Student Halls in Lancaster. What to Look for Before You Book
Choosing your student halls can be one of the most exciting parts of getting ready for university. It can also involve an unreasonable amount of time staring at almost identical room photos and trying to work out whether “close to campus” actually means close to campus.
If you’re looking at student halls in Lancaster, you have plenty of choice. Lancaster University has its own accommodation across its college system, with options including shared flats, townhouses and studios. There are also private student halls around Lancaster and Bailrigg, giving you another way to get the halls experience while choosing the location, room and facilities that suit you.
There isn’t one right answer.
Some students love being right in the middle of their college. Others want a little more space or independence while still having people around them. The important thing is knowing what to look for before you book.
Here are the questions we think are actually worth asking.
How Long Will It Really Take to Get to a 9am Lecture?
“Close to Lancaster University” can mean very different things depending on the accommodation, so don’t just look at the number of miles on Google Maps.
Think about your actual morning.
How long does it take to walk? Is there a bus if it’s pouring with rain? And if you accidentally oversleep, how quickly can you realistically get from your room to your lecture?
At Bailrigg Student Living, it takes around 15 minutes on average to walk to the Health Innovation Campus.
If you’re running late or if it is raining, the bus stop is just outside Bailrigg and you can get to Alexandra Square in around five minutes.
That choice is surprisingly useful. Walk when you have time and fancy some fresh air; jump on the bus when Lancaster weather (or your alarm clock) has other ideas.
Location also matters beyond lectures. Ask whether you can easily get to a supermarket, pop into town and get home after an evening on campus.
Our guide to what Lancaster University is really like has more on what day to day life as a student looks like.
Will You Actually Meet People?
This is probably one of the biggest questions for first years.
Living in halls is about much more than having a bedroom near university. For lots of students, it’s where friendships begin.
Lancaster University’s college accommodation is designed around smaller college communities, which can help students meet people and settle into university life.
Private student halls can offer that community feeling too, so look closely at the shared spaces rather than judging somewhere entirely by the bedroom.
At Bailrigg Student Living, there are regular social events for residents. But not everybody loves organised socials which is why the everyday communal spaces matter just as much.
There’s a main common room, cinema room, reflection room and on site gym, giving residents plenty of opportunities to naturally bump into one another without having to attend an official event run by the Bailrigg Student Living team.
Sometimes making friends is as easy as seeing someone in the common room and saying hello.
Is There Somewhere Actually Quiet to Study?
Your bedroom will have a desk.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll want to do every essay, revision session and group project sitting two metres away from your bed.
Before choosing your halls, look for dedicated study space.
This becomes particularly valuable during exam season when the university library is busy or you simply fancy a change of scenery.
At Bailrigg, the study room is large, quiet and filled with natural light, with plenty of charging points for laptops and other devices. Large study areas are included among Bailrigg’s resident facilities.
If you want absolute quiet, head there!
And when exam season does arrive, our revision tips for Lancaster University students might come in handy.
Will You Actually Use the Gym?
A gym on a facilities list sounds brilliant.
A gym containing just a few free weights and six people waiting to use them at 6pm? Slightly less brilliant.
If having a gym matters to you, look at what is actually there and whether it suits the way you exercise.
Bailrigg Student Living has a fully equipped on-site gym with several equipment stations included for residents.
Residents have also discovered that evenings tend to be one of the quieter times to use it, so you can finish your day, get a workout in and head straight back to your room afterwards.
That convenience is exactly the kind of thing that can seem fairly minor when you’re comparing accommodation online but becomes much more valuable once you actually live there.
Can You Pop Home Between Lectures?
Imagine you have a lecture at 10am and another at 3pm. Do you want to carry everything you need for the entire day around campus, or would you rather have the option of heading home for lunch, changing clothes or picking up the charger you definitely thought was already in your bag?
At Bailrigg, it’s simple to get back between lectures. Students can either walk or hop on the bus, so returning home doesn’t have to become a full expedition.
That proximity also means living in private halls doesn’t have to mean feeling disconnected from campus life.
You can attend lectures, meet friends, go to society events and use campus facilities while still having your own community to come home to.
What Are You Actually Getting for Your Rent?
Don’t compare halls purely by the weekly price.
Look at what that price includes.
Questions worth asking include:
Are bills included?
Is Wi-Fi included?
Do you have your own bathroom?
How much storage is there?
Are there study spaces?
Is there a gym?
Are there communal areas?
Are laundry facilities on site?
Will you have to budget for regular travel?
At Bailrigg, residents live in modern six or seven bedroom flats with communal kitchen and living areas, and bedrooms have private en-suite bathrooms. Facilities including Wi-Fi, the gym, study spaces, cinema room, games area and reflection room are included.
This is where looking beyond the room photograph really matters.
A slightly bigger bedroom is nice. Having places to study, exercise, watch a film or spend time with friends can have a much bigger impact on what living there actually feels like.
Campus Halls or Private Student Halls in Lancaster?
There are benefits to both. Lancaster University accommodation puts students directly within the university’s college communities. Most new undergraduates choose to live on campus, and the university offers several different room types across its eight undergraduate colleges.
Private student halls can offer another version of the halls experience.
You can still live with other students and have communal spaces around you, while potentially choosing different room sizes, facilities, locations or living environments.
And private halls aren’t only for second or third year. Some students choose Bailrigg Student Living in first year and stay right through until graduation. Others discover it after living elsewhere and decide to stay for the rest of their time at Lancaster.
If you are already thinking ahead, our guide to choosing second-year accommodation in Lancaster has more advice.
The Questions We’d Ask Before Booking Student Halls
Before paying anything, forget the glossy photos for five minutes and picture an ordinary week.
Monday, 8.30am: How quickly can you get to your lecture?
Tuesday night: Is there somewhere comfortable to hang out without sitting in somebody’s bedroom?
Wednesday: Can you easily get into Lancaster?
Thursday, deadline week: Is there somewhere quiet to work?
Friday: How easy is it to get home after seeing friends?
Sunday evening: Can you cook, relax, exercise or watch a film without having to leave the building?
Those answers will probably tell you more about whether accommodation suits you than the colour of the kitchen cupboards ever will.
Finding the Right Student Halls in Lancaster
The best student halls are the ones that fit the way you want to live.
Maybe being directly on campus matters most.
Maybe you want a bigger room.
Maybe you want your own bathroom, somewhere quiet to revise or a gym you can use without paying another membership.
Or perhaps your biggest concern is simply finding somewhere friendly where you’ll actually meet people.
Bailrigg Student Living combines larger rooms and communal spaces with a location that keeps Lancaster University within easy walking or bus distance. Residents have their own study room, gym, cinema and social spaces, while still being close enough to campus to pop back and forth during the day.
And when you walk outside, things still feel distinctly Lancaster: green surroundings, country lanes and, quite often, sheep in the field behind you.
If you’re still getting to know the area, explore our guides to living in Lancaster, what Lancaster University is like and our university essentials checklist.
