What is the setting of Small World by David Lodge?

Small World follows protagonist Persse McGarrigle around the world. It is set in time around the mid- to late-1980s, at any rate before the advent of the Windows interface and the Internet and well before airports cracked down on security breaches. It begins on the campus of Rummidge, a provincial college in the English midlands during a literary conference. Many times the novel passes through Heathrow Airport, London, a hub for the international travel to which the academics are addicted.