[HDNG]INTRODUCTION:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL] Formerly Bristol Polytechnic[EBOLD][PARA][BOLD]For general information about Bristol:[EBOLD] see [ULNE]University of Bristol[EULNE]. [PARA]The University has 4 sites with its main campus 5 miles north of [PARA]the city centre at Frenchay. It was purpose-built in 1975[ITAL] in a style [PARA]that suggests that built with a purpose means 'built with an [PARA]excuse' - it doesn't do any favours for eye strain, although certain[PARA]features like 'the Octagon',[EITAL] the HQ building of the HEFC (the [PARA]quango funding body of higher education) [ITAL]and the 2 [PARA]accompanying 'student villages' are pleasant and even innovative.[PARA]The prospectus has the buildings photographed through some [PARA]idyllic bullrushes, which is a bit cheeky[EITAL]. The other sites, [PARA]described below, are spread out around Bristol nearer the centre.[PARA]They have their own courses and are roughly self-contained, [PARA]although all students are allowed to use the facilities of the main site.[PARA][PARA][BOLD][HDNG]ATMOSPHERE:[EHDNG][EBOLD][PARA][ITAL]The Frenchay campus doesn't have much of a community [PARA]atmosphere, but is lively as a hamster on a well-greased wheel. [PARA]Other campuses differ, for example Bower Ashton has less [PARA]character than a motorway service station. The advantages of [PARA]Bristol as an attractive and fun city come into play. Strong links [PARA]develop with the city through various activities. The University, [PARA]however, does lack a single focal point for all students at all [PARA]campuses - Frenchay ends up ignoring the others a bit.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]THE SITES:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Frenchay: [EBOLD](8,500 students - most courses) The main site.[PARA][BOLD]Bower Ashton:[EBOLD] (800 students - Art, Media and Design) 2 miles [PARA]south-west of the city centre over the Clifton Suspension Bridge [PARA]on the other side of the gorge and 71/2 miles from Frenchay, this [PARA]is an [ITAL]overwhelmingly[EITAL] white concrete and glass oblong, [ITAL]not built to[PARA]appeal to the aesthetic nature of the students based here[EITAL]. It is [PARA]surrounded by [ITAL]pleasant [EITAL]fields, though, and the students[ITAL] consider [PARA]themselves almost separate from the main site.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Redland: [EBOLD](1,100 students)[BOLD] [EBOLD][ITAL]The building does a good impersonation [PARA]of a modern comprehensive school, ironic since [EITAL]it is the base for [PARA]the Faculty of Education. It is 5 miles from Frenchay near the [PARA]city centre.[PARA][BOLD]St Matthias:[EBOLD] (1,300 students - Humanities, Health and Community [PARA]Studies) 21/2 miles from Frenchay with 2 halls of residence, [ITAL]this [PARA]is by far the best-looking site[EITAL] with a gothic style listed building and[PARA]a sunken[ITAL] [EITAL]lawn.[ITAL] This is a tight knit community, almost a college in[PARA]its own right.[EITAL][PARA][PARA][ITAL][HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][EITAL][PARA][ITAL][STAT][BULL] Population: 370,300 [BULL] London: 111miles [BULL] Birmingham: [PARA]77miles [BULL] Cardiff: 29miles[ESTAT][EITAL][PARA][ITAL]Bristol is effectively the capital of the south-west. There's no use [PARA]thinking this is a small time small town,[EITAL] although it's not as [PARA]cosmopolitan as the big boys like London, Brum or Manchester. [PARA]It was once though, back in the 17th century, when it was [PARA]England's 2nd port, and, into the 18th and even the early 19th, it [PARA]was still crucial on a national scale. But the old maritime industry [PARA]has gone now and the docks have been redeveloped with offices [PARA]for yapping yuppies. Elsewhere around the city, the night life [PARA]leaves walls permanently dripping with metaphorical red paint, [PARA]from clubs to culture and back again, and many a spending [PARA]spree can be sprung in the city's shops and markets. [PUSH]push[EPUSH] [PARA]would like to push the discriminating towards a few of Bristol's [PARA]highest highlights: among the physically highest are the Cabot [PARA]Tower (which, from below, can be seen from almost anywhere, [PARA]and from the top of which almost anything can be seen) and the [ITAL][PARA]outrageous [EITAL]Clifton Suspension Bridge, designed by Brunel. Also [PARA]designed by Brunel in 1843 is the SS Great Britain, now in dry [PARA]dock at the Maritime Heritage Museum. For science with fun [PARA]buttons to press, try the Exploratory; for art and nature, the City [PARA]Museum and Art Gallery; and for caged animals (and one of [PARA]England's only hippos), Bristol Zoo.