Locations
Avery Hill
The Avery Hill Campus, in the 86-acre Avery Hill Park in Eltham, south-east London, occupies two locations – Mansion Site and Southwood Site, a few minutes' walk apart. Together they combine the style and grace of a Victorian mansion with the best of modern teaching, living and sporting facilities.
For over 80 years the campus was home to Avery Hill Training College, some of whose 19th- and 20th-century buildings are listed by English Heritage, while on Mansion Site there is a beautiful library housed in a former ballroom.
Students can use computing and laboratory equipment, lecture theatres and a TV studio with 1,000 square feet of floor space. The library has an extensive collection of books and journals and its staff provide expert media support. The university bookshop offers a wide range of course texts and has an online service for ordering over the Web.
A £14 million project to improve facilities on campus has brought two new buildings to the Southwood Site. The David Fussey Building is home to a sports and teaching centre with a multi-purpose sports hall for staff and students and a 220-seat lecture theatre. The upper floors include four clinical skills laboratories which replicate NHS wards, allowing trainee health professionals to get real hands-on experience. A piazza-style courtyard, with wide, curved steps linking upper and lower levels, will offer ample social areas. The new Mary Seacole Building is the main base for the School of Health & Social Care and has teaching space for all Schools on campus.
Social facilities
The village complex on Southwood Site offers accommodation, a general shop and a launderette with nearby sporting amenities for tennis, rugby, football and cricket. 'The Dome' in the centre of the complex, houses a food outlet and a large social space. Mansion Site has a café, a canteen and general shop.
Down the road at the university's sports and leisure centre, Sparrows Farm, there is a cardiovascular suite, conditioning room, and a studio used for dance and aerobic classes. Outside the centre is the Airdome, an indoor football facility shared between Charlton Athletic Football Club and the university. The centre's sports-themed bar hosts entertainment and sports nights.
Around and about
Near the campus are plenty of pubs, clubs and restaurants, as well as cinemas, a 28-lane bowling alley and health and fitness facilities. The nearest town is Eltham, where you will find a high street with the usual array of places to shop and eat. Bexleyheath has the Broadway Shopping Centre. Blackheath, to the north of the A2, has restaurants offering cuisine ranging from Mexican to Indian. A short bus ride or drive away is Bluewater (pictured right), one of Europe’s largest centres for shopping and leisure facilities, including a cinema.
Near the campus is Eltham Palace, which is two great homes in one: Henry VIII's boyhood home is next door to a wonderful example of 1930s chic, an Art Deco mansion built for millionaire Stephen Courtauld.
League One football is played at The Valley, home of Charlton Athletic F.C. Near to Avery Hill is Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, which hosts grand prix athletics every summer and other high-profile events.
Greenwich
The Greenwich Campus is on a World Heritage Site on the banks of the Thames. The university's largest campus is centred on three baroque buildings designed by Sir Christopher Wren at the end of the 17th century. "More breathtaking than the Versailles of Louis XIV" is how The Independent newspaper described it.
The library has an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as language laboratories, and a 200-PC computing facility. The university bookshop is located opposite, in the Mews Building. Other computer facilities are on campus, including specialist laboratories for the School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences. A TV studio and editing suites for use by Humanities students are also on site.
The Stephen Lawrence Gallery provides a showcase for the work of contemporary artists. The grounds of the Old Royal Naval College, in which the Greenwich Campus is situated, also houses the tourist attractions of the Painted Hall and Chapel.
Social facilities
A few minutes' walk from the campus is Cooper Building, which is home to the Students' Union. Inside, Bar Latitude, the Students’ Union bar, has bright, modern decor and offers a range of hot and cold food. A pool room and the union shop are also in the building.
The campus also has its own selection of eateries. There are two coffee bars where you can grab a drink or bite to eat between lectures. The undercrofts of the campus have more substantial food on offer, with a restaurant below King William Court and a new café/canteen underneath Queen Mary Court.
