BSHS Annual Conference 2014



The BSHS Annual Conference will take place from Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 July 2014 at the University of St Andrews.

Registration is now OPEN. To register and for full details including programme please visit  http://www.bshs.org.uk/conferences/annual-conference/2014-standrews and follow the links.

Venue and accommodation
In St Andrews, you can enjoy five miles of award-winning beaches, the world-famous golf courses and a town that is rich in history. The conference will start on the evening of 3 July with a plenary lecture delivered by Professor Sally Shuttleworth (University of Oxford) and a reception in the Museum of the University of St Andrews. The majority of the conference will take place in the University’s Gateway Building, opposite the Old Course. Our conference dinner will be held in the historic quadrangle of the United College of St Leonard and St Salvator, and there will – of course – be a ceilidh! The programme will include parallel themed sessions, plenary lectures, education and outreach activities, and an opportunity to explore the library, archival and museum resources available in St Andrews for historians of science, technology and medicine. An inclusive conference package is available, with en-suite accommodation provided in the modern Agnes Blackadder Hall near to the Gateway Building. Standard accommodation will also be available and twin/double rooms can be requested.

About the area
St Andrews has celebrated its 600th anniversary in 2013. It is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world. Its large School of History, which recently topped the Guardian University Guide league table for History (jointly with Cambridge), includes a well-established Institute for Environmental History, and a brand new Institute for Intellectual History. It also hosts the AHRC-funded project ‘Publishing the Philosophical Transactions’, a history of the world’s oldest scientific journal. Nineteenth-century science aficionados will be able to retrace the footsteps of David Brewster (Principal of the United College), Robert Chambers (town resident while writing Vestiges and again in retirement), and early photographers John and Robert Adamson.
St Andrews is located on the picturesque east coast of Scotland and has excellent transport links to the major Scottish cities and international airports. Its local railway station is Leuchars, which is on the mainline between London King’s Cross and Aberdeen. The station is about six miles from the university; buses run every ten minutes and take ten minutes. St Andrews is also served by a wide selection of intercity coach services, often via Edinburgh. The nearest major airport is Edinburgh which is about two hours away by public transport or an hour by car. Other international destinations can be reached via Glasgow airport. The attractions of St Andrews include the ruined castle and cathedral, the Bell-Pettigrew Museum of natural history, a lovely botanic garden, an aquarium with penguins and meerkats (!), and the beaches (including the West Sands where Chariots of Fire was filmed). St Andrews can easily be your stepping stone to a holiday in the Scottish highlands or a city-break in Edinburgh.

Transport and further information
Further information on transport links is available at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/visiting/gettingtostandrews/. General tourist information for this part of Scotland is available at http://www.visitscotland.com/destinations-maps/kingdom-fife/. Specific information for St Andrews can be found at http://www.visitstandrews.com/.