Exeter City Guide
Exeter is a small yet vibrant city situated in the heart of Devon, largely populated by students from the University of Exeter. This charming city strikes a perfect balance between urban convenience and natural beauty. With a bustling city centre offering an array of restaurants, shops, and entertainment options, everything you need is within easy walking distance, making it an ideal environment for students.
As soon as the sun comes out in Exeter, you will see students rush to Exmouth beach to go swimming in the sea before indulging in fish and chips and Mr Whippy’s ice cream. Exeter provides a warm and welcoming atmosphere that ensures a sense of safety and community, particularly in your first year where you should find yourself surrounded by students alike. Its size, safe environment and easy access features make Exeter an ideal city for students.
Universities
The University of Exeter has over 25,000 students across three campuses, including St Luke's Campus and Streatham Campus, which are located in Exeter, and Penryn Campus which is in Cornwall. The University is part of the Russell Group, implying high research practices, and has a gold award from TEF. Furthermore, it is the number one sports university in the south of England and Wales, as well as one of the top sports universities in the country. Importantly, Exeter is consistently ranked highly as one of the safest universities in the country, as well as one of the most beautiful, with Streatham campus often being listed as one of the most beautiful UK university campuses. The University is known for having strong programs in Business subjects, Engineering and Sports Science.
The main university campus, Streatham campus, is only a 20-minute walk from Exeter city centre, while St Luke's Campus is around a 15-minute walk. Further to this easy walking access around the city, there are plenty of train lines that take you to the surrounding areas of Exeter, including beautiful seaside towns.
Student areas and accommodation
In their first year at Exeter University, students tend to live in accommodation on campus, living in a shared flat with other first year students. There are several different types of accommodation across Streatham campus, including shared bathrooms, en-suite rooms, catered and self-catered kitchens. Moreover, many of these accommodations are within a 5–10-minute walk from Streatham campus and a 30-minute walk to St Luke’s. There are student accommodations closer to St Luke’s, however lots of students choose to live on Streatham campus as there are more students around and it is more social.
After their first year, students tend to move into a shared house or flats with friends. Pennsylvania road is a popular student road, located only a 10–15-minute walk from campus and close to the city centre. Not far from this are Victoria Street and Springfield Road, which are also only 10-15 minutes walking distance from campus, while a 20-minute walk from town. These areas are also close to St James train station which provides easy access to beaches in summer and a route to the main train station, Exeter St David’s, which is around a 20-minute walk from this area. Although these locations are ideal for easy access to both town and campus, they are a bit further from St Luke’s campus. Mount Pleasant Road and Pinhoe Road are good locations if you want to be in between both campuses. Some students may choose to live in a studio after their first year, which can be found on campus in some of the accommodations or across the city through private accommodation hosts.
Getting Around
One of the perks of Exeter being a small city, is that most places are within walking distance. However, there is a bus that goes from the university campus to town, which might be good for first years living on campus, especially when doing their food shop. There are also local buses circulating through the city if walking is not doable. In terms of travelling to the beach or other nearby locations, there are lots of train stations around where students live, such as Exeter Central, St James Park, Exeter St Davids and Polsloe Bridge. Exeter St Davids is the main train station in Exeter. It is only an hour on the train to Bristol Temple Meads (which also gives access to Bristol airport through the airport flyer service) and Plymouth, and a direct 2-hour service to London. There is also an airport in Exeter which is only 15 minutes from the city.
Food and Drink
Despite its smaller size as a city, Exeter offers an exceptional choice of places to eat and drink. Although one of the more expensive places, the Old Firehouse is one of the most popular destinations to eat and drink amongst the students, with an exciting range of drinks and delicious 18-inch pizzas to share with your friends, all with a 10% student discount. One of my personal favourite brunch spots in the city is Eat on the Green, which is located next door to the cathedral, so if the weathers nice, you can sit outside with a smoothie and a bacon sandwich taking in the beautiful surroundings. Another popular spot for a morning coffee and a sandwich is Artigiano, which not only offers a daytime treat but also opens in the evening for cocktails, so you could spend a whole day eating and drinking there if you wanted!
