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