UKH

So I’m currently having to decide which uni’s to apply for, and was thinking possibly Bangor because of the obvious climbing opportunities. Only thing I’m not too sure about is the city itself, I’ve visited briefly but thought I’d see if anyone on here has been and could give an idea of whether the city is that bad, or if it’s alright and worth it for all the nearby climbing. As far as I’m aware it’s fairly good for the course I’d wanna do as well.

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

What do you want from a city? It is small ( even by town standards ) but has the usual range of shops in and out of town. I lived there for four years but spent most of my time in the mountains or on the coastal cliffs and did the occasional bit of work. I loved it - just depends where your priorities lie.

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

I studied there. I look back very fondly on the time I spent there. To answer the question, the city is fine, but really it's a town full of students, not a city at all. 

Two things to consider.... 1. It was hard to find work there, and 2. Climbing is pretty limited between late Sept and may.

Good luck with your choice.

In reply to barneyc:

Unless things have changed a lot ,  don't expect much of a welcome in the hillsides . 

In reply to barneyc:

You must have had some bad weather years. My old club's first outdoor trips were always to Snowdonia at around the beginning of November (I went on every one for about 10 years) and we always got stuff done on at least one day without having to climb outdoors in the rain (even when the hurricane hit!). The bouldering is at it's best between those times and I've lost count of great days I've had in late autumn and spring let alone the excellent winter walking and surprisingly common winter climbing days.

In reply to Tom Valentine:

Intrigued by all the dislikes. Anyone care to elaborate?

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

The town isn’t great. I would say it is more deprived currently than it was when I studied there ten years ago.  

The climbing is brilliant, probably the best place to climb in the UK in terms of variety. You can probably climb on dry rock most days of the year if you are savvy, and know where to look. 

There are two excellent climbing walls, and a great scene too. You should never have problem finding someone to climb with. 

Tom (Llanberis resident)

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

I studied there about 20 years ago (gulp!) and worked for the uni for a year or so after. I guess it depends on what you're after really - I came from a fairly small town and the idea of moving to a big city seemed a bit overwhelming but I quite liked Bangor. It's nice just being able to wander to the pier and see the mountains from the city (when it's not raining). The nightlife was sufficient for my needs but others might have greater expectations. It is fairly well connected by train so I could get home for an occasional weekend without too much trouble.

It was nice being able to get into the mountains easily although I ended up mostly walking rather than climbing, partly because of the aforementioned unreliable weather but mostly because the climbing club were a bit of an odd bunch at the time (but as I say this was 20 years ago).

On a recent visit it did strike me as being a bit tatty - I don't know if it's got worse or my standards have changed.

I didn't experience any hostility from the locals. I'm sure you could find some if you went looking for it but students make up a large proportion of the population and most aren't Welsh.

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

Sheffield...........

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

I studied there in the early 80s. Sundays were 'dry' - until they had a referendum and let students vote...

Climbing was good, winter or summer. Plus watersports.

Locals hated our (students) guts: hopefully that's changed.

Town was small and depressed - time of Mrs T - there too, maybe it's changed.

Pete's Eats was our favourite haunt after a weekend in the hills - that's one thing I hope hasn't changed.

With all the drawbacks I remember, I'd still go again.

Good luck with your choice.

In reply to TheGeneralist:

Me too. Probably Harry Secombe fans.

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

I was at Bangor Uni on two seperate occasions several years ago. On my first stay I attended a conversational Welsh course and picked up enough of the language to start an interaction with predominately Welsh speakers. I found that, having made the initial contact in their language, they were then willing to respect my limitations and talk to me in English. My memories of my time there are golden, including meeting Mrs Ratty, though not a local she is a Bradford Lass.

In reply to Tom Valentine:

Maybe the dislikes are from the assumption that (Presumably) locals wont be welcoming? I’ve not liked or disliked the post.

I think there is probably some truth in the fact some locals don’t like the students for all sorts of reasons that may be typical in most student cities. The fact that the already limited housing stock is taken up by them is a bit of a bug bear for me with the economic issues that this brings. 
 

