University of Essex

Having been the subject of many tawdry and outdated jokes about peroxide blondes, white stilettos and souped-up Ford Escorts, the very idea of the county of Essex boasting its very own academic institution – and a fully-fledged and blossoming University, no less – might at first seem rather ironic. But Essex is a sizeable county, with arguably more good parts than bad, and its University is situated 2½  miles from Colchester, a modern and attractive town, steeped in history, just over an hour’s drive from London (or possibly under an hour in a souped-up Ford Escort).  Set amid two large lakes in 200 acres of scenic parkland, the space was designed to hold a much larger institution but like an over ambitious lego village a kid is unable to finish, Essex Uni slowed its ambitious expansion a few years after it was founded (although it’s now making up for lost time). It has remnants of the big plans, though and the campus contains shops, eating places and facilities which betray the grander designs. They’re all arranged in a confusing series of interlinked courtyards and modern concrete buildings, flanked by towering multi-storey residential blocks. The park is very pretty, but the concrete buildings aren't – the fact that many of them are on stilts lends an aura of multi-storey car park here and there. Everything centres around the squares, a series of courtyards containing the Union, shops and cafes. Sometimes students set up stalls in these for fund-raising activities, giving them a market-like atmosphere.