and for 10 minutes, read 15 minutes).

The following options are within walking distance of the University:
2 star: Kelvin Hotel
3 star: Alamo Guest House, Argyll Guest House, Argyll Hotel, Belhaven Hotel
4 star: Hilton Grosvenor, Lorne Hotel Glasgow

These are shown on the following hotel map.
There will be one person leaving from the entrance of the Argyll Guest House (yellow pin on the map) at 8.30 each morning to lead people to the Mathematics building. (A very nice walk through Kelvingrove park and past the picturesque main building of the University.) If they wish to join this group, people from the nearby Argyll Hotel, Lorne Hotel and Alamo Guest House should congregate in front of the Argyll Guest House at that time.
For people staying in the Belhaven, Hilton Grosvenor and Kelvin Hotels, the meeting point at 8.30am daily to go to the Mathematics Building will be the main entrance of the Botanic Gardens on Great Western Road (pale blue pin on the map).


Information about the University of Glasgow
Campus map: The Mathematics building is D4 on the map (along University Gardens). The Hillhead underground station is marked with a "U".

Visitor Attractions in the University of Glasgow

General Information about the city of Glasgow

Tourist Information about Scotland

Fun Events
Bard in the Botanics: Shakespeare performed outside in the Botanic gardens (weather permitting).

Eating in the West End
For the Tuesday lunch, the proposed venue is La Vallee Blanche restaurant on Byres Road (5 minutes walk from the Maths Building). Sample menus and other details can be found on their website.

For dinner on Thursday, if we wished to stay in the West End, the Bothy restaurant is famous for its Scottish cuisine (details on their website) or if a trip to the City Centre was preferred, there are excellent restaurants in Merchant City or the Grill Room in Royal Exchange Square is a good possibility.

Other excellent restaurants in the West End (all a very short walking distance from the Maths building)
Two Fat Ladies (Tiny restaurant with excellent fish and traditional Scottish fare)
No. 16 (Wonderful bistro with good fixed price menus)
Ashoka (Good Indian food with a large variety)
The Wee Curry Shop (Smaller menu but more unusual Indian dishes, all excellent)
Stravaigin 2 (Wide variety of items on the menu from Asian to British. Also boasts the "best burgers in Glasgow")
The Ubiquitous Chip (One of the most famous and expensive Scottish restaurants in Glasgow, they do a cheaper set lunch. Highly recommended also for the excellent wines and whisky lists).
Cottier's (A bar and restaurant and soon to be theatre in a former church. Wonderful atmosphere and barbeque outside when the weather permits.)
Cafe Antipasti (Italian food, very good value for money)
Paperino's (Italian with a large menu)
Di Maggio's (Italian, relatively cheap)
There are various coffee shops, Subway and sandwich bars all along Byres Road for those who want a quick, cheap lunch.

Good bars in the West End
Cottier's (Mentioned above.)
Brel
Booly Mardy's
Oran Mor
Vodka Wodka
The Blind Pig (Unusual prohibition era themed bar and restaurant with excellent seasonal cocktails and afternoon teatime with the tea replaced by teapots of martinis)
The Ubiquitous Chip (Contains a number of great bars and brews its own beer.)

Here is a map showing a selection of restaurant, bars and cafes of interest.

Tourist Spots

Willow Tearooms
More to come

Last updated July 11th, 2011