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Original poster

Lancaster..what's it like?

214 replies

shadypines · 30/03/2020 13:34

I realise I can't go for a while so in the meantime what do other MNetters think of this city? Is it pleasant to the eye, relatively clean, many galleries, museums? Thanks for any info.

OP posts:
RandomMess · 30/03/2020 20:18

Lived in the south east don't miss the muggy pollution filled summers, hose pipe bans, rush hour last 3 hours twice a day, lots of depressing down trodden towns down there too.

Definitely need to check it meets your criteria.

NorthernChinchilla · 30/03/2020 20:32

I loved being there, definitely a hippy vibe to the place (some of my lecturers had taught my friends' parents!) lots of inde/veggie/vegan places before it was the in thing.
Good pubs, friendly, but a seedy side to it. There's a good food market in the town centre. The sandstone that is the main building material is very attractive.
You get fantastic leg muscles going up all the damn hills (all my friends were in the Freehold area). Williamson's Park is beautiful, and the Dukes Theatre used to/still does the play in the park in summer.
But pack a hat. And wellies.

troppibambini · 30/03/2020 20:35

I went uni there but it was 20 years ago! The uni campus was freezing the wind whistling down the spine in winter was like tortureGrin
Town itself was pretty quiet and not much going on, make sure you have a butter pie though.... food of the gods.

GreyGardens88 · 30/03/2020 20:37

Went on a day trip last year to visit the castle. Seemed pretty grim and run down, I personally wouldn't go back

BovaryX · 30/03/2020 20:40

The sandstone that is the main building material is very attractive

Yes. The beautiful colour of its buildings is something I remember with much affection. Its rainsodden streets, the bleak beauty of the surrounding countryside......

tallah · 30/03/2020 20:40

Kind of shit in my opinion, but everyone is different

RandomMess · 30/03/2020 20:42

😂

I love some of these descriptions

It is always colder/wetter on the campus, the wind still whistles up and down the spine!

GoatsDoRome · 30/03/2020 20:46

I went to uni there. It does SO rain all the time, apart from a few select Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout the year where it is gloriously sunny but happens to coincide with the university open days....

RandomMess · 30/03/2020 20:54

I reckon the dry weather times itself for the uni holidays or shut down 😂 can't remember when it last rained, tried to hail for 2 mins over the weekend...

Theholidayarmadillo4 · 30/03/2020 21:27

On the topic of traffic it is nothing like what it used to be... Because of the new road 👏👏 Get through town pretty quickly at most times of day.

CornedBeef451 · 30/03/2020 21:37

I'm biased because it's full of my in-laws but I'm not keen.

Definitely a town rather than a city. I find it a bit too small and not very cosmopolitan, very white, limited restaurants. Depends what you're looking for really.

Me and DH definitely wouldn't live there.

RockinHippy · 30/03/2020 21:42

I have family up there & my DPs lived there fir a few years, so I've been visiting fairly regularly all of my life.

I agree it's smallish town feel, rather than a city. I also agree it rains a lot & is damp & cold. I do get the feel from family that some bits can be quite rough & crime rates aren't great, especially youth crime. There are some lovely bits of it though & I used to love it when we stayed there when I was growing up, fishing in the lune & Williams park, Heysham Head, Morecambe bay etc ( though that is rough now, or was a few years ago when my brother lived there. Some good schools & bad ones. Bullying has been a big issue for several of my families kids & teens & wasn't dealt with well at all, so investigate schools thoroughly, if you have DCs. Minimal employment opportunities as mentioned above, but it easy access to a lot of nearby towns, cities & the lakes & people tend to treat other towns/cities as you would another london borough. I have a big family there though & not one of them has left

Tartyflette · 30/03/2020 21:51

DH and I went to uni there many, many years ago.
Loved it then, it was a proper county town, prosperous with varied independent shops and businesses. Busy, thriving and with a really good indoor market plus great butchers, bakeries, delis and tea-rooms.
We went back about 10 years ago and were saddened at how down-at-heel it looked. The market now mostly sold polyester sportswear, no cheese stalls selling tasty Lancashire, or pork butchers.
The campus was much bigger than it was when we were there, of course but still held fond memories. Sunsets over Morecambe Bay, seen from Bowland Tower, were magnificent.

