- Percentage of First Year Students in Halls:
- 99%
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- Accommodation Details:
- The University provides probably the most varied accommodation of any. There's the Student Village on the main Talbot Campus. These on campus houses are clean and comfortable, as they should be for their age. Lounge and bathroom facilities are shared between 3-7 people. Common complaints about the student village are that it is too far away and lacks social cohesion. Although this is purely subjective, one student suggested that those living at the student village seem to end up spending time with people they know from school who are at Bournemouth as well.
Cranbourne House is a new block of flats with facilties shared between 6-8 and dominates the 'office block' skyline of what is the town's main business district. When built though, the University suffered the embarassment of having the roof blown off in a storm meaning that many students arrived at Bournemouth to find that they didn't have a place to live! It's definitely the most sociable hall but lacks a bar. Maybe some of the dead space could be turned into a social area and/or gym? Whatever the case, you are right in town and so minutes away from all of the town's bars and clubs and literally seconds away from The Old Fire Station.
This hall was also the site of one of the best juvenile capers I have ever heard of. A group of Bournemouth students walked a few miles out of town and led a cow back into the centre down the by-pass unchallenged. They then left it in the lift with a bale of hay and pressed the alarm.
In addition to these halls there is:
Hurn House - Modernish corridor style hall, self-catered, 18 rooms per floor with a top location.
Glenfern House - Privately owned and managed block of single rooms. Not 'near' a major nightclub as the uni says but 'on top of'. The location couldn't be better, right in the heart of the party district. But expect noise and a doorway cluttered with whatever happened last night. In our opinion it's a bit too loud for comfort.
For all those not in halls, the university works in partnership with priavte landlords and many of the town's hotels and guest houses to find accommodation. This is called UNILET and your contract is secured with and managed by the university. It can be somewhat of a lottery as there are far-fetched tales of everything from students being allocated Hotel Crappo-Rat-Infesto to a suite at one of the town's best 4 star hotels. A pinch of salt definitely wouldn't go amiss here.
In the private sector there are plenty of reasonably priced houses around the Winton and Charminster areas of town. The town centre can be expensive but given the size of Bournemouth you are really never more than half an hour's walk from anything. Avoid anything around Wootton Gardens and Derby Road, despite the attractive prices! A copy of the local paper The Daily Echo will probably come in handy for finding accommodation. Other than that get involved in sports clubs. Many houses are passed down the years this way.
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- Accommodation Prices:
- Prices vary depending on which hall you are in.
Cranborne House £66
Student Village £62
Hurn House £55
These include all bills except phone and are weekly.
Glenfern House £58.50-68.50 p/w an electricty charge is levied.
UNILET &55-65 includes utilities
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- Local Area:
- Bournemouth is a modern, cosmopolitan and vibrant town. The university site is around 25mins walk or 5 mins bus ride from the compact town centre. Here you will find two major cinemas, the Pavillion Theatre and many of the town's excellent bars and clubs. (The town prides itself on having more pubs and clubs than London's West End) On the whole the atmosphere is friendly and the town heaves with tourists in the summer. Although most places are generally just fun, a pretentious attitude creeps in occasionally which can spoil things a bit. Also the town is a huge draw for hen and stag nights. It's an easy lay but doesn't boost the class factor that much. Maybe I'm just getting old but I find myself agreeing with people in the library that the town has gone downhill a bit. Tends to be just a bit too much chavery going on. Nowhere near as bad as other places but worth bearing in mind.
Popular drinking haunts are the local Weatherspoon, called The Moon in the Square, Casa, Bliss and Toko. The latter three of these are urban style bars with hardwood floors and dressy clientele. Bliss and Toko open until 1am on the weekends and the queue to get in starts at about 8pm in the summer and gets ridiculous. All for the sake of drinking with the beautiful people... Slightly more earthy is O'Neills, another one open until 1am. There are stacks and stacks of other good bars and pubs with regular licences within striking distance of the town centre so take the time to check them all out.
The town square itself has been recently redeveloped with an attractive Mediteranean feel. (lots of light coloured stone and palm trees) The only down side is that the council in their wisdom put tacky merry-go-rounds and ye olde funfayre style crap in this space which seems pretty out of place. The square is the focal point of the town and is the axis of Bournemouth's two halves.
The Eastern end of the town is busier, with a huge range of shops, bars and cafés. The Students' Union and the town centre's biggest club can be found here. Elements provides reasonable if a little samey entertainment. Next door and all part of the same complex is Disco Fever, a formulaic club with 70's music straight off a CD you could buy in petrol station. Drinks are reasonable in both. The problem is that if you want to stay in the town centre and aren't that adventurous club-wise this is where you will end up every week. Berlins is another nightspot in town. It used to be a complete dive but has come up in the quality stakes lately. In terms of smaller clubs there are plenty but all are a bit hit and miss. Going a little further afield to Boscombe, where loads of students live, you will find The Ballrooms. This is a massive dance club and replaced The Opera House which was one of the biggest and best clubs in England.
The West end of town is quieter and has some popular chain stores such as JJB Sports and Dixons, and the town's main gay area.
There's also a great real ale pub called The Goat and Trycicle if you're a physics postgrad.
After all that fun you'll be pleased to know that Bournemouth has a fine array of kebab shops and late night eateries. The main road through town, Old Christchurch Rd is the best hunting ground when nothing but a large lamb doner will do. Stay off the yoghurt sauce though, I used to live there and my mate Olly flicked over £3 in coppers into the bowl in one place.
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