For the OP don’t take to much notice of the current news as we don’t have many murders in North Wales! 

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

If you want to have a great climbing experience as an undergrad, then Sheffield, Leeds, Nottingham and Manchester Unis are a good choice. They have the advantage of also being excellent universities in great cities, which ticks all the boxes. It’s worth a shout out to Exeter  too. 

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

It's OK but very much a uni town when the students are there, from your perspective anyway.

Climbing is all a ways a way though so it's handy to have a car or join the club/get friends.

I did a lot more running/climbing/kayaking etc once I got a car second year. 

TBH you are there with 3000+ other students your age, almost any college town will a good laugh, loads of good climbing 20-40 minutes away.

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

My daughter graduated from Bangor in 2016. She enjoyed her time there but although she's by no means a party animal, she found the options for going out in the evening very limited. If you want the 'bright lights' you have to go to Chester. She did a bit of indoor climbing but nothing outdoor so I can't comment on that.

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

I studied computer systems engineering in Bangor from 1996 to 2000 and still live there. As others have said, it’s a small city which doesn’t have lots of nightlife like Manchester would, however if you don’t mind that and are looking for outdoor activities it’s a great place to live and study. Being small has the advantage you usually meet someone you know when going out to the town. 

If you’re in to rock music there are a few local bands that play regularly, and the university has an active rock & metal society. There are also regular open mic nights in the Skerries pub (Pre COVID, and hopefully again after).

If you happen to drive, it’s under a couple of hours to Manchester. The nearest cinema is Llandudno Junction, about 25 minutes drive. Chester is easily reachable on the train for a different night out. 

The University has a good range of clubs, including mountain walking and mountaineering. They have meets which make it easy to get in to the mountains (again Pre COVID - I don’t know what’s happening this year) even with the local bus service not always being great.  

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

I'd be seriously thinking of taking a year off before going to uni with what's going on.

Hopefully in a year's time we might be back to norm. Your first year should be fun.

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

One thing you should also consider is that Bangor is a very good University..........for learning things

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

I've got to give Glasgow a shout out (I'm currently in 4th year here). Cragging is not gonna be as good as north wales and the peak but we've still got decent stuff (dumby). Really its access to mountain routes over the summer and winter routes when it gets cold that makes it so good. I've managed to get out winter climbing more or less every weekend when conditions are good and clock a load of mileage which wouldnt have been possible living further from Scotland. Also its in Scotland which is clearly superior (to anywhere in england at least). Sick city too.

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

going to uni is a big decision. Assuming you are young and going to uni / moving from home for the first time it's a big transition. My first year of uni was a disaster I got so mentally unwell. 

You need to go to a uni where you can see yourself being happy and where you can picture your daily routine. You can't go just for the climbing even if you dislike a place or it's 'alright' because you could break your leg and not be able to go anywhere outside of the city so you need to make sure it's a place where you think you can maintain your wellbeing in adversity.

I'd suggest going back for another visit - looking round the student halls (if allowed) to see if they're shitholes or not, explore the parks, check out the cafes and bars, and find more out about the SU to see what other stuff they've got going on, and also the universities support systems in case you do get into trouble physically, mentally, academically, or financially. Is the university supportive of your needs?

Your decision for university needs to be based on these, not just closeness to climbing. Go for another visit and more research into services don't go on a stranger's opinion.

Best of luck  

In reply to jassaelle:

I've always thought that unless you're doing a specialist degree that's only available in 1 or 2 places, then go to the Uni where you'll be happiest. The academic differences between universities for most popular subjects won't be as important as your wellbeing at Uni. And if you're at a place where you feel good, you're also more likely to study effectively.

So HTF did I end up at Uni of Sussex all those years ago 😁 

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

As others have said it is a bit like say Lancaster or Durham in being a city for historical/ceremonial reasons but in reality just being a medium sized town.  Edit: smaller than even Ormskirk (another uni town) population wise which surprised me!

It's not a bad place, some of it is a bit scruffy and run down, but there are some lovely bits as well e.g. near the "pier" which I never knew existed until a couple of years ago!

