{"id":9713,"date":"2026-05-07T10:00:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T09:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/?p=9713"},"modified":"2026-05-07T09:53:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T08:53:04","slug":"stepping-outside-the-office-exploring-all-that-london-has-to-offer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/2026\/05\/07\/stepping-outside-the-office-exploring-all-that-london-has-to-offer\/","title":{"rendered":"Stepping outside the office: exploring all that London has to offer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hi everyone, I\u2019m Ben and I\u2019m a Communications &amp; Corporate Affairs Industrial Placement Student at Unilever. Today, I\u2019m stepping outside of the office to share all about London life. A placement year is an amazing opportunity to immerse yourself in the working world -\u00a0 but it's also an opportunity to explore, experience and enjoy the city you're based in.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9718\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9718\" style=\"width: 298px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-9718\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Westminster-Big-Ben-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"Photo of Big Ben against a clear blue sky.\" width=\"298\" height=\"397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Westminster-Big-Ben-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Westminster-Big-Ben-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Westminster-Big-Ben-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Westminster-Big-Ben-161x215.jpeg 161w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Westminster-Big-Ben.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 298px) 100vw, 298px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9718\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Westminster - Big Ben<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Growing up in the rural West Midlands and studying in the beautiful (yet fairly small) city of Bath, London has been a completely different world and I\u2019ve loved getting to know it. The city has an energy and charm unlike anywhere else. Walking along the Thames to the office has been a particular treat - the views never get old.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9719\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9719\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-9719\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Westminster-Abbey-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"Photo of Westminster Abbey against a clear blue sky, with part of a tree hanging in the foreground.\" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Westminster-Abbey-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Westminster-Abbey-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Westminster-Abbey-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Westminster-Abbey-161x215.jpeg 161w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Westminster-Abbey.jpeg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9719\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Westminster Abbey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It wouldn't be a year in the capital without some good old sightseeing, from Trafalgar Square to the hidden gems. My favourite highlights this year have included:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>St Paul\u2019s Cathedral<\/li>\n<li>Westminster Abbey<\/li>\n<li>The Tower of London<\/li>\n<li>The National Gallery and The National Portrait Gallery<\/li>\n<li>Ham House in Richmond (National Trust)<\/li>\n<li>Osterley Park and House (National Trust)<\/li>\n<li>WWT London Wetland Centre (an amazing wildlife reserve in the centre of the city)<\/li>\n<li>The Jewel Tower (English Heritage)<\/li>\n<li>Apsley House (English Heritage - former home of the Duke of Wellington)<\/li>\n<li>Tate Britain - especially the Constable and Turner exhibition<\/li>\n<li>Kenwood House in Highgate (English Heritage)<\/li>\n<li>Morden Hall Park (National Trust)<\/li>\n<li>The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the National History Museum<\/li>\n<li>The London Docklands Museum's exhibition: \"Secrets of the Thames: Mudlarking London's Lost Treasures\"<\/li>\n<li>and Madame Tussauds<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9716\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9716\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-9716\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/St-Pauls-Cathedral-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"Upwards shot of the inside of the domed roof of St Pauls Cathedral.\" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/St-Pauls-Cathedral-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/St-Pauls-Cathedral-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/St-Pauls-Cathedral-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/St-Pauls-Cathedral-161x215.jpeg 161w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/St-Pauls-Cathedral.jpeg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9716\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inside St Paul's Cathedral<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_9720\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9720\" style=\"width: 399px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/WWT-London-Wetland-Centre.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-9720\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/WWT-London-Wetland-Centre-300x225.jpeg\" alt=\"Marshland-like fields of the WWT London Wetland Centre.\" width=\"399\" height=\"299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/WWT-London-Wetland-Centre-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/WWT-London-Wetland-Centre-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/WWT-London-Wetland-Centre-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/WWT-London-Wetland-Centre-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/WWT-London-Wetland-Centre-287x215.jpeg 287w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/WWT-London-Wetland-Centre.jpeg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 399px) 100vw, 399px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-9720\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">WWT - London Wetland Centre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And its been amazing that even in such a large and bustling city, there are so many beautiful green spaces. My favourites are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>St James Park<\/li>\n<li>Battersea Park<\/li>\n<li>Greenwich Park<\/li>\n<li>Hyde Park<\/li>\n<li>and Richmond Park. If you're ever there, head up to King Henry's Mound to get a view of St Pauls cathedral from over 10 miles away!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And there\u2019s so much more on the bucket list, from Hampton Court Palace to seeing a show in the West End. I can\u2019t wait to continue exploring the city.<\/p>\n<p>Another big part of my London year has been joining the University of London Officer Training Corps (ULOTC). For anyone unfamiliar with OTC, it offers university students the chance to explore army life through military training, adventurous activities, sport, and social events.<\/p>\n<p>Having spent two years with the Bristol Universities OTC while studying at Bath, transferring to ULOTC has been a great opportunity to continue my training and meet a whole new group of people. Weekly drill nights after work have become a rewarding routine, and I\u2019ve also taken part in several training weekends. One standout moment was the ULOTC annual dinner, where everyone dresses in black tie and gets a taste of the ceremonial side of army life, complete with bagpipes and tradition.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-9717\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/ULOTC-Annual-Dinner-Night-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"Ben taking a photo in a mirror whilst wearing a suit. \" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/ULOTC-Annual-Dinner-Night-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/ULOTC-Annual-Dinner-Night-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/ULOTC-Annual-Dinner-Night-1152x1536.jpeg 1152w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/ULOTC-Annual-Dinner-Night-161x215.jpeg 161w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/ULOTC-Annual-Dinner-Night.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Alongside OTC, I\u2019ve also been the Academic Representative for the Politics Placement and Study Year Abroad cohort. It\u2019s been a great way to develop my organisational and communication skills while staying connected to the University of Bath community.<\/p>\n<p>By regularly gathering feedback from my cohort, I\u2019ve been able to feed into our Student Staff Liaison Committees (SSLCs). For anyone who hasn\u2019t come across them, SSLCs are the official channel of communication between students and staff, a space to share what\u2019s working well and what could be improved across teaching, placements, and library services.<\/p>\n<p>I was really grateful to be awarded Rep of the Month for March 2026, and I\u2019m excited to continue this journey in my newly elected role as Faculty Rep for Humanities and Social Sciences for the 2026\/27 year.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-9715\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Rep-of-the-month-172x300.jpeg\" alt=\"Instagram post from @thesubath celebrating Ben as 'Rep of the month'.\" width=\"300\" height=\"524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Rep-of-the-month-172x300.jpeg 172w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Rep-of-the-month-586x1024.jpeg 586w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Rep-of-the-month-768x1343.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Rep-of-the-month-879x1536.jpeg 879w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Rep-of-the-month-123x215.jpeg 123w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/81\/2026\/05\/Rep-of-the-month.jpeg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been a year full of new places, new people, and new experiences \u2014 both inside and outside the office \u2014 and I\u2019m looking forward to sharing more in my next blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hi everyone, I\u2019m Ben and I\u2019m a Communications &amp; Corporate Affairs Industrial Placement Student at Unilever. Today, I\u2019m stepping outside of the office to share all about London life. A placement year is an amazing opportunity to immerse yourself in...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[593,24,310],"tags":[724,208,930,920],"class_list":["post-9713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-department-of-polis","category-faculty-of-humanities-social-sciences","category-placements","tag-facultyofhss","tag-placementlife","tag-living-in-london","tag-student-experience"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2021"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9713\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}