Loughborough

Loughborough's fortunes were built on engineering and textiles. Now, however, the largest employer is Loughborough University, this has a dramatic impact on the town. The 14,000 students account for around one in four of the town's population. This gives the town a younger profile than you might expect in term time but makes the place relatively quiet during the summer.

The university has a 437 acres (177 hectares) campus on the mostly residential western side of the town. The campus occupies a band running west from the ring road to the edge of town, splitting the northern estates from the Forest Side in the south-west. The eastern side of the town, close to the canal and the railway lines is generally older, includes the town centre and contains more of the town's industry and industrial heritage.

The university promotes itself as a centre of excellence for sport. It hosts facilities for a number of national associations including the headquarters of the Amateur Swimming Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) National Cricket Performance Centre. Loughborough provided the main camp for 'Team GB' in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics and the university's facilities were used by the Japanese Olympic team.

By plane:

East Midlands Airport (EMA IATA) is 7 mi (11 km) north-west of Loughborough.

The town is well-connected to the airport by the Skylink bus service, a more direct link than via East Midlands Parkway railway station.

By train:

1 Loughborough station about a mile north-east of the town centre and is served by East Midland Trains travelling from London St Pancras International to Sheffield and London St Pancras International to Nottingham and by Cross Country Trains to Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, and Birmingham.

By car:

Loughborough sits on the main A6 road between Leicester and Derby and adjacent to the M1 motorway (at junction 23).

By bicycle:

Loughborough is on National Cycle Route 6.

By narrow-boat:

The refurbished Loughborough Wharf at the northern edge of the town centre links to the Grand Union Canal.