The Student Room Group
Students relax outside, University of Surrey
University of Surrey
Guildford

What is Surrey like??

I am considering putting Surrey as my firm choice, however on the open day i did not get a chance to see any of the surrounding area.

Therefore if anyone who lives there, or is a current uni student there could provide me with some information about what is available (eg. shopping, sport, gigs, nightlife ect) i would be really greatful.

Thanks.

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Guildford's a great town, big enough for there to always be something going on but small enough for you not to have to worry about getting lost and ending up in the middle of nowhere. There's 2 (off the top of my head, probably more) gyms within walking distance of the campus, and the high street has pretty much everything you need.

Plus, it's only half an hour to get into london if you wanted to, and the trains are great.
Students relax outside, University of Surrey
University of Surrey
Guildford
Reply 2
Guildford is a very safe area, nice enough.

Nightlife isn't amazing, but it isn't too bad either. Same with shops.
Reply 3
surrey is very nice, safe and firndly campus.
town is 15 min walk or 5 min bus ride away (£1 return and are roughly every 15 minutes)
The new surrey sports park which i believe give student memberships at a discount
Train station 10 min walk
there are a few clubs/bars in town like casino, tickled ivory, spoons etc but there is also rubix on campus
i personally love the shops but it depends what your into have a google for friary centre guildford (or it might come under westfields now) and then you have normal highstreet shops on the high street.

not sure about gigs

its not a big town but its safe and it has everything you could want
Original post by Fward
I am considering putting Surrey as my firm choice, however on the open day i did not get a chance to see any of the surrounding area.

Therefore if anyone who lives there, or is a current uni student there could provide me with some information about what is available (eg. shopping, sport, gigs, nightlife ect) i would be really greatful.

Thanks.


I went to a UCAS day yesterday and that was very nice :biggrin: the university looks amazing, but I would like some more information about the Guildford area as well. I currently live in London and it took just 35 minutes to get to Waterloo, which is great bacause even if life in Guildford will not be so exciting, London is there, half an hour away :smile:

I'm considering Surrey as my firm choice for Business Mangement...which course did you apply for? :smile:
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 5
Reply 6
Original post by Fward
I am considering putting Surrey as my firm choice, however on the open day i did not get a chance to see any of the surrounding area.

Therefore if anyone who lives there, or is a current uni student there could provide me with some information about what is available (eg. shopping, sport, gigs, nightlife ect) i would be really greatful.

Thanks.


In terms of gigs there is a big music scene around Guilford. Firstly at the students union there is acoustic night and open mic night, as well as different music societies. In the town live music-wise there is a good amount of stuff nearby most nights, at places like the Boileroom. ACM, Academy of Contemporary Music is in the town centre, so lots of 'musicy' people due to that. Though I guess it can matter upon your tastes in music... and the 35 minute train to London means people are constantly going there for gigs.

The rest has been said basically, everything you need for shopping, good transport links, sports is there Surrey Sports Park etc, nightlife isn't amazing but not bad either...
Reply 7
Original post by Fward
I am considering putting Surrey as my firm choice, however on the open day i did not get a chance to see any of the surrounding area.

Therefore if anyone who lives there, or is a current uni student there could provide me with some information about what is available (eg. shopping, sport, gigs, nightlife ect) i would be really greatful.

Thanks.


it's decent. as people have already mentioned nearly everything you could want is in guildford, and everything else is a 30 minute train away. the university campus itself (beyond the concrete jungle of the academic buildings) is surrounded by beautiful green fields, and a huge lake. there is a HUGE multi-million pound sports centre run by the university next to the manor park area, which hosts nearly every sport you could think of. nightlife is fairly good.
Reply 8
If you're looking for a university which is quiet and isnt like a busy city (smaller vibe) then guildford is a really good place to be

If you're looking for somewhere with a large vibe/nightlife like a city and an atmosphere suited towards allways doing something, then look somewhere else.
My major concern which i have had (which unfortunatley you cant see on an open day) is that its too quiet. I came from a fairly quiet place, with the idea that all universities have a really active vibe, only to be dissapointed when Surrey was not like that. Its only when you see a city university that you can see the major differences

So before choosing university make sure you realise how different some things are. For example if you find a city to be too loud and you want to go somewhere quieter/slower, then by all means go to a quieter uni. You just need to understand that EVERYTHING is toned down and quieter so prioritise what you want from your university and surrounding town/area
Reply 9
Original post by ReefSwell
If you're looking for a university which is quiet and isnt like a busy city (smaller vibe) then guildford is a really good place to be

If you're looking for somewhere with a large vibe/nightlife like a city and an atmosphere suited towards allways doing something, then look somewhere else.
My major concern which i have had (which unfortunatley you cant see on an open day) is that its too quiet. I came from a fairly quiet place, with the idea that all universities have a really active vibe, only to be dissapointed when Surrey was not like that. Its only when you see a city university that you can see the major differences

