The Landscapes of Bath's Two Universities

This episode takes the opportunity to explore Bath’s two relatively new universities. Each of them sits in a unique landscape.

The University of Bath, high up on Claverton Down, is a modernist 1960s campus surrounded by open skies, mature trees and sweeping views. It started life in 1966 as Bath University of Technology and was renamed the University of Bath 5 years later. It has grown from a student population of almost 1,500 in 1966 to just under 20,000 students now.  

Bath Spa University is set in a former country estate with lakes, temples and a 'Capability' Brown legacy. It became a university in 2005. It has a student population of just under 25,000.

Ralph Thompson is the Senior Lecturer in Zoology and Programme Leader for Wildlife Conservation at Bath Spa University and we hear about the university and grounds from him.

We are also joined by one of his students Evie de Gruyther who has just finished her degree at Bath Spa University getting a first class honours in Wildlife Conservation. She completed her dissertation this year by studying the bat population on the campus. She talks about her love of bats and what it was like to study at Bath Spa.

Marion Harney is Professor of Building and Landscape Conservation and Associate Dean for Education in the Faculty of Engineering and Design at the University of Bath. She is also the Chair of the Bath World Heritage Site Advisory Board.

She shows us around the university campus talking about the early super-structure architecture and the landscape design which was written into the initial brief to be a permanent feature of the campus.

We walked around amid the hot sun and torrential rain and we were joined by Badger the dog!

Credits

Music: Audionautix

Produced by Pommy Harmar

Links

Bath Spa University - www.bathspa.ac.uk

University of Bath - www.bath.ac.uk

Bathscape - www.bathscape.co.uk