Our campus at the University Of Nottingham is beautiful: the lakes, secret gardens and wildlife sometimes make me feel like I’m in a park when I walk out of my lectures. But not all is peaceful and serene as we’ve discovered. There are some things on campus to watch out for and you told us about the mishaps you’ve had…
Engineering hill
This little slope, between the George Green library bus stop and the engineering buildings, is a shortcut that will save you about thirty seconds. But Nicole tells us how, when it’s been raining or icy, it gets very muddy and slippery, causing people to fall over and slide down. Funny for spectators but not so funny if you’ve got a mud stained bum for the rest of the day.
Library gates
After scanning your library card and entering Hallward, you only have a few seconds to pass through the gate, Faith says she’s been “nipped by the gates a few times” as she hasn’t been quick enough walking through them.
The Downs
When walking on the downs before an early morning training session, Hannah discovered that the footpath isn’t straight. There are some hidden dips and ditches in the path which you can’t see when it’s dark. Hannah said she thought she was “still drunk from the night before” as she tumbled down one of them.
Trent Courtyard
The marbled floors of the Trent courtyard are beautiful when they gleam in the summer sun, but come the winter months and the rain, this courtyard turns into a danger zone. Ben tells us he “almost had a nasty fall” when it was raining.
Portland divider
At the part where the new Portland building meets the old one outside the juice bar, there is a change of level. There is a small ramp, concealed by a patterned carpet and, whilst sitting at the computers near the Atrium, I must have seen over five people trip up this little ramp, so watch out!
Rotating Portland door
This door has always been a problem for me. I’ve been squished inside when two other people came in the same compartment as me (with friends it’s funny, but these were strangers). I’ve had to do a little run to get into the first section rather than hold people up behind me and have you ever been forced to run inside these doors as someone behind you is pushing really hard?
Big steps in Clive Granger
Emily told us how the steps in A39 in Clive Granger building are huge. She tried to make it in one step, missed and ended up “sprawled at the bottom of the stairs”.
Steep hills
We all know the bane of walking up Portland hill, but there are steeper hills than that which have made us slip over, for example the hill behind the Keighton Auditorium and the back way between Life Sciences and Coates, where one of our HC team members fell!
Portland Hill traffic 1
The T junction at the top of Portland hill (opposite Clive Granger) is a notorious place to cross. There is no zebra crossing, meaning that the buses tend to charge around the corner, thinking themselves as kings of the road.
Portland Hill traffic 2
When walking down Portland hill (where the Portland Hill bus stop is), the traffic coming up the hill is one way, so if nothing is coming up, you can cross without looking behind you, right? Wrong! As Jade tells us, a speedy cyclist almost “knocked me over when I didn’t look behind me”. Be careful when crossing here, remember the Green Cross Code from primary school!
Portland Building hill
Basically everything named Portland seems to be dangerous! I’m sure many of us have been there when you want to cut out the corners and take the grassy hill down from Hallward to the SU (normally to grab some food on a study break). You start walking down and it’s all fine until you reach the steep part and either have to teeter down the hill with baby steps or run down the last bit. It would be so awkward if you fell at the last part, so be careful!
Image sources
Nicole Jones, HC Nottingham Editor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Nottingham?useformat=mobile
http://emmatharme.com/green-cross-code-video-week/
http://www.hopkins.co.uk/s/projects/2/137/
Edited by Mackenzie Orrock