University of Bath

Bath the city and Bath the University look utterly different, and are about two miles apart. When arriving at the train station in the centre of town (2 hours west of London) it’s a bus ride up the hill to the university.

In keeping with its 60s foundation, the University of Bath is made-up of huge concrete department buildings centred around a long, elevated walkway, known as The Parade. There's a strong sense of community here, which might be aided by the fact that almost everyone here is studying a science subject of some description. If the intimacy gets a little too much there's a beautiful lake below, where students wile away hours during warm summer days.

Famous former students include musician Alex James, England rugby player Matt Stevens, and Chinese politician Yang Jiechi.