Once you have taken the important decision to study in the UK you then have to decide just where to study and that means taking into consideration a number of factors.

You will clearly want to study at a university you feel will give you the best possible education in your chosen subject; you and your parents will want to be assured the you will be looked after as you study; you may want to stay with a group of friends who are also coming to the UK to study.

You may also have strong feelings about the sort of place you want to study in, whether it be a large city with all the hustle and bustle you are used to (or have missed) at home or a smaller town which offers good facilities but is less frenetic in the pace of life there. Would you feel safer and more a part of student society at a campus university?

Wales has all these types of institution to offer. The University of Glamorgan is in Pontypridd. The large cities, Cardiff, Swansea, Newport etc. are in the south of the country; there are town-campus universities and universities where the campus lies outside the town. The universities also differ in size from 14000 students to fewer than 2000. On the west coast of Wales there is just one university institution, the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, although not very far away there are other parts of the University of Wales in Lampeter and Carmarthen. In the north, Bangor and Wrexham both play host to institutions of higher education.

Aberystwyth is a small market and university town of about 13,000 inhabitants - a number swelled during term-time by about 7,000 students. There are also several village communities within a few miles for which Aberystwyth serves as a commercial, shopping and social centre. Its hinterland is predominantly agricultural, extending from the sheep ranges of the uplands to the dairying and arable farms of the fertile coastal strip and the valleys.

It lies on the broad sweep of Cardigan Bay which extends more than 70 miles to both north and south and provides many fine beaches and rocky headlands. Inland, a range of hills rising to over two thousand feet affords stretches of wild rolling moorland and conifer forests deeply dissected by wooded valleys. Within easy reach to the north is the Snowdonia National Park and to the south the Pembrokeshire National Park. This combination of coastal scenery and rural tranquillity makes Aberystwyth a holiday and tourist centre.

For a town lying 52º30’’ north of the equator, Aberystwyth has a remarkably mild climate. Great extremes of weather are virtually unknown but conditions can be very variable and some days can be both sunny and wet, even during the summer season. The hills to the East give some shelter from the bitterest winter wind and the Gulf Stream flowing all the way from the Caribbean brings warm water along the coast. Average Summer temperatures are generally 17º to 23º Celsius with occasional heat-wave temperatures above this. The day-time temperature in July and August is typically 18º to 21º Celsius.

In winter temperatures fall to 3º to 5º Celsius with periods where the temperature is at freezing point or a little below. Sometimes Aberystwyth enjoys a short period of snow but, on average, this lasts about one day in every year. Sometimes snow lies thickly just inland of the town, away from the warmer coastal area.

Spring and Autumn are very pleasant, mild seasons, very often with an unexpected warm period to enjoy, but, because of Aberystwyth’s location on the west coast, they can be quite wet! The amount of rain that falls in the are means that the countryside is very green; the hills are covered with grass and with forest, the greater part of which consists of plantations of evergreen ‘fir’ trees which keep their green needles throughout the year. The area is ideal for walking, both for short Sunday afternoon strolls and for longer hikes to the lakes in the hills. It is possible to be remote and still be within 5 miles of the nearest village or small town. The coastal situation also offers a different type of scenery with its mixture of cliffs, beaches and small bays.

With the sea and the open countryside there are many opportunities for sport and leisure other than walking. For the truly adventurous the mountains of Snowdonia, while not in West Wales, are within easy reach and offer hill walking and climbing from the gentle introduction to the extremely difficult. Various types of water-sport can be pursued, depending on just where you are! For those interested in boating and yachting there are some small harbours such as Aberaeron and Aberystwyth which offer safe havens and good facilities. Sea, lake and river fishing are available; some of the most famous salmon and sea trout rivers flow through the region.

The town of Aberystwyth is situated on the coast between the sea and the surrounding hills. Its history as a town goes back to the thirteenth century although there was a settlement there long before that. The expansion from a small sea-port to the town of its present size came at the end of the nineteenth century when the railway was completed and gave Victorian society access to yet another sea-side town or ‘watering place’. Soon after this, in 1872, the establishment of the College in Aberystwyth was to lead, in 1893, to the founding of the University of Wales.

One peculiar aspect of this region is, of course, its Welshness. When the Romans withdrew from Celtic Britain in the early centuries of the Christian era invaders from the Germanic areas of the continent pushed the Celts to the highlands of the north and west. Wales, Scotland and Ireland remained independent of Anglo-Saxon England for many centuries. In the twentieth century this independence can still be seen in the language and culture of these countries. West Wales and North Wales are the two main areas where Welsh is still used by the majority of people. You can hear it wherever you go - in shops, on radio and television, in classrooms; it is, after all the language of the people. There is no need to worry - everybody speaks English and the universities teach in English. Just try to remember that the people rightly object to being through of and referred to as English!

Wales is part of the United Kingdom but it is different from England, Scotland and Ireland; the West Coast of Wales would be considered by many to be the most restful and peaceful part of the country. It has so much to offer the tourist and the student; why not consider it as a place to study?

 Author: Geoff Wells, University of Wales, Aberystwyth U.K

This article first appeared in Educational Courses in Britain