Increasingly, British medical schools are using hospitals other than designated teaching hospitals for the provision of undergraduate clinical experience. This paper reports upon a study which compared students' experience in 'peripheral' and 'teaching' hospitals. Students report greater involvement in peripheral hospital firms and a more encouraging atmosphere. They gain more experience of practical procedures in these hospitals, and devote more time to ward and operating theatre work. More informal teaching is received in peripheral hospitals as compared with the teaching hospital. Less planned, formal teaching occurs, however: this is a focus of student concern, particularly towards the end of their course. There is little support for the view that students receive more experience of common conditions in peripheral hospitals.