Hey! It’s Evie here, a third year History & Politics student at Exeter’s Penryn Campus. As I’m submitting my final assignments and getting ready to move back home to London, I’ve been reflecting on my time here in Cornwall and realising how much I’ll miss living in Penryn. I was a little unsure what it would be like when I was going into my first year, as it is a bit different to some of the typical cities you might associate with the university experience, but it turns out this is part of what makes it so special! Today I’ll be talking you through a few of the expectations or worries I had before I joined the Penryn Campus, which you might share if you’re looking at choosing the University of Exeter’s Cornwall campus too, and tell you what it’s actually ended up being like in reality. Spoiler alert – it’s even better than I expected!
Is it boring?
I’d been on holiday to St Ives a few times before choosing to study at the Penryn Campus, so I knew how much Cornwall has to offer in terms of beautiful coastal scenery and outdoor activities. But I know not everyone does, and not everyone finds this such a big incentive to come here. Whether you like sea swims or prefer a shopping trip, I can confirm it’s definitely not boring! Hopefully by the end of this blog, you’ll get more of an idea what it’s like to live here and what a great place it is to go to university!
What’s it like not going to university in the city?
Having lived close to London my whole life, it seemed like quite a big change moving to a small town quite far away, and I know a lot of people experience the same shift. You might be worried that it will seem a bit remote and not have anything you’re used to if you’re making a similar transition – but I bet you’ll end up loving it!
In first year, you’ll likely be in either Glasney Student Village on campus or in accommodation nearby like The Sidings, and as the name suggests, you will basically feel like Glasney is your ‘Village’ – I’ll get to this later on. Campus is only about a ten-minute walk away from the centre of Penryn, which is a cute little town, quite a contrast from a busy city but with lovely cafes, cool independent shops and a nice community atmosphere. So your immediate surroundings are a lot more relaxed than a city would be, but I think living away from the noise and busyness is actually perfect for starting university, especially when student life is so busy in itself!
Falmouth is probably where you’ll visit the most, and where a lot of people live for second and third year. Although not a city, it’s a very lively town, and has more than enough to entertain you in terms of pubs, shops and cafes. In the summer it feels particularly atmospheric, when the cruise ships start to come in and more people start to visit on holiday, it really gets a nice friendly vibe.However, due to the large student population, it’s also far from deserted in winter, making it one of the best Cornish towns to live in all year round. There are always community events going on, whether it’s the Food Festival, the Christmas Lights switch on, the Sea Shanty Festival, Pride or Falmouth Week, there are so many different things to get involved in to really feel like you’re making yourself at home even outside of the university community.
Is it very remote and cut off from other cities?
It’s not as remote as you might think! Campus is only a fifteen-minute train journey or half an hour bus trip away from Truro. Although it’s still a relatively small, pretty city, Truro has quite a few of the big chain shops, so if you’re in need of a shopping day, this is the place to go. From here, it’s only just over an hour to Plymouth which has a much more classic city feel, with a huge shopping centre and plenty of restaurants and activities. I’ve found this is a great place to meet people in the middle, like a few of my friends from home who are studying in Exeter.
You can also get the train directly from Truro to London Paddington, and although this takes about four and a half hours, it’s nice and easy and gives you a few hours to relax, or get some work done. Although I thought this seemed quite a long journey at first, I’ve ended up enjoying my trips home for the holidays a lot, particularly as when you go past Dawlish you get a beautiful view of the sea running alongside the train tracks!
You’re also not far from Newquay airport if you live further afield, and there’s a National Express coach stop in Penryn and Falmouth if you’re going to London, or in Truro if you’re going to Bristol. I’ve used both of these routes, and although I normally choose the train, it is nice to have so many options without needing a car – it makes it feel a lot less remote than you might assume.
Is it too small?
I think one of the main things that stood out to me about the Penryn Campus when I was looking around different universities was how small it seemed compared to some of the big cities I was considering. This seemed like a big decision at the time: whether to pick a campus university or a city-based one that was more spread out, and I remember feeling very confused about what would be right for me, especially considering I had no experience of moving away from home! Some people may think that the Penryn Campus is too small, and along with that assume it might be harder to make friends, and maybe that it would get a bit boring.
