Choose Life......Choose Lancaster? (University of Lancaster in general)

Member Name: hellyphant

Product:	University of Lancaster in general
Date:	29/03/02 (1335 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lots to see and do, Lake District just round the corner, steeped in history and culture, the teaching is of a high standard and it's not too hard to make friends

Disadvantages: the campus can get claustrophobic, accomodation on campus isn't too great, students are loud, they keep you up all night, play loud music and they drink a lot (depending on your mood, not always bad things)

Choosing where to go to university is a tricky business - unless of course you're a pre-destined Oxford/Cambridge applicant, or you have a line of predecessing sibblings/friends/lovers who have all studied at a particular institution and claim it is the best. However, for the rest of us slightly less fortunate beings, the choice is so vast, it can seem quite bewildering. When I was a spring chicken of a Sixth Former, I didn't have a clue. I visited numerous Open Days, marking ticks and crosses next to my list of must haves - top of the list being - is there a shop nearby that will provide me with my daily dosage of chocolate, are there enough fit blokes for me, and can I fit said fit blokes in my Hall of Residence bedroom. Yes, I was a shallow, superficial Sixth Former, what can I say.

After a number of dissappointing visits to various universities around the country, time fastforwarded to one bitterly cold day in March and I found myself stepping off a coach into the city of Lancaster. And I just knew, instantly, that this was the place I wanted to spend the next 3 years of my life. I didn't refer to my list once, it was just a gut feeling. The fact that it was both countryside and city rolled into one - the beauty of the Lake District in one direction - the thrill of Blackpool pleasure beach and the night life of Manchester in the other. And the more I saw that day of the city and the campus itself, the more my gut feeling was confirmed. It was with great relief that I rushed home that night to fill in my empty UCAS form.

When I finally arrived at Lancaster, suitcase, teddy and stereo in tow, and my heartbroken sister left home alone with the evil parents (Yes, Katy, you were heartbroken, admit it...), I was forced to stop looking through my rose tinted glasses.

So thus follows 'The reality of life at Lancaster University.....'


*************Accommodation ****************

At Lancaster (
and I think it's the same with most other uni's), all 1st years are guaranteed a room on campus. I initially thought this would be great (and it retrospect it probably was a good thing for me) - no parents, no moaning, no nagging, just hundreds and hundreds of young people having rampant raging fun, eating dinner at 2 in the morning, going to bed at 4 in the afternoon and turning up to lectures all slurry, wobbly and glazed with alchohol.

Living on campus is very important, if, like me, you are rather shy and quiet. It can be very difficult, but when you're forced into an environment where you're constantly surrounded by other people, you tend to come out of your shell just that little bit.

The university is split into 8 colleges - Bowland (easily mistaken for high rise council flats, and where several students have jumped to their death....nice....just avoid this one if possible), Cartmel, County, Furness, Fylde, Grizedale, Londsdale and Pendle (where the rooms are ensuite and the views picturesque).

The archietecture of these buildings is far from beautiful. The colleges were built in the 60's, which should explain a lot. Very tacky and ugly and almost an insult to the beautiful greenery which surrounds them.

I spent my first year in County College. Here, you are given a room on a corridor of approximately 15 or so other students. You share a kitchen with these people and toilets and a lovely row of showers that tend to bring back terrifying memories of PE lessons at school. All this sharing of facilties means that you get to know people very quickly and making friends isn't too hard. That's the upside of campus accomodation. The downside is the actual quality of the facilities you're using. If you're used to your home comforts, you'll have a huge shock when you're faced with the harsh reality of campus life. County College in particular is a pretty grotty place to live. Although fo
r me, the grottiness was mainly due to the people I was living with. The kitchen was always dirty because no one ever cleaned up after themselves, the showers were always filthy - the plug holes blocked with pubic hairs (hmmm, nice), and the corridors were forever littered with empty beer cans and pools of lumpy carrot sick. (excuse the graphic description).

