I stayed at the Slapton Ley Field Centre for a week for my Zoology degree at university. I had a brilliant stay although I was very lucky with the weather. We had a week of really hot sunshine, no rain whatsoever. The moment I got back home though it rained again. The staff at the centre are all really friendly.

Accomodation
The field centre has different buildings with different accomodation blocks. The room I stayed in was a little basic but lovely all the same. For those of you who have ever stayed in university halls the room was very similar only a little better kept. I shared my room with two other girls, although you can get rooms for just 2 people. The walls were a plain white with a sky window in the corner and the furniture consisted of a single bed, bunk beds, desk, wardrobe and a chest of drawers. The duvet, duvet cover and pillows were provided. The room also had an ensuite bathroom which had a shower, sink and toilet and a hand towel provided. The shower has a button which you press to turn it on and warms up straight away but the shower will turn off every 12 seconds unless you press the button again which is a little annoying. I have to warn you though that not all rooms have ensuites and some have shared communal showers. I know this as the boys and girls were put into different blocks and the boys had no ensuite! Downstairs there is a tea and coffee machine which was used 24/7 during our stay!

Food
Ok this place has the most amazing food I have ever tasted. One of the main things that everyone said afterwards was how great the food was.
Breakfast is available form 8:00 until 9:00. You can come anytime you want within this hour. For breakfast you can either have a cooked breakfast or a cold breakfast. The cooked includes a choice of eggs, sausages, veggie sausages, tomato, mushrooms, baked beans, hash browns and bacon. There is also a toast machine with both brown and white bread. A cold breakfast includes a choice of cereals including muesli, cornflakes, bran flakes, and rice crispies. There is also fruit and yoghurt avaible. For drinks you can make your own tea or coffee or have orange juice or water. On the tables butter, jam and marmale is available.
For lunch you have to make your own at breakfast. The staff lay out a selection of food on the tables. This includes brown and white bread with butter and assorted sandwhich fillers including tuna and sweetcorn, egg mayonnaise, coronation chicken, ham, fresh vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes etc). Behind the tables there are baskets filled with fruits including bananas, apples, plums and pears. However more importantly are a selection of cakes which change everyday including the best flapjacks you will ever taste, shortbread, chococlate brownie and scones.
Dinner is served at 6:00. This is the best meal of the day and portions are LARGE. The staff have a blackboard which they write up what dinner and desert is everyday. Meals included chicken wrapped in bacon with rice and vegetables, fish and chips, steak pie and chips and vegetables, sheperds pie, lasagne, pizza cooked in the outisde pizza oven with baked potato and vegetables and a roast every sunday. Every meal also includes desserts such as chocolate borwnie and ice cream, cherry and chocolate gateau, cheese and biscuits, sticky toffee pudding and more. Vegetarian options are available.

Facilities
The centre has a number of labs. I only used two during my stay but I know there are more. They are very much like classrooms with tables and chairs, a desk for the teacher and a whiteboard up front. I'm not sure of the equipment provided as I don't know how much of what I used was brought along by our teachers. There is also a library although I never used this. There is a sports barn for kicking a ball around. There is also a very nice garden area with tables and chairs were you can sit and sunbathe. The centre also has a spereate building called Uplands. In here there is a room with a sofa and sky TV. This room has a little balcony with a view out to the countryside.

Location
The field centre is located in the little village of slapton. It has a very isolated feel to it but I absolutley loved it as I am a massive fan of the countryside. Slapton has about 200 people. The village includes a tiny village shop, and two pubs. One of these is the kind of pub which you have to have a meal in rather than sit and drink but the other is far more relaxed. The beach is a ten minute walk away down a very steep hill. It is a shingle beach but the water is very clean. In the sun the water actually looks blue. About 6 minutes away is a little bird ringing station. There are also a number of footpaths which lead into the surrounding coutryside which is quite beautiful. In the woods there is a lake which is lovely to sit by when its sunny.
There is some great wildlife here as well. If you go into the villlage at night you can literllay see bats pouring out of peoples roofs at night. There are also badgers in the area. We saw 2 dormice during out stay in their nest boxes and a couple of wood mice. There are many bird species including, swallows, herons, cormorants, many warblers and more. Inescts are also abundant for those of you interested in insect studies.