While it is a smaller campus, because it’s shared with Falmouth University, it still feels like you’re part of a bigger community, plus you’re still connected to the University of Exeter’s Exeter city campuses in various ways, even if you never visit them! So, there’s plenty of people for you to get to know, especially in first year when you’re likely to be living with a mix of Falmouth and Exeter students if you live in university accommodation.
The accommodation is another advantage in itself – if you’re living in Glasney Student Village in first year, as a lot of people do, you’re right on campus. The fact that everything you need is in one place rather than spread out across a big city means you can be out of your room and into your lecture within just a few minutes (very handy for 9ams!)
The smaller size also means that it’s not too intimidating when you first move in. It’s easy to find your way around without getting lost and you can get familiar with the campus relatively quickly. You’ll soon work out how to navigate around all the rooms on your timetable, where the bus stops is, which laundry facility is closest to your accommodation, and the fastest route from the library to the gym. You’ll also be able to go on some nice walks around to explore more, as the campus has the best outdoor spaces, with a walled garden, greenhouse, and beautiful plants surrounding you everywhere you go.
It actually really doesn’t feel that small when you’re here, and if anything, being in a less overwhelming environment when you’re first moving somewhere is a positive. You do get a real sense of community at the Penryn Campus, with plenty of friends to bump into, and lecturers you can stop and have a chat with. This was actually one of my main reasons for making Exeter’s Cornwall Campus my firm choice, as on my offer holder open-day the student ambassadors really emphasised how beneficial they found the smaller class sizes. You don’t end up feeling like an anonymous number sitting at the back of a huge lecture theatre – you really get to know the people on your course.
Overall, the smaller size certainly isn’t anything to be worried about. If anything it’s an advantage!
Is it very separate from Exeter’s Streatham and St Luke’s campuses?
A lot of people in my life were quite confused when I told them I was going to the University of Exeter but not in Exeter. It is quite a unique situation, so you might be wondering how connected the Penryn Campus really is to the University that it’s part of, yet a two-and-a-half-hour train journey away from!
You still get all the benefits of studying at a Russel Group university, with access to the same great teaching standards and resources. The courses are completely separate and distinct at the Penryn Campus, so you will have different module availability (you’ll have seen this already if you’ve been looking at the Cornwall Campus course pages online). You have access to all the same online resources, which covers pretty much everything, but if you ever need access to a physical book that the Streatham or St Luke’s library has, you can easily order it to collect at Penryn Campus library, which I’ve found really useful now I’m needing more specific resources in my final year. Our library has plenty of good resources available too and is also shared with Falmouth University, meaning there are some extra interesting things you can access.
You’ll likely never need to go to the Streatham Campus in person, but the University does often provide transport to allow Penryn students to go to Exeter for things like career fairs, so the option is there if you want it – we’re not cut off from these opportunities! Some modules may work in collaboration with students in Exeter too – for example, in my first year I took an Environmental Humanities module which involved a field trip to Penzance for a few days, with students from across campuses. So, although it is essentially separate on a day-to-day level, there are fun ways you overlap with the main campus, even though it’s in quite a different location!
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Overall, I’ve found Penryn Campus to be the perfect place for my university experience. It has the perfect balance of having everything you need and expect from student life while also being a unique chance to live somewhere a bit different. The beautiful coastal scenery is definitely what makes it most special to me, I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to live so close to the beach. Particularly in comparison to living in London, I’ve found it really nice and peaceful to live in a smaller town and I think although it may be a different experience to other university campuses, it actually makes the whole process of moving away from home a lot more manageable. Feeling like you have a community around you – both within university and in the local area – really helps you settle in, and Penryn does that so well!
Hopefully this has reassured you that the University of Exeter’s Cornwall campus is not a small, remote, distant part of the University, but a lively, well-connected, and beautiful place to spend your time studying. I’ve absolutely loved my three years here, and I think all the coastal walks, sea swims and beach barbecues that have made by experience so great will make some of the best memories once I’ve graduated.