We did have cleaners who would come several times a week to give the place a quick wipe over, but it was never enough. I'm quite a clean and tidy person so the mess and dirt really used to annoy me. Especially when I was eating my breakfast next to an ashtray and cigarette smoke was continually blown into my face. But being me, I wasn't going to say anything, so I gradually stopped eating in the kitchen. I got my dad to bring a small fridge/freezer from home and I kept all my food in my room. I'd advise anyone to do this, whether their kitchen is clean or not. Students get desperate - when they run out of money and they come in drunk in the middle of the night, starving hungry.....well, let's just say no food is safe in a student kitchen.

The actual bedrooms (come living/eating area - because believe me, that's what student rooms become) are of a reasonable size. You are provided with a bed, wardrobe, table, a few book shelves and a sink and mirror. The sink is a godsend - means you can make tea and coffee without leaving your room, and if the thought of making that long trek to the grotty 'school' showers fills you with dread - you always have a cleaning alternative. Hmmmm, and then there's always the time you need the toilet in the middle of the night and you really don't want to have to obstacle jump the drunkards slumped in the corridor just to relieve yourself.....Well, desperate student times call for desperate student measures. Or maybe I'm just a filthy young girl who doesn't know better.

Besides the sink, the best thing by far, in
the County bedrooms are the wonderful window seats. If you ever have visitors staying over (and they're not the kind you want to share your rather narrow single bed with) - the window seat is perfect as it's the length of a sofa and actually far more comfortable than the proper bed you're provided with. Now, my room was on the 3rd floor so fairly high above ground level - and I used to love wiling an afternoon away - lying on my window seat in the sun - with the hills stretching out for miles in the distance. Although beware - nature may be beautiful to look at but it doesn't always smell too good. Leave your window open too long, and the smell of cow dung will waft into every corner of your room. Not a good hangover remedy, believe me!

On the whole, living on campus is something I'm glad I did but I wasn't sorry when the year was up. I was far far happier in my 2nd year when I lived in a house with 2 people of my choice. The constant 24 hour a day shouting, shrieking and loud thumping music can get a bit much after a while, especially when you're trying to study for an exam or you've got a migrane and nobody cares enough to lower the noise level even just a little bit.

Student houses are generally what 90% of 2nd years opt for. The other 10% choose to continue living on campus. Student houses in Lancaster are amongst the cheapest in Britain. I paid £35 a week in my 2nd year, but there were decent houses going for £28 a week if you looked hard enough. The Student Union's Housing Office supplies a yearly list of all prospective landlords and basically, if you're one of the first knocking on their door (usually sometime in February), you're going to get the best deal. It's best to go through the Student Union rather than local advertisements as you're guaranteed no dodginess. Landlords prey on wide-eyed innocent students and will try their best to lure you into renting their rat infested damp ri
dden cesspit of a house, because, "hey, you're not gonna find anything better - that's student accomodation for you" (said in dodgy northern accent). Run fast from these people. Run to the safety of that Student Union.



*******Entertainment & Night Life*******

A good night out can be had both on and off campus. Each college has their own bar and most evenings they tend to be full of students desperate for their beer, desperate for any excuse not to have to write that dreaded essay. The drinks are fairly cheap - when you're a student you tend to get everything cheap so make the most of it. And by this, I'm not encouraging you to down one drink after the other until you're completely paralytic and can't string two sensible words together. I know this sounds obvious, but be careful with your drink. There'll always be a desperate male (or female) searching for someone to take advantage of. It never happened to me personally, but just remember that drink makes the most unattratctive people seem strangely beautiful and you'll find yourself in situations you'd steer well clear of if you actually knew what you were doing.

The student bars are fairly basic, nothing spectacular - but if it's just your drink you're after - then you'll be happy. Quite frequently, Colleges will organise special themed nights and hold karaoke competitions. There are fancy dress parties, 60's discos, and sometimes obscure indie bands who no one's every heard of will twang their guitars and bang their drums for a few hours.

