The University of Manchester

The University of Manchester is the largest single site university in the U.K. with around 39,000 students recorded in 2012. The University is based just south of Manchester city centre on Oxford Road, the main artery of the city that links the University with the centre of Manchester to the north and its main areas of student residences (both private and University owned) to the south.

Getting to Manchester

If you aren’t local to the area and you’re planning on studying in Manchester then you’ll likely find your fastest and easiest way to the city is by rail, which will bring you into the bustling Manchester Piccadilly Rail Station. The station is well situated for access to the city centre but requires a walk of about 10 minutes to Piccadilly Gardens to catch a bus that takes around 30 mins to Fallowfield Campus (M14 6HD) or Withington (M20) – the main areas of student accommodation for halls residents and house-renters. Should you find yourself with an oversized or heavy bag(s) after a trip home, you might not fancy this journey and might prefer a taxi: there is a taxi rank by the station’s south exit but there is often a long queue in the daytime, whilst at night it can be deserted. For a stress free journey from the station to your home, use ubiCabs phone app or website for a free quote and book a cab from your train so it arrives when you do.

Getting around the city

Central Manchester is well served by both buses and trams with the trams linking up the north, east and west of the city. The trams can’t help with trips between the University and halls of residence to the south but there are a few bus routes with different companies that travel down Oxford Road to link them up. Student bus passes can be obtained over the internet or when you get to the University. Oxford Road does get extremely busy with student and commuter traffic during the morning and afternoon rush hours and it has been known for students in a hurry (especially on essay deadline days) to book a cab to make it in time! This can be surprisingly cheap if you share with friends: it’ll cost around £6 for you and two others to get from Fallowfield Campus to the University, split it and it’s the same price as the bus!

Enjoying your nights out

You’ve chosen the right city for music! Manchester prides itself on its musical history and is not content to rest on its laurels: there’s hundreds of venues of different sizes and genres ranging from Rock and Pop at the MEN Arena to DJs of every type at the student-night dominated Deaf Institute and everything in between. Manchester’s music scene is constantly evolving and thus so are the venues, making it very hard to know where you might end up on any given night. Whilst this makes going out an exciting experience it can also lead to difficulties getting there and back. The Manchester Student Union has some useful tips for student safety here.

As the safety advice suggests, getting an unlicensed cab can be dangerous and whilst it may be tempting to head for the first minicab you set on eyes on as you leave the club, if you haven’t booked it then its illegal, unsafe and probably going to be expensive! For a safe, reliable and cheap taxi home get a fixed quote from ubiCabs and wait inside for the driver to text saying he’s outside. No waiting around, no fighting for cabs, no dodgy rides, and no drivers demanding £30 after promising £15!