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The City of Bradford

Bradford is an excellent place to live and study. It is small enough to be friendly, large enough to have all the facilities of a major urban centre, and is conveniently placed amongst some of the most spectacular countryside in England.

A friendly welcome

Bradford has a long tradition of welcoming generations of immigrants and visitors from all over the world. Its early growth and prosperity was built on the wool and textile trade. This brought merchants and workers from Germany during the last century; from Eastern Europe after the last war, and, more recently, from the New Commonwealth.

Bradford has absorbed these communities and enabled them to flourish. As a result, there is a harmonious ethnic, religious and cultural diversity of great benefit to the student community. This is reflected in all aspects of Bradford life: from the grand architecture of the Little Germany area, to the Asian sweet centres and curry houses much patronized by today's students.

A major urban centre

Bradford is one of the ten largest cities in Britain. It has all the shops, sporting facilities, theatres, cinemas, gigs, clubs, music and culture that you would expect. High on any list must be the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television, opened in 1983 and proving an enormous attraction. But then there is the recently refurbished Alhambra Theatre, St George's Hall (second home of the Hall Orchestra), Bradford Playhouse and Film Theatre, and several museums, two of which (the Industrial Museum and the Colour Museum) are largely based on Bradford's textile heritage.

The Bradford skyline

There's football at Bradford City, rugby league at Bradford Northern, and plenty of cricket. The social activities in the city complement those of the University: and with the campus so close to the city centre, most are easily accessible even without your own transport. Whatever your interests, you are likely to find you can pursue them in Bradford, either on or off the campus.

Conveniently placed

If the facilities of the campus and the city are not enough, the cities of Leeds, York, Manchester and Sheffield are less than an hour away by public transport. And the countryside is so close, you can walk into it from the city centre.

The countryside itself is magnificent. There is the rugged gritstone wildness of the Pennines and the Yorkshire Moors, the limestone delights of the Yorkshire Dales, and the gentility of spa towns such as Ilkley, Harrogate and Knaresborough. This is countryside made famous; by the Bronte's of Haworth (eight miles away) and more recently by the television series Last of the Summer Wine and Emmerdale. If you enjoy walking, or climbing, or just breathing fresh air, you'll be well catered for around Bradford.

Inexpensive

Despite all this wealth of activity, Bradford remains one of the least expensive cities in the UK in which to live. There is a plentiful supply of privately-owned and cheap student accommodation, much of it very close to the University. Food, drink and transport prices can be anything up to 10% cheaper than in other cities, especially those in the south of England.

These all led to Bradford recently being adjudged one of the best cities in the UK for quality of life.

It's all happening in Bradford

Bradford was also recently found to be the fastest growing tourist destination in Britain. Not just because of the National Museum of Photography, but also for the mill shops, the impressive Victorian architecture and the unique Flavours of Asia tour of mosques, curry houses and cloth shops.

Now other national museums and organizations are looking to Bradford and its wonderful (if now partly unused) mill buildings as a site for their special collections. There is a fine David Hockney collection at Salts Mill in Saltaire village (an attraction in its own right), and the V and A's Indian collection may soon come to Lister's Mill.