Very welcome always happy to! So normally that is absolutely the best thing to do however penryn is really small therefore the majority of people actually live in Falmouth! The drive between penryn and fal is around 10 mins and the bus takes about 20 min taking into account the stops, so the two are really close together. Everything that happens is in Falmouth with the only except being the doctors surgery (!) everything else from nightlife to shops, eating out and anything you might need will be from Falmouth. The biggest supermarket in the area is Asda which is closer to Penryn, however you could walk from campus to get any food then back to get transport from campus. Alternatively there is a smaller but still big enough Sainsburys which is on the bus route, so with a day pass you can travel to and from campus and get off along the way to get your shopping. Also alternatively, there are two small Tescos in Fal town or there’s always home delivery slots! Personally, I would recommend living in Falmouth, however it is absolutely a personal preference. Penryn is likely to be that bit quieter however you’ll likely be walking into campus which whilst isn’t big can be a bit of a hike and some bits are fairly steep. In terms of uni accommodations versus private, I personally preferred my year living in uni accommodation. Whilst I had the benefit of living on penryn campus, I liked how everything was taken care of in terms of bills and maintenance, and there was no need to communicate with estate agents so it was much easier. I am doing a masters next year in a different uni and have chosen uni accommodation for this reason but also as gives more chance to meet people! From my experience the uni staff are incredible helpful with questions and any issues with the accommodation. Whilst I don’t have experience of this, I would also assume it is easier to get accommodation sorted as an international student as I know many of the estate agents require a uk guarantor for the rent payments.
In terms of public transport, Falmouth has both buses and trains. There are two stations in Falmouth and I believe there’s a train between Falmouth and penryn each hour. This is slightly cheaper than the bus (and as it’s such a short trip they don’t get a chance to charge everyone on the train so if you’re sat in the right seats you may get a free trip!
) but the penryn station is about a 20 min walk from the campus. The buses are more frequent but run from the town centre so I’m not sure how far this is compared to the train station from the quarry I afraid! But the buses go straight to the campus so save on walking!
Falmouth itself is also pretty small. From the bus station which is at the centre but the start of the high street, it’s about a 15/20 min walk to the other end of the high street. Along here you’ll find tons of chain and independent shops and so many independent restaurants which I cannot recommend enough so many good choices! From the end of the high street it’s about 15/20 walk to the beach, however it is up and down a pretty steep hill, however it is so worth it for the beach!! Falmouth has three beaches, gylly is the main which is this one, then a 10 min or so walk along is swanpool. Both are really good and have really nice cafes! So overall it’s definitely not big and you’ll find your way round surprisingly quickly as it’s pretty much all in a straight line! It can be slightly tiring with the hills but it’s a really lovely place with a really nice vibe. It’s a lot more chilled than you might get in say a city!
Hope the rambling makes sense feel free to get back with any questions about Falmouth, penryn or the uni or campus or just anything really! Aww thank you glad can be of help I love doing it! ☺️