Once again it’s nearly time for the Northampton balloon Festival. Like previous years, next month’s event will take place at Billing Aquadrome. This year, guests will be hoping for good weather, as this has let the event down in the past, but if the conditions allow, the balloons will be flying high at both 6am and 6pm on each of the three days of the event. It’s a terrific sign off for summer and it provides the perfect opportunity for taking wonderful snaps, whilst the 9.00pm “Balloon Glow” on Saturday evening is a sight to behold. If you’re looking for something to do this year and Bedford’s river festival wasn’t quite your cup of tea, the Northampton balloon Festival is a fine option and it’s been going strong for many years.
Northampton is a town well known for its university, beautiful parks and multi-cultural restaurants, but it’s also a town with a lot to offer for office workers. Whether you’d like to break into accounting, marketing, design, copywriting, purchasing or sales, there are many small and large businesses offering opportunities to new graduates. Like Milton Keynes, Cambridge, and Bedford, Northampton has a broad range of office based jobs up for grabs all year round, and you’ll be able to see the latest opportunities online or in the local papers. The university was once voted number one for employability, so that goes to show just how many opportunities are there to be grabbed in Northampton.
Northampton was once the UK’s capital for shoe production and whilst there are a few old factories still knocking around, it’s not the thriving industry it once was. Here are some of the top places to work in Northamptonshire today.
Brackmills
This popular industrial estate is packaged with a diverse range of small and large businesses and there are always plenty of jobs going on this estate each and every year.
Northampton University
Northampton Uni is expanding and it’s reputation seems to be improving year on year. The uni manages to employ hundreds of people each year, many of them are ex students and this is great for the uni and the town as whole.
Sixfields
For younger people Sixfields is a great place to work and gain some hands on retail experience. There are plenty for restaurants and entertainment venues here and it’s a nice starting point for those in full-time education.
I don’t know about you, but I really didn’t see this coming after last season’s campaign. The manager has really turned things around, and I’m quite upset that I didn’t have any faith in him or the team earlier in the season. With a rather young team, things are looking good for Northampton Town Football Club, but we all know where we really want to be; up there with Milton Keynes Dons. Okay so we haven’t won the league yet and we need to keep fighting until the end, but either way, it’s looking good right now, and I can’t wait to go to more games next season. I only hope the price tickets don’t go up, because I’ve really enjoyed the balance of decent football with cheap matchday prices this year.
Northampton town football club really are doing the business. Having won over 10 consecutive matches in a row, we’re sitting at the top of League 2, and it’s amazing to see, considering the torrid time we were going through just a matter of months ago. Chris Wilder did a cracking job at Oxford over the years and he seems to be doing the same for us now. Of course, it’s the team on the pitch that’s doing us proud every week though, and Marc Richards, John-Joe O’Toole and Ricky Holmes are really producing some magical performances of late. I think it’s safe to say we’re going to get promotion this season to League One, and hopefully we can push on next season, following in the footsteps of our nearby neighbours MK Dons who made it into the Championship last term.
I always feel a little bit guilty when I go on a shopping spree in centre MK rather than visiting my local town centre. Northampton may not have the shiny exterior that Centre MK has, and it may not be completely windproof, but it does have plenty of well-known brands. If you compare the shops in Northampton to the shops in Bedford, the difference is huge, but nowadays so many Northamptoners take their business into Milton Keynes. In terms of the number of stores, Northampton is well behind the likes of MK, and there certainly aren’t enough restaurants as MK either, and that’s if you include the outlets at Sixfields. Unfortunately Northampton will never be able to compete with the variety of shops that MK has, but it’s nowhere the worst town centre in the UK. I’m more than happy to nip into town when I need something urgent, but if I want a whole day of shopping, I regret to say I’ll always head to Milton Keynes.
You’ve probably experienced the journey yourself at some point, the A428 that leads through Bedford, past Turvey and Yardley Hastings, and heads deep into the heart of Northampton. There’s no shortage of speed cameras on this long winding road, but most of the time they’re simply not required because there are enough lorries and tractors to slow you down!
For many it’s a nightmare commute every morning, and it’s not necessarily for its traffic issues, it’s because it’s such a frustrating road where you never have any freedom to overtake safely. We feel your pain if you’ve experienced this journey, nd we feel more pain for those who use it each and everyday, but the only over option is the motorway, and that’s not much better! So until they open parts of the A428 out to dual carriageways, it will forever be a pain in the backside.
It’s soon to be that time of year again when people think up their new years resolutions. How many of those are likely to be related to health and fitness? Quite a few we expect, and there are plenty of gyms in Northampton to choose between.
Trilogy has three gyms in Northamptonshire, and as a member you have access to all of the gyms, so there’s always a chance to jump on a treadmill, go for a spot of swimming or pick up some weights.
One of the most expensive but most luxurious gyms in Northampton is Virgin Active. It’s a big well-known brand with the latest equipment, and the spa room won’t disappoint! There are lots of gyms to choose between in Northampton, but we believe these are two of the best clubs.