The benefits of studying by the sea
13 November 2024
This article was written by Creative Writing BA(Hons) student Holly.
So, you may be wondering, why should I study at Falmouth? Well, there are many reasons why you should, but today I’ll be focusing on one great benefit among many – studying by the sea! At Falmouth you get the chance to do a degree in a truly unique place with thriving coastal and natural beauty to enthuse your studies and life in the heart of Cornwall’s creative community. There really isn’t another place in the country like it!
When I was torn between different universities, I made the choice to go to one of Falmouth’s Open Days, which really sealed the deal for me. What really struck me about Falmouth was just how stunning the area was, with beaches & lush parks and a thriving high-street, I certainly had no issue with location. Even though Falmouth is a seaside town and doesn’t offer the same experience a city university would, it offers its own and highly unique university experience with great nightlife and the ability to study & do various fun activities in nature.
For students who study at the beautiful Falmouth Campus, you are a simple ten-minute walk from Gylly beach and another less than ten minutes to Castle Beach from there! So, in between lectures, you have the joy to wander down to one of Falmouth’s natural gems, grab a coffee or an ice cream, or whatever snack you fancy from the beach café and enjoy a peaceful break at the beach. If you are based at the Penryn Campus, you are only a mere fifteen-minute bus ride to Falmouth for a short walk to the beach too!
Another perk of studying at our lovely seaside uni is the opportunities you have with beautiful beaches surrounding you. We have over one hundred societies in our SU and a good handful of them focus on outside activities – you can browse the societies here. So, if you are a keen swimmer, surfer or kayaker, you’ll have a society waiting for you! If you aren’t as keen on those types of things don’t worry! Falmouth’s beaches are a great place for walks and beach picnics & BBQs, which are great and a cost-effective ways to enjoy the coast.
I’m very lucky to be living in Falmouth town in my second year, as I’m a short stroll from a fantastic view of the harbour, which proves to be an incredible place to chill out and decompress or become inspired by the landscape around me and get stuck into a creative project. The atmosphere of town is lovely and the sea views do provide a nice piece of mind and is a lot slower paced than the controlled chaos of cities and larger places, so if you tend to feel overwhelmed, you’ll likely find Falmouth’s environment quite good for nerves. This also carries into the night-time atmosphere too; Falmouth is a very diverse community and is one of the safest places to study in the UK and the opportunity to watch the bob of the waves on a chill night out always provides a great ambience.
Having said all of this, beaches aren’t the only stunning natural spots Falmouth has to offer. Both campuses are home to beautiful areas. The Falmouth Campus is ensconced by a myriad of exotic flora and fauna, every building surrounded by stunning greenery, with the wonderful Fox Rosehill Gardens attached to the campus – a fantastic spot for some lunch or a study session, or to simply be in nature. At the Penryn Campus, you can walk down to the beautiful Italian gardens and the walled garden where you can lie back on a hammock and watch the sway of the trees after a long day of studies. If you ever want to visit more of Falmouth’s green spaces, there a number of great parks to visit like Kimberley Park and the Queen Mary Gardens, which is right next to Gylly Beach!
After growing up in a very rural area of England miles away from any stretch of sand, it has truly been a fantastic experience to be able to live and study by the sea, where you don’t need to drive for hours to just get to a beach for one day in the summer. In Falmouth, the beauty of the coast is all around, for every day of the year and always a stone’s throw away.
If you are thinking about applying to Falmouth and have any questions, from applying, to studying, to living here in Cornwall (and anything else!), feel free to drop me a message and I’ll be glad to answer any questions, as I appreciate applying for uni is always a nerve-wracking process!
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