2012 Olympics
London will host the 2012 Olympics – and the University of Greenwich is already off the blocks. It contributed to the development of the successful bid and offered accommodation for games organisers. The Greenwich Campus, whose university buildings will be used for games administration, is in one of the official Olympic zones which also includes the nearby Greenwich Park, the site of the equestrian events and modern pentathlon. Staff and students will be invited to act as volunteers during the event.
Time to explore
Greenwich is a bustling town with a great atmosphere fostered by markets, pubs, clubs and restaurants. Up the Creek, a comedy and cabaret club, offers up-and-coming names in stand-up and is a short walk from the campus.
The borough is steeped in history. East meets west on the Greenwich Meridian line, which divides the hemispheres and marks longitude zero. The line runs through the courtyard of the 17th-century Royal Observatory and indicates the spot from which Greenwich Mean Time is calculated. Greenwich is home to the Cutty Sark, a 19th-century clipper ship, and the National Maritime Museum, as well as one of London’s finest Royal Parks.
If you are feeling fit you could climb the steep hill to the park's highest point. Or you may like to join Greenwich Cyclists, which organises excursions for all abilities.
Medway
This splendid Edwardian redbrick and ivy-clad campus – dating from 1903 – has benefited from £50 million in investment since 1996. Extensive new laboratories and research facilities have been opened and the university has linked with other educational establishments to develop the campus as a major higher education centre in the Medway region known collectively as the Universities at Medway.
A massive expansion of facilities on the Medway Campus has brought about the renovation of two disused buildings, a new build and new laboratories. The centrepiece of the development is a magnificent learning resource centre, the Drill Hall Library, converted from a naval drill hall and offering 100,000 square feet of space. It houses a library, computers, study areas and teaching rooms. The Pilkington Building next door, converted from the naval canteen, contains a lecture theatre, exhibition space, teaching rooms, a bistro-style café and the base for the Universities at Medway Student Association.
There is a new engineering research block, the Wolfson Centre, specialising in bulk solid handling, and additional laboratory facilities for Medway School of Pharmacy and the School of Science.
The campus has modern workshops and equipment, including a computer-aided design studio and a training dispensary for pharmacy students. The Centre for Sport & Exercise Science has the latest in 3D movement and force analysis equipment, enabling researchers to help professional athletes improve technique and avoid injury.
Social facilities
The student village boasts a mix of social and leisure facilities, including a restaurant in Pembroke Building and the Venue café in Pilkington. Sports facilities include a sports hall, a gym with cardiovascular and weights rooms and outdoor tennis courts. The on-campus bar, Coopers, offers meals and traditional pub games. Next door is Purple, a club venue. A general shop is also on campus.
Great Expectations... and great shopping
The Medway region is a haven of history, but it looks forward as well as back. The campus is based in Chatham Maritime, near Chatham’s historic dockyard. Close by is a pub overlooking the river and the Dockside Outlet Centre, which has plenty of good-value shops and even an Australian-themed café.
The area surrounding the campus is currently undergoing development to enhance its business, housing and leisure facilities. A multi-screen cinema opened in 2006 and Dickens World, an attraction based around the life and works of the author Charles Dickens, opened in 2007. This will offer rides and animatronics and a Dickensian shopping mall with a mix of themed restaurants and bars.
Rochester, a couple of miles to the south, is proud of its castle and cathedral (venue for the annual Medway Campus graduation ceremonies). Rochester stages events throughout the year, including music concerts and Victorian-themed Dickens festivals. In nearby Chatham you can find shopping centres and high street stores, while Rochester offers a range of quirky shops along its cobbled high street.
For those interested in watching sport, the nearest football league ground is Gillingham's Priestfield Stadium; Kent plays county cricket at Tunbridge Wells and Canterbury; and the Invicta Dynamos ice hockey team play regularly at the Ice Bowl in Gillingham.