Undervalued university town (Loughborough in general)

Member Name: ajaybee

Product:	Loughborough in general
Date:	17/04/01 (117 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Self-sufficient large town; good pubs and bars

Disadvantages: A bit limited for some tastes

Loughborough's one of those places that very rarely gets into the spotlight, quietly going about its own business and rarely kicking up a fuss. Perhaps this rather isolationist attitude, however unwilling, it what lends the town a certain charm - few people seem to know anything about it until they get here. Having lived here virtually all of my life, though, it's a place which you can grow to love quite easily.

Historically Loughborough's a major market town, a tradition dating back from the 11th Century or something ridiculously ages ago, which continues today on a Thursday and Saturday, and is seen as one of the most vibrant street markets in the country (apparently). What it certainly means is that getting round Loughborough on a Saturday afternoon is the pedestrian equivalent of Friday night on the M25, but as you can appreciate this is a fairly minor gripe.

The other main selling point of Loughborough is its excellent University, amongst the best in the country for engineering, and sports (a bizarre combination if ever there was one). Having such a major university in a comparatively small town (Loughborough's population is ~60,000) means that the student population is an influential section, making up 15-20% in termtime. For some the presence of the ever-increasing student body is nothing but a nuisance, but it certainly makes Loughborough a far more vibrant town than it would otherwise be.

The presence of the students in Loughborough certainly means that you can enjoy a decent night out in Loughborough. Don't come expecting the plushest clubs in the land, but Loughborough's three nightclubs (Pulse, Xs, and Discoteca) aren't bad - though they look better if you're a bit tipsy :). Loughborough's pubs and bars however are another matter altogether - there's loads!. The towncentre apparently boasts 30+ pubs; pub-crawls are therefore an ideal pastime on a typical Friday night. Major pub chains ar
e all represented - JD Wetherspoon's, It's A Scream etc. Prices on the whole are more than reasonable, though slightly on the up as the bars seem to be getting swankier and swankier.

Loughborough is pretty self-sufficient when it comes to shopping, though its size means there limited department store representation - the best you get is Littlewoods, sadly. There's no M&S either unfortunately. All this could change though with the recent commencing of a rather grandiose-looking shopping/cinema development on the site of the town's old decrepid bus station. Hopefully this should attract a few more of the larger stores to the town. In any case, Leicester is 10 miles away, and Nottingham 14 - neither take more than 20 minutes on the train to get to - so anything you can't find in Loughborough is within easy reach. Most of the town centre regulars are here though - Next, WHSmith, Woolworths, Dixons, McDonalds and such. There's not much that's not covered. The Churchgate area also has a number of smaller, independent, designer-type shops which are a bit more varied.

Being stuck right on the M1 and A6, about 20mins from East Midlands Airport, Loughborough's other main plus-point is its accessibility. It's also on the main Sheffield-London St.Pancras line.

As a market town there's little to set Loughborough aside from the plethora of other similar sized towns across the country; there's little rich heritage or anything such. It's just an incredibly self-sufficient town; most people seem of a genial nature, and there's generally little to dislike about it, especially from a young person's perspective.

Summary: