Falmouth Accommodation 2022

Hiya! So I am at exeter penryn and lived in Glasney in my first year, so whilst I can’t help on the falmouth accommodation I can tell you from my experience you’re best being at the accommodation closest to your campus. Whilst there is transport between Falmouth and penryn it takes around 20 mins, costs between £2-£4 and if you take the train it’s cheaper but a good 15 min walk from Falmouth. Whilst it’s likely true that Glasney is more sociable it is what you make it, and honestly I would take being closest to campus on first year as it’s so much easier particularly in terms of time saving! The risk with Glasney as a student on the Falmouth campus is there won’t be many people who commute between for lessons so you may be out of sync with your flat. But it is definitely doable and I know people who have done it so it’s personal preference! Not sure if that’s much help sorry! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about fal I can try to answer!

Hello!! I was hoping to direct message you but my account is so new that I'm unable haha. I've a few questions about Fal accommodation and I'd love some advice, if you have the time! I've posted a discussion myself but can copy it here thank you!

Hiya! I’m happy to try and answer any questions you have, however I have seen your post, and I am unfortunately unable to help in regards to the quarry accommodation. Transportation between penryn and Falmouth however is really good with both buses and trains running really frequently! Please feel free to ask me any questions happy to try and help where possible!

ah hello! Thank you for your help! No problem at all, I know those were very specific questions haha. I'm reeeeally trying to stay in Penryn (because I heard it was best to live in the town of your campus), though rooms there are pretty competitive and difficult to secure as an international student. I don't have the best endurance for walking uphill (lol) and I am not super familiar with public transit, but I'm willing. Would you recommend I keep looking in Penryn or would picking one of these Falmouth accomms be totally fine, in your experience? Does Falmouth feel big/is it tiring or difficult to get around? (Thank you again, you are really helping people like us by doing this! x )

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! ☺️

Omg!!! Yes to everything--that all lines up well with what I've read/heard/seen (poorly) in google maps hahah. I am definitely more on the quieter side so I was pulling for Penryn, but I also really wanted Uni accomm (for all the reasons you listed) so I agree that Falmouth is probably best for me (plus, yes, uni accomm easily solves the guarantor issue too!!). The Quarry is up at the top-ish of Falmouth, which is what I was slightly worried about (ie. bus routes, distance from town/shops, etc.), but I know there's a couple bus stops not too far away and it sounds like Falmouth won't be terribly hard to navigate . I want to make the most of my year abroad, so that's another vote for Falmouth and it's beaches haha! I have indeed heard that about the trains....very interesting Thank you x1000 for this reply. Seriously, this is so so helpful and so incredibly kind of you to take the time. We need ppl like you haha!!! I will definitely reach out in the future as school approaches should anything else come up take care and stay safe

I had a check of where the quarry is and it looks like a 5/10 min max walk to the bus stops in town so it’s not too far but it’s also away from the busy area of town so it’s likely it should be pretty quiet there too! Absolutely, Falmouth is small which makes it perfect for a uni town to find your way easily! I used apple maps my first few weeks to navigate when walking with my headphones in then found everything is in a straight line! 😂 from where you are the buses will be closer, and have the benefit of getting you directly to campus too!
No problem at all very welcome! Anytime happy to help where possible glad it’s been helpful! ☺️ Thank you and you!

Omg!!! Yes to everything--that all lines up well with what I've read/heard/seen (poorly) in google maps hahah. I am definitely more on the quieter side so I was pulling for Penryn, but I also really wanted Uni accomm (for all the reasons you listed) so I agree that Falmouth is probably best for me (plus, yes, uni accomm easily solves the guarantor issue too!!). The Quarry is up at the top-ish of Falmouth, which is what I was slightly worried about (ie. bus routes, distance from town/shops, etc.), but I know there's a couple bus stops not too far away and it sounds like Falmouth won't be terribly hard to navigate . I want to make the most of my year abroad, so that's another vote for Falmouth and it's beaches haha! I have indeed heard that about the trains....very interesting Thank you x1000 for this reply. Seriously, this is so so helpful and so incredibly kind of you to take the time. We need ppl like you haha!!! I will definitely reach out in the future as school approaches should anything else come up take care and stay safe

Hey im going to Falmouth this September too but to study sustainable product design!! My insta is mariaa.hartwell