Just outside the city centre is the Quay, which also provides an exciting range of places to eat and drink, with a view of the water. Throughout the city, there are numerous pubs located in more student areas, such as the famous Henry’s bar, which has a great atmosphere and offers a 3 for 12 deal using tokens – so if you don’t want 3 drinks in that one night you can come back and use them at a different time (and it feels like your drinks are free!) Not far from Henry’s, are places like the Stoke Arms and the Victoria Inn which you will find are often taken over by the students. One of my favourite pubs in the city centre is the Turks Head which has a lovely atmosphere inside and offers student discounts on drinks, as well as food from Eat the Bird.
Of course, a night out wouldn’t be complete without a trip to Wetherspoons. Exeter offers 3 different Wetherspoons in the city centre proximity, with the Chevalier Inn being a good option for drinks before a night out as it is located near the clubs. Many students, particularly those in their first year, will drink at the Ram, which is the student bar on campus, and is always lively. It offers great deals on both food and drink and is the perfect place to go for an after studying reward or a mid-studying lunch break.
Nightlife
The most popular clubbing destination in Exeter is Timepiece, known for its pub/club environment, which the students love. And you can’t go to Timepiece without having one of their famous Venoms, which, if you have some leftover cups from the nights before, you can get money off drinks – one cup = one pound off. Another popular club in the city is Fever, which is located at the other end of town to Timepiece and does not offer the same pub/club experience but instead you walk straight into a night of boogying, with two rooms offering different music.
Revolution Bar is a favourite among students, offering a versatile atmosphere where you can either enjoy a relaxed drink seated with friends or hit the dance floor for a lively night out. Most of these clubs close at 2am during the week, which to some people may seem quite early, and if you’re still wanting to boogie the night away then don’t worry because you have Vaults just around the corner which stays open until 4:30am.
Study Spots
The main university campus has lots of different study spots, with the forum library being the biggest and most popular. It has three floors which all offer both group study and quiet study rooms. The library is a great spot to study; however, it can often get very busy and can be difficult to find somewhere to sit in the middle of the day. If this is the case, not to worry, as there are other options. Many students will study in the student guild which is a more social area but ideal for group work or group study. The loft and the sanctuary are also good study places which may be less busy and easier to find a seat. These places are all in the main forum, however if you head to other buildings such as Queens, Washington Singer, Amory, and Peter Chalk you will find lots more options for places to study.
St Luke's campus also hosts a libary and study spots which are often much quieter than Streatham campus library. If you fancy heading to a café in town to study, there are also lots of options for this. Artigiano is a popular study destination for students, as well as Waterstones Café, which both provide a calm study friendly atmosphere. Of course, there’s always the likes of Costa, Café Nero, Pret and Starbucks which are ideal for a coffee and a study session.
Local Amenities
In the city centre there is a big Sainsburys, an M&S and a Tesco’s which are ideal for a weekly food shop and can be easily walked to from most student locations. They are about a 20-minute walk from the University campus, or there is the University bus which will take you into the town centre where all the shops are. If in your second or third years you have access to a car, then many students tend to drive to Aldi or Lidl, which are only a 10-minute drive from the city centre. There is also a big Tesco’s, Sainsburys and Morrison’s all within 10 minutes by car. Many students tend to use the University gym, which is located at the top of the hill on campus, however it can get quite busy during the day.
There is also a university gym on St Luke’s campus. On the main campus there are lots of sports pitches and indoor courts which students have access to. If you would rather go to a gym off campus, which may be less busy, there is a Pure Gym in town and St Sidwell’s point gym on the other side of town, which are both good gyms. St Sidwell’s point also has a swimming pool and a spa.
On campus, there is the student health centre which you can sign up to and they offer GP appointments. There is also the wellbeing centre which can be accessed for concerns around mental health and more generally well being as students. There are a few different dentists located around town which are easy to get appointments to. There are many shops and restaurants across Exeter that are willing to hire students and many of them are within a 20-minute walk for the student locations so are very accessible and easy to get to. There are also jobs on campus working for the university or in the university shops, who hire lots of students. However, it is important to remember that Exeter is rather small and there are lots of students looking for part time work, so sometimes it can be tricky to find something quickly.
Insider tip
Go exploring in the summer. There are so many beautiful beaches and seaside towns around Exeter which are so easy to get to by train. You must make the most of being at a university so close to the sea and in such a beautiful area of the country.