Though TBH most of the student experience is about who rather than where.  Every uni will have a climbing club and they'll find somewhere to climb!

In reply to TheGeneralist:

Best thing I ever did on this forum was to turn that feature off.

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

I think it's fair to say that very few people move to Bangor because of the town/city, because - as per Tom Ripley's comments - it does feel like it's gone/going downhill.

Contrary to this, I really enjoyed my time there. I think it helps having more of a small town mentality, because despite Bangor's official status as a city, London or Manchester it is not. If you're after bright lights and big clubs then it's unlikely to be for you, but if you're after climbing and climbers then it's one of the best options out there (arguably THE best).

I would also strongly disagree with the poster who suggested that climbing opportunities are limited between September and May, because having lived in North Wales for 10 years I have never, ever found this to be the case. Back when I was a student I trad climbed year round, either on the slate, sea cliffs, or even the mountain crags (Great Gully by headtorch being a particular highlight). Granted, it got cold, but the psyche kept you warm...

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

Wow thanks so much for all the replies. I’m not too bothered about the night life, or about being in a big city. When I visited I got a chance to see llanberis pass (and a quick climb of cenotaph corner) and the slate quarries, and to be honest the quality and volume of all the climbing so close to the uni was pretty amazing. Anyway thanks again for the replies and info, it’s definitely given me more to go on when I have to make my uni choices.

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

I only started climbing whilst I was at university, so owe BUMS a lot, as being a member ultimately changed my life direction. Whilst I'm a little out of touch with where the clubs up to these days I'm sure it's still good, not least because the university itself tends to attract a lot of like-minded people (maybe a current member can comment)?

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

From memory, it had a higher proportion of mature students, which was a good thing in my estimation as I was one of them

In reply to rockcatch:

I quite liked the night life, it was pretty simple in a small town way and it was always an early night as everywhere closed by midnight I think. Back then it was the Occy and Time which were the two main options.

I was there 98-2001 and when I was back 3 years ago I was surprised how bad and ran down it was tbh, but I don't think that would change my decision to go there. I didn't go for the city.

Re all year Rob mentions, the North Wales Coast is a rain shadow and with Tremadog, Anglesey, the Orme, you can almost always (often anyway) find good (decent) weather. But the weather changes a lot and no year was the same. Some winters feel like there's just no winter, others feel like you have 100 days of rain.

There used to be a cool little bouldering wall in the gym if that's still there. We'd go a good few times a week for a social boulder.

Spend some time there, I had friends who hated it and spent every weekend visiting cities like Liverpool and Manchester, and I was kind of surprised they went there as Bangor is what it is - a small town , pretty ran down, in an amazing area for outdoor activities. So it's very much what you make of it. 

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

I was never a student there but I lived there for 2 years just after graduating so age wise was still very much in the student range and did get to know and climb with uni club of the time. 

I can't comment on the uni its self but I'm sure you've already looked into that. but the town was, to be honest, a bit of a dump, and that's coming from someone who up until then had lived their whole life in Blackpool. It's quite small which isn't a problem for me but it's definitely deprived. The weather was, for me at least awful, I first moved in November and it seemed like it was never fully dry for the whole winter but maybe that was just my memories.

I lived in a house share at the time with some locals and they were all scummy drug users and despite socialising with them for a while we never really got on, we were clearly from different worlds with me a graduate working full time in my first graphics job and them mostly on the dole or occasional low-level employment. The upside was the rent was super cheap for me and even then, nearly 15 years ago I was saving at least £500 a month. 

The nightlife was mediocre, being young and knowing some of the uni climbers I was able to infiltrate the student only nights as well as general clubs. I was never mad into clubbing though and it was mainly to have a go at chatting up girls, often with little success but it's just what you do at that age.    

At first, I didn't have a car which made getting to climbing areas difficult as getting buses was a right pain for me as I'd rarely had need of them before. It's all the worse when you can't pronounce any of the stops, being dyslexic Welsh to me is literally just a random assortment of letters and noises, sometimes I just had to point to the place on the bus drivers screen rather than embarrass myself too much.

