Bath?

[southernlife55]

Anyone know anything about Bath university? What's it like to live there?

My son has never been anywhere near there but he's now holding an offer after doing better than he thought he would.

I parked at the uni no problem and for free ! Don't worry didn't need to book parking.

I was planning to get the train to Bath Spa and pick up a bus from there….

I went to Bath Spa rather than university of Bath, so can’t comment on the courses and their campus. But Bath is a wonderful place to live and study! It’s a compact enough city you won’t need a car (and if you live on Oldfield Park from second year on you won’t be able to park it anyway!) - the public transport is amazing. plenty of student friendly cafes to go and work in, loads of pubs and restaurants.

U of Bath provide good info on their website about driving, parking and shuttle buses (link below).

For those unable to attend the Open Day or find they need to rush, I would recommend the guided campus tours. One of my DC book themselves on one and, whilst they could not meet academics, they said they were able to have a good chat with the student guides and get and idea of the campus set-up, U1 bus journey etc.
https://www.bath.ac.uk/guides/travelling-to-our-open-days/

@mondaytosunday have you had any sort of confirmation email to say that you’re booked on? DS can’t remember if he had one and he can’t find anything on his phone. We definitely had a confirmation email from Warwick for the July Ipen Day.

@Firesgoneout yes we did, but nothing about the waiting list we put ourselves on for the subject talk.
@PerpetualOptimist the shuttle busses have a 'full' or whatever (I can't look again without reregistering). But someone upthread has suggested where to park - I think people are thinking of looking around Bath itself so parking in the city and taking the shuttle, but we spent three days there last summer so will be skipping Bath itself (especially if we want to get to or be coming from Bristol). A guided campus tour is a good idea, though we did have one at Falmouth and the girl knew nothing about the course my daughter was interested in, which was a big shame (but she decided too far from home anyway).
It all feels a bit of a rush - until results day she was set on another course entirely (Animation), though she says a change has been brewing for a while. As she's considering Cambridge deadline is looming!

Just take the normal U1 bus. It stops just opposite the station outside the Sainsbury's local/Cafe Nero.

Fab, thanks @SoIinvictus

@mondaytosunday You will be fine if you are going on a weekend. The huge car park is empty as no staff there, no need for a shuttle bus. The only time I have struggled is if I have gone there on a week day in term time but I usually just catch one of the security guards and let them know - they are really nice and say it is fine to park.

Just a quick warning to people planning to drive to Bath for the Open Day on 9 September.

It helpfully clashes with the week-long Jane Austen Festival and, starting at 11am, there is to be an hour long promenade through town from the Holborne Museum up to the Assembly Rooms.

The city will descend into chaos at that point and again from about 4-5pm.

[we're off to the Bristol open day and our current plan is to take the train rather than drive].

Amazing planning....!

Approach the Uni from the other side - not the city and you will be fine - approach from Claverton Down if you can and avoid the A4.

At least the rugby team are playing away (I think both organisations had to promise never to have an Open Day clash with a home game a few years ago).

If approaching Bath from the A4 or M4 you can avoid some of the inevitable jams by using the Batheaston toll bridge, driving through Bathampton and then taking the A36 and North Rd up to the university (they probably won't signpost this route). You will need £1 each way (Cash only):
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place//@51.4020363,-2.3258441,18z?entry=ttu

If you are arriving close to 11am turn left onto the A36 and take the route up through Claverton or up Brassknocker Hill (yest it is a fairly hefty detour, but it will be worth it).

Good luck

Thanks for the tips!
@Madcats we are hoping to visit Bristol too, I'm going to have to be very canny with timings .
Anyone looking around Bath itself the Holburne Museum is fantastic with so much about the history of the area. We stayed at 95 Sydney Place just along the road where they filmed the 1995 version of Persuasion. Lovely but not budget friendly.

We can’t even book onto the Open Day at all. The course he wants to look at is full but he’d be happy just looking round the campus etc but it won’t even let us book onto it at all.

There are no other ones days either so not sure what to do apart from try to book a weekend at some point to look around. DS had his results and has decided to take a Gap Year.

Honestly I would just go anyway, play dumb, loads don't show up anyway. I took DD for an informal tour as we were in Bath anyway for her 18th and it clashed with a day freshers were moving in. DD was sold there and then as the campus was buzzing, all the staff and student helpers were so friendly we just grabbed a map and did ourselves a little tour.

Hmm that’s a good idea! I’ve tried calling the Open Day helpline for the last 2 days and DS emailed them but no reply.

We are in Norfolk so it involves an £250 train fare plus a hotel stay so I’d like to know we can actually look around before rocking up! Just another frustration over the last 2 weeks since Results Day!!

@mrsconradfisher, Your DS could consider doing a solo day trip one Saturday in the Autumn and book himself on a guided tour. That would keep the costs down (with 16-24 rail card and no hotel). One of my DC did this and booked themselves on a 2pm tour so they could get there in good time (train journey was longer than Norwich to Bath). They emailed the dept and used the student chat function on the website to get the info they might otherwise have got at the Open Day. The day trip was a long one and involved a very early start but it was good for them to be aware it is a long way and helped with building independence etc. Just another option. The tour did include a good look at the sports facilities apparently.

Thank you, that’s really helpful. He couldn’t see any options for guided tours other than the open day in September but will get him to have another look. It would only be an overnight stay in September as there is engineering work on the line that weekend so it’s a bus half way to London, makes the journey too long for a day trip there and back.

He’d definitely be up for doing a solo trip though, he’s better at getting around than I am tbh! He’s had a rough couple of weeks after results day with lots of decisions to be made resulting in an unexpected Gap Year so I think he just wants to move things toward now.

Yes, I can see planning his own trip would give him a sense of being back in control and, yes, those pesky engineering works to contend with. Mine did their tour in the early summer but I got the impression they run across much of the year.

An added advantage of going solo is that the student guides gave them a little more attention (answering questions more fully, find out about courses interested in etc) as the other prospective students tended to buddy up with their accompanying parents.

For those planning to send their teen on a solo trip to Bath Uni, there is a Youth Hostel half way up the hill between town and the Uni. The University bus stops just outside.

I seem to remember that it is a challenge to find accommodation for under 18s (though there are a couple of backpacker places in town)

Premier Inn/Travelodges aren't cheap here.

Dd is about to enter 3rd year at Bath. She is enjoying it. But be aware it is an expensive city. After the collective indrawing of breath at her halls cost, it is a further level of shock at how much a hovel costs to rent nowadays. She is in a houseshare with 3 others at £580pm each - 12 month contract + bills (3 bed house where dining room has been converted to a bedroom).

@BeyondMyWits God yes I 100% agree with this it is so very expensive although her halls were 'only' 4.5k for her first year and a lot cheaper than other unis we looked at. I have told Ds he has to go North!

That is my other child who has deferred this year I cannot afford two in that area 😭

@honeyandfizz maybe tell him not to go too far north. My dd is heading today to St Andrews. Her halls are £10,660 pa 😭