Postgrad UK 2008/2009 - (Page 15) www.prospects.ac.uk/PostgradUK Advice and Information 15 IT’S GREAT UP NORTH Few places do pride better than Northern England. It has a very different character to Southern England – they don’t get as much sun for a start. But it is no less attractive for it. Home to some of the UK’s biggest cities outside of London, it is an area that has experienced rapid change in recent decades. Birmingham, Liverpool (2008 Capital of Culture), Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle started as major industrial centres, but have reinvented themselves as youthful, exciting cities with thriving student communities. Yet iconic cities are not all that the North has to offer. Numerous smaller historic towns or campus universities have developed into strong centres of learning that offer an alternative to those who can live without the hubbub of urban life. Think of Loughborough, Warwick, Keele and Nottingham, or Durham, Lancaster, and York. Some of these places are on the doorstep of the great escapes of Northern England – the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and the Peak District. Home of good pubs, great walks and dramatic weather, they are always worth a visit. IN THE VALLEYS And if you like that sort of thing, you’ll love Wales, with the beautiful Brecon Beacons and Snowdownia. A landscape formed over eons, but accessible for a day trip from Cardiff, Swansea, Aberystwyth and Bangor. Not that these towns aren’t appealing in their own right. Wales may be smaller than its English neighbour, but size isn’t everything. What SCOTTISH HERITAGE Tourists think of tartan and tradition when they hear of Scotland. It has more than its fair share of heritage, National Assembly housed in Richard including no fewer than four of the UK’s Roger’s Senedd building. oldest universities – St Andrews, Glasgow, Wales is a great example of the vitality Aberdeen and Edinburgh. But Scotland is and variety of cultural heritage in Britain also a thoroughly modern country with a and a key part of this is the Welsh lively literary life (think Ian Rankin and language. It is one of many indigenous J.K. Rowling), not to mention a heavylanguages, including Cornish and Gaelic. weight music scene (think Franz Ferdinand And burgeoning immigrant communities or Travis). And it’s big on industry and also mean an exciting boom in linguistic business too, from the petrochemical diversity in the UK. You can walk down the street and hear Spanish, Arabic, Polish industry of the north-east, to the busy or Urdu, to name but a few. (Unfortunately, banking sector and dynamic biotechnology companies of the central belt. Where do far fewer native Brits speak a foreign you think Dolly the Sheep came from? language than in almost any other That said, Scotland’s unique selling point European country. It’s embarrassing. But has to be landscape. England, Wales and it’s true, so we had to tell you!) Northern Ireland all have beautiful areas IRISH EYES Like Wales, Northern Ireland you will want to return to again and again. may be small, but it packs a punch. And But for sheer variety and size, Scotland is the landmark political shifts in recent unrivalled. The highlands, the islands, the years make it a fascinating place to visit. lowlands – the names alone conjure images Take Belfast, a place of charisma and of a country known throughout the world contradictions. You can wander round the for its distinctive geography. centre, looking at the high street shops or In short, it’s no surprise that around historic buildings like City Hall and Linen 300,000 international students come to Hall Library. But a taxi-ride away there Britain each year. What is a surprise is are signs of a different side of life in what they find when they get here. The communities bearing the scars of image of a four-leaf clover, uniform and sectarianism. green, is not a very informative one. There There are two universities in Northern probably isn’t a metaphor that can capture Ireland (Queen’s University of Belfast and the diversity of Britain. The best way to the University of Ulster) and a lower cost understand it is to experience it. of living and an education system with Countryside or town, music or literature, strong links to industry make Northern food or sport, fashion or finance, history Ireland a popular choice with many or innovation whatever you are after, international students. you can find it. TOM ALLBESON it lacks in landmass it compensates for in culture, from Roman remains to the new http://www.prospects.ac.uk/PostgradUK
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