However being stuck local a lot, I did end up re/developing some bouldering and even the odd route in a quarry just above the graveyard in Bangor its self due to having time on my hands and nowhere else to go which proved popular with the also carless students for a time. Eventually, though I did get to know other climbers, some of which had cars and eventually got a car myself so access to the quarries and the Orme and the mountains etc opened up a bit which was good

All in all, Bangor is only good because of where it's near, not so much in its self. much of it will depend on your personal preference, I imagine being a student with a uni course to focus and like-minded students around you on will give you a better experience than moving there as a graduate. But if you're comparing it to Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield for example it's not in the same league.  

In reply to Lord_ash2000:

Ouch!

In reply to john arran:

I never regarded it as a dump and being a bit of a country boy I never missed the bright lights. But the seventies were the zenith of Plaid Cymru's more activist presence and English students were simply not welcome in all but three of the town's pubs and I know people who spent their whole three years there without ever having a pint outside the SU bar, such was the strength of feeling against outsiders .

There was hardly a bit of wall space in town which didn't bear the slogan "Dim Saesneg" and at first I thought it was just an expression promoting the use of the Welsh language over English, later realising after a few run- ins with aggressive locals that it was referring to people rather than words.

I hope things have changed, and that the Cromlech boulders graffiti is just someone harking back to the glory days , but I wouldn't advise the OP to apply to Bangor without spending a few nights in the town to test the water first.

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

I’d echo what Rob and Tom have said, though I haven’t visited Bangor itself for a while. It was never an amazing town/city but there was plenty of scope for going out to normal clubs/pubs and also options for slightly better nights at places like Hendre hall where they get DJs in and you can dance to better music than you’d get in your average club and the scene is a bit more fun too. Plus keep your ear to the ground and you may hear of other more underground goings on if that’s your scene.

Obviously, Bangor is the best uni for climbing - like Tom and Rob said, you can get out all the way through the year and have a massive variety of different climbing disciplines to choose from. Add in to the fact that living as an adult in North Wales is actually quite difficult as job prospects aren’t massively plentiful, it makes it quite a good option to study there. I left a year after graduation and although I’d like to move back, the work situation is something that makes it difficult (though not impossible). 
 

Obviously consider Sheffield/Manchester/Leeds as they are better unis with good climbing too. Though North Wales is brilliant for trad. 
 

BUMS is a great club and having worked in North Wales (what did I say about finding work difficult!?) a couple of years ago, the club still seemed to be very active and friendly. 
 

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

Perhaps I may add some perspective from the other end of the age tunnel? 

I studied at Bangor between 1965 and 1969 and had a great time there with the social scene and with climbing and mountaineering. That was a good time to be a climber in North Wales with the development of Gogarth and lots of other crags going on. Winter snow and ice climbing was generally pretty good too.

Until 1965 the university had more Welsh born, Welsh speaking students than non Welsh and most local people spoke Welsh as their first language, although they often swapped from English to Welsh when an English speaking student was within earshot! There was a strong and cosy feeling of Welshness about Bangor. The town was not affluent but neither was it shabby.

The University mountaineering club was very strong with many members able to climb at the top grades of the day. It was easy to get hooked into a very narrow world of climbing, partying and lectures  - in that order of priority!

I fortunately graduated with reasonable grade degrees and was able to immediately get a good well paid job as there was a high demand for graduate recruits. I’ve subsequently had a good career which enabled me to live comfortably, travel the world and retire when I reached 60. But I’d take a different approach to university nowadays. The jobs market, both here and abroad, is very different, much more competitive,  and employers are more selective and demand higher grades and skills. So my recommendations are:

1. Think very carefully about what you want to do with your life after university and make sure you pick the right course to equip yourself with the skills you’ll need.

2. Treat university primarily as the means to acquire the very best qualification you’re capable of, without getting side tracked.  

3. Choose your university based on achieving that educational objective rather than its potential for climbing, partying etc.