[HDNG]TOWN:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Population: [BULL] Distance 1: miles [BULL] Distance 2: miles [BULL] [PARA]Distance 3: miles[ESTAT][HDNG]TRAVEL:[EHDNG][PARA][BOLD]Trains:[EBOLD] Bristol Temple Meads station is one of the country's [PARA]centres for Intercity routes with direct services all over the shop [PARA]including London (ú16.50, 1:40hrs, 1/hr), Birmingham (ú11.90) and [PARA]Edinburgh (ú39.60). Bristol Parkway for Wales.[PARA][BOLD]Coaches:[EBOLD] Bristol is similarly well served by coach services, [PARA]including National Express buses to, among other places, London[PARA](ú12.50, 2:20hrs, 6/day), Birmingham (ú10.25, 1:50hrs, 7/day), [PARA]Newcastle (ú34.00, 6:45hrs, 3/day) Arrow and Bakers Dolphin [PARA]offer cheaper return trips to London.[PARA][BOLD]Car:[EBOLD] How do you get 2 whales in a mini? Down the M4. On the [PARA]way to the Severn Bridge, the M4 also bypasses Bristol with the [PARA]M32 going into the city. The M5 comes down from the Midlands, [PARA]and the A38, A4 and A37 also all visit Bristol.[PARA][BOLD]Air:[EBOLD] Bristol Airport, 7 miles outside the city centre, has flights [PARA]inland and to Europe.[PARA][BOLD]Hitching:[EBOLD] [ITAL]The M4 and M5 are both good for long distance [PARA]thumbsters.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Local:[EBOLD] There are several British Rail stops in and around the city [PARA]and this provides a [ITAL]reliable,[EITAL] frequent and comprehensive service [PARA]without staggering cost. Local buses fill in where trains can't go, [PARA]costing ú1 from Temple Meads station to the Union.[PARA][BOLD]Taxis:[EBOLD] At about a ú1 per mile, [ITAL]useful for late night tripping.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Bicycles:[EBOLD] [ITAL]The city's hilly nature presents a few ups and downs, [PARA]but the busy roads present downright danger, although there is [PARA]now an increasing number of cycle lanes. Bikes also have a [PARA]tendency to cycle off on their own. Nevertheless pedalling is a [PARA]popular pastime.[EITAL][PARA][PARA]The nearest station to the Frenchay site is Bristol's 2nd biggest, [PARA]Bristol Parkway. Bus services link the Frenchay campus to the [PARA]city centre (ú1.60 return after 9am only) and run between the [PARA]sites (which isn't often necessary). There's also the late night [PARA]minibus service run by the SU (70p) and public buses every [PARA]20mins, but they cost about ú1.60 return from the city centre to [PARA]Frenchay.[HDNG]LIBRARIES and COMPUTERS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Books: 356,000 [BULL] Periodicals: 1,230 [BULL] Computer [PARA]workstations: 1,590[ESTAT][PARA]There are libraries on 4 campuses relating to the studies on the [PARA]based there. The University's [ITAL]extensive [EITAL]computer provision is [PARA]spread around the sites, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.[HDNG]CAREER PROSPECTS:[EHDNG][PARA][STAT][BULL] Careers Service [BULL] No of staff: 5full/2part [BULL] Unemployed [PARA]after 6mths (1992): 11%[ESTAT][HDNG]SPECIAL FEATURES:[EHDNG][PARA][BULL]Sue Slocombe, the University's Principal Lecturer in [PARA]Education is coach to the England Women's Hockey Team.[PARA][BULL]The HQ of the HEFC (Higher Education Funding Council) is [PARA]on the Frenchay campus, the first building to confront visitors.[HDNG]FAMOUS ALUMNI:[EHDNG][PARA]Kieran Bracken (rugby pin-up); Mark Knopfler (of Dire Straits); [PARA]Tim Manning (BBC Producer); Dawn Primarolo MP (Lab, Bristol);[PARA]Jack Russell (cricketer).[HDNG]FURTHER INFO:[EHDNG][PARA]Undergraduate prospectus.[PARA][PARA]