The people on my corridor at County tended to live in County bar. As it's open from lunchtime till late at night, there's always a drink to be had. And sometimes you just need one after a particularly dull and strenuous lecture.

I'm not much of a drinker myself, and it did annoy me at times that student life has to revolve around alchohol. I join
ed a number of societies while I was at uni - karate and horseriding to name a couple - and their idea of a group social was a weekly bar crawl, staggering from one bar to the next, downing several pints at each stop. That was fine for a couple of weeks. But I always longed to do something different - to spend a night at the theatre, or the cinema, or just to do something normal like have a meal in a restaurant.

It took a while for me to find people willing to do this kind of thing. But I did eventually, and I was a lot happier for it.
There are several very good restaurants in the centre of Lancaster. My favourite is the Golden Dragon, a delicious chinese restaurant where the food is top class (and not too expensive). There's also your Italians - Bella Pasta's always a good choice. They do a selection of scrummy chocolate deserts aswell - perfect!

If it's still drink you're after, there's quite a variety in Lancaster, from your large 3-storey rowdy student hangout to your smaller, more authentic kind - where you'll have the chance to mix with the locals - and get away from the persistant crowds of students.

Lancaster isn't exactly thriving on the club scene. When I was at uni the only clubs were The Sugarhouse ('the shagger') and The Warehouse ('the meat market') I'm not a big fan of clubbing so if I'm not objective enough here, please forgive me. I only ever went to The Sugarhouse, where the music always seemed to be rubbish and there was a distinct lack of decent men. You didn't have to get dressed up to go there either, so students would just turn up in their jeans and sweaters. It's that's not really what I'd consider a proper night out clubbing. It might have improved since I was there last though, as it was several years ago now.

If you travel further afield, the clubs do get better. Liverpool and Manchester aren't too far away and the uni often
arranges coach trips up to clubs such as Cream.



*************The Campus**************

Lancaster University is situated on the top of a big hill, overlooking many of the surrounding areas. On a clear day, in one direction you can make out the dramatic mountains of the Lake District, and in the other you can see Morecombe Bay - both of which are simply beautiful at sunset.

The university is a major part of the City of Lancaster. In fact, during the summer holidays when all the students have gone home, it's like a dead city. The streets are literally deserted and everywhere is eerily silent. I stayed up in Lancaster one summer, so I know this for a fact. I thought it would be nice to live as a local for a while, but it's not long before you find yourself almost missing the hustle and bustle of student life.

As the main employer of the city, the university provides the focal point for entertainment, culture and sport. On the campus site, you will find The Ruskin Library, The Peter Scott Gallery, the Nuffield Theatre, the large and well equipped Sports Centre which provides a wide variety of classes, such as archery, karate, trampolining and badminton, has a large swimming pool and 3 large exercise studios. You will also find the Chaplinancy Centre, numerous cafes and restaurants, several major banks, hairdressers, laundrettes and a subsidised cinema (come lecture theatre).

Everyone knows students are lazy. And if I was anything to go by, they'd be right. Lancaster is the lazy student's haven. You roll out of bed in the morning and your lecture theatre is a 2 minute walk away, your bar is next door and your chippie a few steps further along. Everything is literally on your doorstep.

There will come a time however, (believe me, there will) when the whole living on your doorstep surrounded by a consistant flow of boisterous students will get that little bit too claustrophic, and you'
ll feel you just have to spread your wings and explore somewhere else.



**************The City***************

The Centre of Lancaster is only a 15 minute bus ride away, about 20 minutes on a bike (if you're fast and don't use brakes) and a 45 minute walk. Well, you might have binged on chocolate the night before. Not that I'd know anything about that....

