LIFE AT ROTHAMSTED RESEARCH

WORKING IN HARPENDEN

The location of Rothamsted Research in Harpenden makes it ideal for air, road and rail communications. The airports of Luton and Heathrow are within easy reach and the road network of the M1, A1 and M25 are close by. Trains to St Pancras for central London take around 30 minutes. Rothamsted is ideally located for access to London, and the Home Counties, where the cost of living varies to suit all budgets. Nearby centres in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire are within easy reach and offer varied housing opportunities at affordable prices. Schools in Harpenden and surrounding areas are rated highly at both junior and senior levels.

Opportunities for sport and recreation abound in Harpenden, the nearest council-owned swimming pool is at the Harpenden Leisure Centre. Golf is a popular activity locally, and Harpenden has two golf clubs. The Harpenden Common Golf Club is an 18-hole course on the common, while the Harpenden Golf Club is an 18-hole parkland course on Redbourn Lane. There are clubs and societies to cover all sports from rugby and cricket to bowls and walking. The high street has a mix of chain stores and independent shops.

Our 330 hectare site with a working farm and manor house and an abundance of parks in the vicinity with opportunities for cycling and walking make Rothamsted a tranquil place to work with fantastic opportunities for the practical application of the science produced. We have large, free car-parking facilities as well as leisure facilities on site.

Sport and Leisure facilities include a gym, tennis courts, pavilion bar and cricket pitch. We have a healthy attitude to a work life balance supported by our management team and backed up by policies and practices. We have many employees working varied hours and patterns and embed flexible working into our approach to hiring and keeping employees.

WORKING AT NORTH WYKE

The Rothamsted Research North Wyke campus in Devon focuses its research into sustainable agriculture on grassland and livestock systems. Voted by Country Life readers as the ‘best place to live in England’, Devon boasts 450 miles of coastline along two distinctive coasts. Geographers describe the county as ‘consistently hilly’ making it a landscape of breath-taking views and plunging valleys, gorged out by fast-flowing rivers.

The climate is warm and wet and perfect for grass and livestock production. The North Wyke estate boasts a 600-acre beef and sheep farm which includes the 150-acre North Wyke Farm Platform – a three-farm management system experiment giving you access to an unprecedented amount of data from its detailed analysis of water, soil, air and productivity across the three systems.

The site is 3 miles from the nearest town, so staff make their own entertainment at lunchtime. In the summer volleyball is played daily on the lawn of the Manor House and staff and visitors are free to enjoy a number of walks around the farm and surrounding woodland. Traffic is minimal and wildlife abundant. Inside, we offer table tennis and a small gym. There is no on-site catering, but there are vending machines for drinks and snacks, and some options for local food deliveries.

The local town of Okehampton and the nearby city of Exeter offer affordable living locations depending on whether you crave the vibrancy of a city, low in crime and high in quality of life, or the rural bliss afforded by the ruggedly, beautiful Dartmoor National Park – one of two National Parks in Devon and right on the doorstep of the North Wyke campus.

85% of schools in Devon are rated outstanding or good, including the local state secondary school, Okehampton College, which was voted ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2014. Primary schools abound in many of the local villages, some with fewer than 30 pupils, others buzzing with 200 or more. All offer a sense of community, so important in rural areas.

If you’re seeking that elusive work-life balance – you’ve just found it.