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

I'll get a few downvotes for this, and they will have a good point, but I would say that it is a mistake to choose a uni because of the climbing. You will be at uni for 3 or 4 years but you will be working for 40 or 50 years. Get on the best course you can at the best uni you can. This will give you more employment options which in turn will give you more choice of places in which to live and climb for the rest of your life rather than just 3 or 4 years.

However, don't go to a uni where you would be unhappy as it will be hard to do well if you are miserable, and good mental health can be tricky to maintain while at uni, or at least I found that.

In reply to Red Rover:

Makes sense.  Pretty much whichever uni you go to you will find a climbing club and a place to climb.  It might involve more driving/train rides at some than others, but it's not disastrous.

In reply to Neil Williams:

Yes, the inconvenience of having a long car trip to a crag for 3 years of your life can be easily offset by getting a better job out of uni. And there is more to life than climbing. I went to uni thinking I would be climbing all the time but I ended up potholing most weekends!

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

As a resident, and born in Bangor - to be honest, Bangor has been in continuous decline since the establishment of nearby out-of-town shopping centres and supermarkets. Many of the buildings on the high street are vacant and some are not even maintained with broken windows.

In the old days, Bangor was a thriving city town drawing in people from nearby towns, villages, and visitors. Today, seems like hardly anyone actually visits the town.

Like many seaside towns in Wales - Bangor has been impacted by the 'county lines' problem, as reported in the news - with dealers pretending to be students, which caused a reaction from local authorities, who - according to the news, are planning to tackle it. Hopefully this will make the area more safe and secure.

I refer to the comment made here that local people somehow dislike students. This is NOT true. However, when 10K people suddenly appear in the area, which is relatively small for a city, then this will and does create tension as a result of noise pollution, anti-social behaviour, litter...

However, even with such influx, the town centre itself doesn't seem to benefit as you'd expect.

In terms of climbing/trekking... priceless, perfect, ideal, needless to say. Bangor is a perfect base for this, obviously, and Llanberis is an oasis for it.

In reply to Toby Armstrong:
I attended Bangor, I was also relatively local, don’t expect big city entertainment but there is a relatively vibrant scene but it not MCentertainment.

The university is good academically (obviously that depends on which course your signed up for)

One thing you should be aware of as a few people have said the City has suffered economically over the years, this has made it very vulnerable to the economic crash of Covid-19 as there is little resilience in the town, the high street and entertainment outlets are going to be pretty slim in a years time.

For the outdoors combined with good teaching its ace, and for meeting like minded people It’s great as they will be attracted by the same things, joining BUMS was probably  the most significant things I’ve done with regards friendships, 32 years later and a significant proportion of my friendships can be traced back to that freshers week decision  .    

In reply to Tomzo:

Welcome to UKC. 

It's quite possible the resentment directed at people such as myself in Bangor  in the early seventies had nothing to do with my status as a student but stemmed purely from my nationality. It would be wrong to pretend that such feeling didn't exist at the time ; I'm not sure what the recent actions at the Cromlech boulders say about the state of affairs now.

In reply to Tom Valentine:

Yep agreed. The chap in the Vaynol many years ago was directing his venom towards the Englishness of the other customers, rather than the studentness of them. ( They ( or should I say we) were both)

In reply to Toby Armstrong:

So I studied there 95-98, I still live out nearer the mountains. 

Bangor is essentially a town where 50% of the population are students. For me the climbing was also the draw and I spent much of my free time exploring the mountains and cliffs. As well as the usual student past-times of getting drunk and partying. 

From memory the Sport Science, Ocean Sciences and Psychology departments are really good. In that they are academically well respected due to the research they turn out. Other departments may be as good but these I know through friends who have done post-grad studies. (I returned for a post grad in 2010 to Sport Science department)

In terms of the city, I think you have to appreciate that nowhere else in the UK, do you have easy access to such a wide variety of climbing rock type and styles. Which more than makes up for being a small provincial city/town.

In reply to Mark Reeves:

True, though if you can put up with gritstone (plus a not excessively long train ride to Wales if you do want to go there in the former case) then Manchester and Sheffield are good big-city options.