Accommodation Masthead Lancaster University Image of County Townhouses in the snow

christmas on campus...

 

The University will close down from 5.00pm on Friday 23 December to 9.00am on Tuesday 3 January. This is known as the shutdown period. We know that many of our students still live on campus at this time though, and this website aims to provide you with information that you may find useful during this time.

 

Please bear in mind that the campus is a very different place during the Christmas break and there will be fewer people around, especially during the shutdown period.

 

Events and Activities

There will be events organised through the period by LUSU and the Graduate Students' Association. Notably, Fylde Bar will be open on campus for most of the vacation (see Bars and Restaurants below), and there will be a New Year's Eve party in Lonsdale Bar. You can find out more about them, and about offers in the city itself, via the LUSU Calendar.

 

Shopping

The shops and banks on campus will be closed for the majority of the Christmas period. Spar will normally be open for most of the period but with shortened hours, as will Central Stores. Shops in Lancaster are also likely to be operating with different times to normal, and will be closed on Christmas Day.

 

Spar (University Branch) Opening Hours:

24 December - 9.00am-3.00pm

25-27 December - Closed

28-30 December - 8.00am-6.00pm

31 December - 9.00am-3.00pm

1-2 January - Closed

3 January - Normal hours resume

 

Sainsbury's Lancaster Opening Hours

19-23 December - 6.00am-Midnight

24 December - 6.00am-6.00pm

25-26 December - Closed

27 December - 9.00am-7.00pm

28 December - 8.00am-9.00pm

29-30 December - 8.00am-10.00pm

31 December - 7.00am-7.00pm

1 January - 11.00am-5.00pm

2 January - 9.00am-7.00pm

 

Booths Lancaster will be closed on 25 & 26 December and 1 January, with a reduced service inbetween.

 

The LUSU shop will be closed from Thursday 22 December and for the whole of the shutdown period. Central Stores closes on 24 December at 4.00pm, but open from 27-31 December between 11.00am and 7.00pm. It reopens on 2 January.

 

Bars and Restaurants

Many restaurants will be fully booked for private parties or closed during the Christmas and New Year period. On campus most of the bars and catering outlets will be closed during the period. Fylde Bar however will be open for the majority of the vacation period, apart from Christmas Day, Boxing Day  and New Years Day. There will also be a New Years Eve event hosted in Lonsdale Bar. If you want to find out more information about events on campus during the vacation, you can do so via LUSU, or by Pocket or iLancaster, both of which have apps which are downloadable to your smart phone.

 

Health

The Bailrigg Health Centre will close at 6.00pm on Friday 23 December and re-open at 8.00am on Tuesday 3 January. If you need to see a doctor during this period, you should contact King Street Practice on 01524 541651 or in the event of an emergency dial Security who will in turn arrange emergency services attendance.


The King Street Practice will be open between the hours of 8.00am and 6.30pm on Friday 23, Wednesday 28, Thursday 29 and Friday 30 December. You can contact them by telephoning 01524 541651. If you need a doctor urgently during evenings, weekends or bank holidays, you can ring 0300 123 1144.

 

If you need to order a prescription you should do this by Wednesday 21 December in order to collect it before the surgery closes on Friday 23 December.

 

Study Facilities

The Learning Zone will be open throughout the vacation, with access via your library card only. The ISS Service Desk will be open until 5.00pm on Friday 23 December, and will re-open at 9.00am on Tuesday 3 January. For IT-related information and guidance over the vacation period, please see the ISS website.

 

The Library will be operating a reduced service during the Christmas and New Year period. Full details of the opening times can be found on the Library website.

 

The Sports Centre

The Sports Centre will be open as normal until 24 December, then as follows:

 

24 December - 9.00am-4.00pm
25 - 27 December - Closed
28 - 31 December - 9.00am – 4.00pm
1 & 2 January - Closed
3 January - Reopen as normal.

 

Chaplaincy Centre

The Chaplaincy Centre remains open throughout the holidays, with a service every Sunday at 11.30am.

 

Portering & Security

There will be no Portering service in the undergraduate colleges during the shutdown period. Graduate College Porters however will be on duty from 7.00am to 7.00pm every day apart from Christmas Day (25 December 2011), Boxing Day (26 December 2011) and New Years Day (1 January 2012) which are public holidays. If you have any problems during the shutdown you will need to contact the Security Reception by dialing extension 94541.

 

Mail

If you are expecting to receive mail during the shutdown period, you will need to have it sent to the Security Reception rather than your own College. If you live in Graduate College, the delivery of mail will remain the same as normal and you should continue to collect your mail from the Graduate College Porters.

 

Residents of undergradute colleges should have it addressed as follows:

 

Your Name (Your College)

c/o Security Reception
Lancaster University
LANCASTER
LA1 4YW

 

Royal Mail will deliver all post to the above address, where it can be collected by you. As with most employers though, the postal staff provide a reduced service over Christmas.

 

Accommodation

If your College Residence Officer is not available in the run up to the shutdown period, you can still visit The Base in University House, which will be staffed up to the afternoon of 23 December. Graduate College Residence Office will also be open until this time, though as with all other offices, both will be closed during the shutdown period.

 

Transport

Between Saturday 24 December and Tuesday 3 January Stagecoach buses will run to festive timetables. Please see the Stagecoach website for details. Buses will continue to run to campus, and around Alexandra Park, but the frequency of service will be much reduced.

 

You should be aware that taxi prices are greatly increased during the festive period, and we would advise you to check the fare for your journey with the taxi company before committing to travel with them.

 

If you are traveling by train you can check the Lancaster station live departures board here to see where your train is.

 

Launderettes

The launderettes on campus should remain open throughout the vacation. There will however be some work undertaken to upgrade the facilities and some will be closed as follows:

 

Pendle launderette: Upgrade work to take place between 12 and 20 December

County Main launderette: Upgrade work to take place between 12 and 22 December

County South launderette: Upgrade work to take place between 3 and 13 January

Furness launderette: Upgrade work to take place between 3 and 13 January

Grizedale launderette: Upgrade work to take place between 3 and 5 January

 

 

Item updated 7 December 2011