Northampton Reviews

Living in Northampton

Famous for its shoemaking industries and known locally as Rose of The Shires, this isn't some place you read about in a book by Tolkien. Northampton is a thriving town set in a countryside county and it's here you also find the University of Northampton.

Northampton, home of the University of Northampton, may not be the biggest town but it does a good job of accommodating a modern lifestyle while still keeping it’s heritage in mind. And that heritage is shoes. Men, you might want to skip this next paragraph...

Northampton was built up around the business of making shoes, and the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery has it’s main exhibition on shoes throughout history. Imagine: a gallery full of shoes. In total they have 12,000 shoes, and that’s not even counting the film and photo archives. The museum’s website even features a ‘Shoe of the Month’!

Okay guys, you can come back now. It’s all safe, we’ve put the shoes away.

Northampton sits in quite a rural part of the East Midlands, and is the local ‘big town’ for it’s smaller neighbours like Corby and Wellingborough. There are several shopping locations here, the biggest being the Grosvenor Centre and the Weston Favell Centre. There’s also a market held twice a week in the market square for picking up some veg and treats on the cheap. For movie nights, there are two mainstream cinemas in the town, as well as the independent Forum cinema.

The music scene in the area is pretty decent, with the Roadmender being the largest local venue for live gigs. For even bigger concerts the National Bowl in nearby Milton Keynes has a history of drawing international acts. A good range of stage shows, music, and drama can be found at the Royal and Derngate theatre, and with over twenty nightclubs in the town you won’t be left out of the traditional student party lifestyle.

Day out

• Like it loud?: Rugby is a big deal here. The local team, the ‘Saints’ play at Franklin Gardens.
• Like it quiet?: There are several country estates nestled away between the rolling hills of the East Midlands (including the home of the late Princess Diana at Althorp, where she is also buried).
• Like it fast?: For those who want to escape the quiet life every so often, the world famous Silverstone racetrack and Rockingham Speedway are down the road.

Getting around

• Taxi: Bounds Taxis
• Bus: The Uno #19 bus runs between the campus and main bus centre, while the #18 and #7 go from campus to other locations in town.
• Car: Northampton town is just off the M1, making it easy to get around the country whether you’re going up to Birmingham for some shopping or down south to London for a big day out. Both locations are about an hour away.