If you're used to London - like I am now - you'll be pretty disappointed with both the quality and quantity of shops in Lancaster. Clothes shopping is especially difficult - although there is a small TopShop and several cheap (and sometimes nice) varieties of Lancaster's answer to Select. You'll find the usual M&S and BHS - and there's also an indoor market that apparantly is quite good - although the smell of fish always put me off ever taking a proper look. To be honest, you could probably go in every shop in the whole of Lancaster, try on a pair of jeans in every clothes shop and have a cup of tea in each cafe, and still be home in time for elevensis (as my grandma would say).

If you're a shopper, your best bet is to leave Lancaster for the day and head for Preston. It's about a 30 minute bus ride away (depending on the traffic), and although not half as beautiful as Lancaster, it's where you're going to find all your beloved shops.

If however, the thought of being stuck on a bus is just too much for you to bear, you could take the time to explore Lancaster properly, and leaving the main shopping area behind, you will actually find several unique little shops hidden away, just waiting to be discovered. I found many unique and original christmas and birthday presents in these shops - beautiful candles, little mirrors, dream catchers and all kinds of strange reflective hanging things that brighten up the dullest of student rooms.

Shops aside, the City of Lancaster is steeped in history and atmosphere. C
ertain parts of the city are completely untouched by modernity - the streets are cobbled and twist and wind around thatched cottages with tiny tiny doors (door built for the Tiny People - like me!). Sometimes (and this doesn't only happen when you've been at the vodka), you forget what year it is, and it's almost as though you're living hundreds of years in the past.

Threading through the City of Lancaster is the canal, and it is pure bliss on a summers day, to sit by the water outside one of the pubs (The Waterwitch being a personal favourite), drink in hand and the sound of the water gently swishing as a canal boat passes by. If you really feel like spoiling yourself, you can book yourself onto one of the canal boat rides - the more luxurious ones provide you with a slap up meal. Perfect if you're on your first date and want to impress. Because a treat like this will certainly keep that lady coming back for more.

If it's culture and history you're after, you'll want to head for Lancaster Castle. You probably won't need a map to show you where this is, as it is a defining landmark and stands high at the peak of the City, almost impossible to miss. It's a proper fairy tale castle - the kind you read about but never believe really exists, and it's history is fascinating. In 1612, during the regin of James I, the renouned Pendle Witches were tried, convicted and burnt at the stake just outside the Castle. Eerily, every year on Bonfire Night a spectacular firework display is held at the Castle, and a burning fire crackles and madly flames at the spot where the witches were burnt.

Visitors are able to enter the castle and although in the main it is now used as a prison, it is still possible to see the dungeons, the 'drop room' (where prisoners were literally dropped from quite a height into the pits of the dungeons), and the 'hanging corner' where hundreds of condemned prisoners wer
e publically hanged.


*********Getting Away from it all**********

Sometimes you just feel the need to escape altogether. I know I did. My essays were piling up, I'd been kept awake yet again by a rowdy group of drunkrards parked outside my door, and I'd just had enough of students, locals, people in general. I think it's very important, especially when living on campus, to find time for yourself. You'll need to find your own thing which is just yours - mine was cycling.

I would set off for the day, a rucksack with food and water on my back, and head out into the hills with my trusty bike. The wonderful thing about Lancaster is that a mere 10 minute cycle will take you straight into the heart of the countryside. Here you'll find complete silence, peace. Oh, and the odd sheep. But they're usually harmless.

The Lune Valley is particulary beautiful, the Crook o'Lune in particular.

Cycling is great exercise, it clears your stressed hungover mind, and when you return at the end of the day, you'll feel completely refreshed. I totally recommend it. You'll also be able to eat that chocolate bar without feeling too guilty.



********************************************

Being a student isn't easy. Even though most people say that your uni days are the best of your life, I'm much happier now than I ever was when I was at Lancaster. However, I'm glad I chose to go there. I always wanted to live in the countryside and yet not be too far from a town, and Lancaster provided me with that. It's a beautiful city that really has a great deal to offer. Oh yes, and the lectures aren't too bad either. (strange how I forgot to mention the studying!)

Summary: