[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL] Formerly Hatfield Polytechnic[EBOLD][PARA]Hatfield is hardly outside London, less than 8 miles from the [PARA]outskirts. It's an[ITAL] uninteresting[EITAL] satellite, but Hertfordshire i[ITAL]s one of [PARA]the less trite Home Counties with many pretty rural villages[EITAL] and [PARA]the [ITAL]attractive [EITAL]town of St Albans. The University's main campus[ITAL] [PARA]seems divorced from everything but the A1[EITAL], which runs right [PARA]along one edge. It's 2 miles outside the centre of Hatfield - [ITAL]and in [PARA]Hatfield, 2 miles is a long way[EITAL]. The campus buildings are [ITAL][PARA]uninspiring [EITAL]blocks from the last 30 years, dotted [ITAL]spaciously [EITAL][PARA]around the green and wooded site. Fortunately, this is just the [PARA]main campus out of 3, spread over 14 miles. There's also a 4th [PARA]site where a field centre is based.[HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][PARA][ITAL]The Hatfield campus neither has enough excitement to be [PARA]self-sufficient, nor is it close enough to London for students to be [PARA]able to rely on the capital for fun. The students are forced to [PARA]make their own entertainment, not least because the local people [PARA]of Commutersville are not terribly welcoming. All this might [PARA]make you think that students here don't have fun, but on the [PARA]contrary, their down-to-earth approach ensures that most have a [PARA]good time getting involved in sports societies or ents. Students, [PARA]like everything else, mellow with age and so the number of [PARA]mature students has a considerable effect.[EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]THE SITES:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Hatfield: [EBOLD](all courses not based at other sites) This 93-acre site is[PARA]the main campus, [ITAL]but the least attractive[EITAL]. [ITAL] It's the sort of place [PARA]that will probably never look as though the building has been [PARA]completed.[EITAL] Among the more recent additions are some modern [PARA]brick student houses on the edge of the campus, brightly [PARA]adorned with colourful drainpipes. [ITAL]Lighting and safety are thorny [PARA]issues here, [EITAL]and the SU is pushing the University to spend some [PARA]money on the situation. The School of Art and Design is about [PARA]1/2mile away, in the old British Aerospace Design building.[PARA][BOLD]Hertford Campus:[EBOLD] (Business School) About 1,500 students are [PARA]based at this[ITAL] stunningly beautiful and seemingly remote[EITAL] site, 1/2 [PARA]mile from Hertford and 6 miles from the Hatfield campus. Its [PARA]main building is a mansion dating from 1640, edged by some [ITAL][PARA]inconspicuous [EITAL]more modern buildings and 100 acres of parkland,[PARA]ponds, topiaried hedges and so on.[PARA][BOLD]Watford: [EBOLD](Education, Humanities) 1,900 students are based in [PARA]this rural site at the village of Aldenham near the little town of [PARA]Radlett, about 2 miles from Watford (the most north-westerly [PARA]reach of London). It's 8 miles from the Hatfield campus and, like [PARA]Hertford, also has a mansion as its main building. This one looks [PARA]like a castle and, having been built in 1799, is modern by [PARA]comparison. [ITAL]The grounds are pleasant and the contemporary [PARA]additions are imposing. By most standards, though, still a very [PARA]attractive place. [EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Bayfordbury: [EBOLD]5 miles east of the Hatfield campus, in the grounds [PARA]of yet another mansion (Bayfordbury House). This time only[ITAL] a [PARA]mildly splendid[EITAL] white affair, host to the University's observatory [PARA]and biology field station.[HDNG]HATFIELD:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Population: 33,296 [BULL] London: 18miles [BULL] St Albans: 4miles [PARA]Birmingham: 91miles[ESTAT][PARA][ITAL]The only part of Hatfield that has any real character is Old [PARA]Hatfield with some village charm and an almost separate identity[EITAL].[PARA]Hatfield House is here, a [ITAL]handsome [EITAL]Elizabethan palace. The [PARA]new town is larger, [ITAL]but quiet and uneventful, except that (or, [PARA]perhaps, because) it is at the centre of the UK pharmaceutical [PARA]and computing industries, which is useful for students on [PARA]sandwich placements[EITAL]. Lots of grass verges are [ITAL]a nice idea[EITAL], but [PARA]they play havoc with residential parking. There are enough shops[PARA]to keep locals in milk, eggs and leisure-saving devices for the [PARA]ideal home. However, the massive Galleria shopping mall on a [PARA]bridge above the A1 on the outskirts of town has distracted [PARA]shoppers.[HDNG]HERTFORD:[EHDNG][PARA]7 miles away, Hertford is a [ITAL]pleasant, sleepy, middle-class [EITAL]market[PARA]town, which despite a long history, [ITAL]hasn't got much of a story to [PARA]tell.[EITAL] It's not the largest, nor the most important, [ITAL]nor the most [PARA]exciting [EITAL]town in Hertfordshire, despite providing it with its name. [PARA]However, it has[ITAL] a surprisingly good number [EITAL]of shops, is [ITAL]one of [PARA]the prettiest towns and is surrounded by lovely countryside.[EITAL][HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] Hatfield station is 11/2 miles from the main campus - [ITAL][PARA]useful [EITAL]for the direct service to London King's Cross (20mins, [PARA]4/hr) to the south and Stevenage to the north. From these [PARA]stations, there are also direct services all the way to York, [PARA]Newcastle and Edinburgh and connections to the rest of the [PARA]country. Hertford station is about 1/2 hour from London.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] No National Express Service to Hatfield or Hertford - [PARA]the nearest stops are London's Victoria Coach Station and Luton [PARA](12 miles away). London Country and Greenline Buses run [PARA]services to and from London.[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] The A1(M) runs right by the campus (but through a cutting,[ITAL] [PARA]so the noise and fumes pollution too bad[EITAL]). The A1000 passes [PARA]through Hatfield, as does the A414 which also goes to Hertford. [PARA]All sites are within 5miles of the M25.[PARA][BOLD]Air:[EBOLD] Luton Airport, offering international and inland flights, is 11 [PARA]miles north-east.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD] [ITAL]The Home Counties as a rule are not good for picking [PARA]up lifts, but if that's where you've gotta hitch from, the A1 is just [PARA]about the best road to be on. Try the junction with the M25[EITAL], 6 [PARA]miles down the road.[PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] Buses aren't the cheapest in the country, [ITAL]but are useful for[PARA]quick trips into Hatfield[EITAL]. The University also provides a bus [PARA]service between sites.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] Numerous firms, which work out [ITAL]expensive as[EITAL] soon as [PARA]students get beyond Welwyn Garden City (3 miles up the A1).[PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD][ITAL] Provided you've got a hefty padlock, a bike's a useful [PARA]way of rolling around the campus.[EITAL][ITAL][HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Periodicals: 250,000 [BULL] Computer workstations: 450[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA]The library at Hatfield, in the Todd Building, is one of the main [PARA]features of the campus. Other libraries at the Hertford Campus [PARA]and Wall Hall relate to the subjects taught at each site. Computer[PARA]facilities on each site.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 5full/3part [BULL] Unemployed [PARA]after 6mths (1992): 14.6%[ESTAT][PARA][ITAL]Well-known for producing engineers and computer scientists.[EITAL][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]Students who can claim a grant, can claim a bigger one at the[PARA]Watford campus because it is 2 miles within the M25 ring road [PARA]and qualifies as London ([ITAL]despite the fact that Hertford's more [PARA]expensive[EITAL]).[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Helen Lederer (comedian).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Prospectuses for undergrads and postgrads.
