The Best Student Areas in Bangor, Compared

Luke M. Williams

Bangor fits a university, a mountain range and a stretch of coastline into a footprint you could walk across before your coffee goes cold. Bangor University’s buildings sit within walking distance of the High Street, and most students settle into one of four areas: Upper Bangor, the High Street, Garth or Hirael. They sit close together, but each keeps a different pace, and where you land changes what your Tuesday morning looks like.

The Best Student Areas in Bangor, Compared

What’s it like living in Upper Bangor?

Upper Bangor sits on the ridge above the city centre, home to most of the university’s teaching buildings, the Pontio Arts and Innovation Centre on Deiniol Road (open since 2015). Universal Student Living’s Llys Y Deon sits here too. It’s five minutes from the university on foot, and about a minute from the Schools of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering. If you’d rather sleep in than budget time for a walk, this is where you want to be.

Is the High Street worth living on?

Bangor’s High Street stretches 1.265km, the longest in Wales, and it’s where the city keeps its shops, cafes, bars and supermarkets. Ty Ni sits right on it, at 19 High Street, with the university, the train station and the main supermarkets all around ten minutes away on foot. Neuadd Kyffin sits just off the High Street, a similar ten minutes from the station and from Asda and Aldi. Live here and your social life, your shopping and your Saturday night are all a short stroll from your own front door. The trade-off is that so is everyone else’s.

Why do so many students end up in Garth?

North of the centre, Garth Road and Upper Garth Road make up one of Bangor’s best-known private student streets, leading down towards Garth Pier, a 1,500-foot Grade II listed Victorian pier that opened in 1896, closed in 1971 once it had fallen into disrepair, and reopened in 1988 after restoration. Garth means a longer walk into town, but you get sea views and a slower pace in return, which is why it fills up fast with second and third years who already know the city.

What makes Hirael different?

Hirael sits just north of the centre too, beside Port Penrhyn, once the export point for slate from the Penrhyn Quarry through the 19th century. It’s a properly residential neighbourhood now, further from campus and the High Street than Upper Bangor or Garth, and it suits anyone who wants a proper street rather than a stretch of student houses.

Worth knowing before you choose

  • If early lectures are non-negotiable, Upper Bangor keeps the walk under five minutes.
  • Living on or near the High Street cuts your commute.
  • Start looking well before September if that’s the plan.
  • Anglesey’s coastline is roughly a 15-minute walk from central Bangor, so the sea is close wherever you land.

There isn’t a single right answer. It comes down to whether you’d rather bank the extra ten minutes in bed or the quiet street. Universal Student Living has rooms across Bangor’s most central spots, Llys Y Deon, Neuadd Kyffin and Ty Ni, so it’s worth picturing your morning walk before you decide.

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