So before choosing university make sure you realise how different some things are. For example if you find a city to be too loud and you want to go somewhere quieter/slower, then by all means go to a quieter uni. You just need to understand that EVERYTHING is toned down and quieter so prioritise what you want from your university and surrounding town/area


Are you referring to 'loud' and 'quiet' only in reference to nightlife and the inherent noise/sound from cities? Because other than that I cannot really understand this...
Reply 10
Original post by The Beaver
Are you referring to 'loud' and 'quiet' only in reference to nightlife and the inherent noise/sound from cities? Because other than that I cannot really understand this...



Yeah nightlife and just general sound. But i also mean atmosphere
Original post by ReefSwell
Yeah nightlife and just general sound. But i also mean atmosphere


Nightlife and sound I can agree with, but I never got the feel of a quiet atmosphere of things happening. Except Saturday/Sunday mornings... then pretty much nothing happens, but that's the same anywhere...
Reply 12
Original post by The Beaver
Nightlife and sound I can agree with, but I never got the feel of a quiet atmosphere of things happening. Except Saturday/Sunday mornings... then pretty much nothing happens, but that's the same anywhere...


Have you been to a city uni like liverpool/birmingham/cardiff?

Saturday they allways do something
Reply 13
I love Surrey. Guildford is really nice. It's clean, safe, near the country, near London, got good shops, restaurants, not a huge number of clubs & bars but enough & you can get to other areas easily, but it's EXPENSIVE.

If you want more of a party lifestyle I'd look elsewhere like Liverpool, Manchester etc. But if you want a nice, good, quiet, easy life in a lovely area, then Guildford it is.
Reply 14
It's not really that quiet, but it all depends where you're coming from to compare it to. If you're coming from a standard town then Guildford will most likely be a lot more active, with more bars and clubs to go to. However if you're coming from a big city, then obviously it'll be quieter, but that's fairly obvious really.
Original post by ReefSwell
Have you been to a city uni like liverpool/birmingham/cardiff?

Saturday they allways do something


Actually I used to live in Birmingham >.>

I mean as in the fact that weekend mornings for a lot of students tend to be 'lie in/lazy mornings' not necessarily because of alcohol but many just enjoy that there is nothing timetabled then.

Doesn't mean everyone does, just many do, did I say there was nothing to do on a Saturday? Nope. I only said in the morning and for the record I used to do sports volunteering at the SSP every Saturday morning, night out or not...
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 16
Original post by The Beaver
Actually I used to live in Birmingham >.>

I mean as in the fact that weekend mornings for a lot of students tend to be 'lie in/lazy mornings' not necessarily because of alcohol but many just enjoy that there is nothing timetabled then.

Doesn't mean everyone does, just many do, did I say there was nothing to do on a Saturday? Nope. I only said in the morning and for the record I used to do sports volunteering at the SSP every Saturday morning, night out or not...


Im on about the afternoon
I've lived in Surrey all my life.
Like anywhere it's got it's good and bad areas, but generally it is a nice, safe place to live.
Guildford is a main hotspot, nightclubs as well as some great alternative music venues (HIGHLY recommend the Boilerroom if you're in to that). Also train links to London, Basingstoke, Reading etc are all pretty good.
Cost of living may be quite high, depending where you're coming from.
I'm not crazy about where I live, but may be because I've lived here all my life. It's alright, and I think for someone new to the area you'll probably be fine, there's something to keep everyone amused!
Reply 18
Original post by KeelyEverywhere
I'm considering Surrey as my firm choice for Business Mangement...which course did you apply for? :smile:


I have applied for Law and Criminology

Original post by sammy-lou
I've lived in Surrey all my life.
Like anywhere it's got it's good and bad areas, but generally it is a nice, safe place to live.
Guildford is a main hotspot, nightclubs as well as some great alternative music venues (HIGHLY recommend the Boilerroom if you're in to that). Also train links to London, Basingstoke, Reading etc are all pretty good.
Cost of living may be quite high, depending where you're coming from.
I'm not crazy about where I live, but may be because I've lived here all my life. It's alright, and I think for someone new to the area you'll probably be fine, there's something to keep everyone amused!


Approx how much does it cost to rent a place for 2nd/3rd year at uni??
Original post by Fward
I have applied for Law and Criminology



Approx how much does it cost to rent a place for 2nd/3rd year at uni??


Ah I really couldn't say, I've always lived at home! I guess to get a vague idea you could look at some estate agents websites - there'll probably be a lot of variation depending on the area your looking at

Quick Reply

Latest

Trending

Trending