MustDust · 30/03/2020 22:05

Shopping is utterly crap, other than that it's a great location. Walks, parks, 10 mins to the beach, short hop to the lakes...

A few outstanding and good schools in Lancaster, international University of the year too so education is fantastic.

Doesn't rain all the time at all, did feel that way Jan/Feb though.

QueenOfWinterfell · 30/03/2020 22:59

Cold and wet with few interesting shops or places to eat. Ok for a day trip but not to live unless you’ve got lots of family there. I heard the suicide rate for students was higher than average but don’t know how true that is.

Lynda07 · 30/03/2020 23:05

Cold.

Lots of political meetings on street corners, hunger marchers.

Men selling roasted chestnuts.

Night watchmen.

Lodging houses with only one bathroom.

Gangs of hungry small children roaming the streets trying to pick pockets.

Bobbies on the beat with truncheons.

Ale houses with colourfully dressed and made up women ready to entertain the men.

Queues outside the picture palace on a Friday night.

Little girls selling matches and bunches of violets.

MsAwesomeDragon · 30/03/2020 23:07

Dd is at uni there, and has lived there for a year and a half (currently at home with us though). I've dropped her off and collected her many times now, it's only been sunny once!! The first thing she bought when she moved there was a big, decent umbrella. We even had to buy an umbrella when we went to visit the uni for the open day. So it's definitely wet.

And people are right that is a town rather than a city really. I like it, but then I grew up in a wet Northern town that thinks it's a city, so it kind of feels like home Grin

Dd likes it there.

MustDust · 30/03/2020 23:07

@QueenOfWinterfell that's a terrible comment to make without any kind of back up.

Shockers · 30/03/2020 23:14

I live 10 minutes away. I love Lancaster- there are lots of community projects going on and a great alternative vibe if you look in the right place. There are more dismal aspects, but I think there are in most cities. The surrounding countryside is wonderful.

It doesn’t rain all the time either.

MLMsuperfan · 30/03/2020 23:22

Lots of culture with two theaters, some great old pubs, beautiful walks along the canal and Williamson's Park, great rail connections on the West Coast line, highly regarded university. Pedestrian friendly shopping center. Swimming pools, cinemas.

ErrolTheDragon · 30/03/2020 23:31

the boys' has an excellent academic record.

And the girls' is even better, if anything.

Is the proximity of Preston a positive?
Well, it is if you live nearer Preston.... Grin(actually Preston is pleasanter than many people assume, loads of parks).

Lancaster is more like a large market town with a castle added and a university appended.

Dukes theatre is good. Superb coffee merchant.
Some good walking and cycle paths, and near lovely countryside - silver dale and arneside just up the road (or rail) before the Lakes.m
I was surprised when I realised Lancaster has high rainfall , but then realised we tend to go there when it's a nice day for a walk.

WestWasnt · 31/03/2020 00:17

Well you were all right!

Lancaster..what's it like?
LemonSock · 31/03/2020 04:27

I went there for a conference in hot weather, stayed at a town centre hotel (Kings’ Arms?). My room had no fan or air con, and there was a large sign telling me not to open the window as it let the pigeons in. Then on the second day there was no hot water.

My memories of Lancaster are somewhat jaundiced as a result... The Whale Tail cafe was nice.

avrilpoissons · 31/03/2020 04:37

I was surprised when I realised Lancaster has high rainfall , but then realised we tend to go there when it's a nice day for a walk

How many decades ago was your last visit ?

HennyPenny4 · 31/03/2020 05:04

I see it from the M6 with its big domed building and student flats, must be near the sea so I always imagined it as quite nice.