...I still like it.

The town centre is very pretty and the cathedral is spectacular, and ridiculously huge. The outskirts are a bit dingy, and there's some seriously hideous '60's architecture in places (The Student Union? Oh...my...god). But overall, I like it. I could happily spend three years here, especially with Newcastle being pretty close, if I need to actually do anything. I want to go to uni in a small town; I've grown up in a big city (Liverpool), and in a pretty shitty suburb, so something pretty and vibrant really appeals. I'm not overly fond of campuses, a little too insular for my tastes, and the same with the Oxbridge collegiate system.

And the course...well, had I not already been applying to Durham for definite, the department talk wouldn'tve swayed me. I can't fault that, however, the speaker was an admissions tutor, and was incredibly helpful with regards to that side of the process. But, I've checked out the course online, and it's not perfect, but the best I've seen, bar UCL. The Icelandic exchange is incredibly tempting.
I've noticed though, at every English talk I've been to, has been very heavily female dominated, with about 3/4 of the room being female. There's always one ridiculously hot male student as well. Not that I'm letting that influence me or anything.

All in all, Durham remains my first choice. And I'm pretty certain of my other choices: UCL, Exeter (Falmouth), York and St Andrews. I've ruled out Cambridge, I think, because, as I've mentioned, I found the collegiate system, wherein almost all of your socialising, and teaching is done within the college, far, far too insular for my tastes. I've spent seven years in a small private school, and frankly, it can get a little claustrophobic at times (I've enjoyed it, but I wouldn't want my uni experience to be identical.)

My next post will be about something different, I promise.

ETA Patrick Wolf is beautiful and amazing. Check him out.