Advice on Durham/Gilesgate area

[GrassMarketeer]

Hi, My daughter is a DU student and looking at a student rental for next year. Please can I ask for views on the Gilesgate area (very close to Sainsbury's Local and the Gilesgate roundabout). Are there many student houses there and is it a friendly community? Would you consider it a safe walk into Durham (or Maiden Castle) and back?

Yes, lots of student houses. Durham generally feels pretty safe. DD lived on Gilesgate for 2 years.

Hopefully you get some current advice bit I lived in Gilesgate when I was a student (was a long time ago mind) and its a big student area

Slightly off topic, is the Lord Gort pub in Gilesgate still going?

It’s fine there, lots of students. I think there are possibly nicer areas like round the Viaduct or Neville’s Cross but I doubt she’ll have any problems there.

loads of students around that area yeah and an easy/safe walk to durham

The family of that poor girl who had the hit & run at nevilles cross might disagree.

@noidea69 living up to your username. I’m very sorry about what happened to the girl at Neville’s Cross, it was terrible.

If you look at the stats and take into consideration Gilesgate’s proximity with Sherburn Road which is the most deprived area of the city and among the top 10% most deprived in the Country. I do believe there are nicer areas including both the city centre and Neville’s Cross.

It's fine as long as you stay away from Sherburn Road. Gilesgate is quite a mixed area and there's different income levels present. It feels safe and it's an easy walk down the bank into Durham City. Probably takes about 15 minutes. Sherburn Road estate is a deprived area and can get a bit sketchy, but it runs parallel to Gilesgate with housing running in between so you can easily avoid it.

Thanks everyone! These views are all so useful! I'd picked up that it was a less expensive area than Viaduct and Elvet. They would be ideal, but It's a big group and not really any houses left in those areas with enough rooms/in budget.

They are looking exactly near the junction of Gilesgate and Sherburn Road. I've looked at the crime figures and they seem relatively high, until digging down a bit shows it to be mostly shoplifting at the small Sainsbury's there. Not much violent crime or burglary, so perhaps not too bad if they don't actually go down Sherburn Road?

I live near a big university city and there are several areas of it where students live and lots of new student housing is being built, that I wouldn't feel comfortable to walk through. So it's great to get local advice.

That junction area is a busy area and there's always people around. Sherburn Road estate is easily avoided and it's a bit further down anyway.

Join the Gilesgate Facebook page and you'll get a feel for what type of things go on there. I've known students that have lived there and they never had any bother.

It's absolutely fine where you mentioned (and much nicer than any student area I lived in!)

It's an easy enough walk, though the roads are quite busy and noisy and there are plenty of buses for when the weather is awful. As well as the Sainsburys local there is a massive tesco, plus Lidl, Aldi and Iceland just down the road so it's good for the day to day stuff.

I lived a short distance along Sherburn Road many moons ago (near what was once Kwiksave - I suppose that's Sainsburys these days). There were regular buses which appear to still run, and it was an easy walk into the centre/Science Site/New Elvet etc.

The area you mention is an easy down hill walk into Durham. It’s also very well served for shops. As mentioned there is a huge Tesco along with Lidl, Aldi & Iceland. There are also two small retail parks with a Dunelm, The Range, TK Maxx, Boots, Home Bargains, B&M, Starbucks. There is a Bannatynes and Pure Gym. All of this is within walking distance of the little Sainsburys. So long as they walk along the Sunderland Road side they will be fine.

Sherburn Road estate is run down and has had a reputation locally for decades. There would be no need for your daughter to venture along Sherburn Road but even if she did stray that way it’s highly unlikely she’d encounter any problems let alone come to any harm. Having said that, I think it pays to always have your wits about you wherever you choose to live/travel. There are good and bad areas wherever you go.

There are two new luxury student accommodation blocks recently built right in the heart of Sherburn Road and also a large new private housing development currently under construction at the Dragonville end of Sherburn Road.

To the poster that asked about the Lord Gort pub, it closed down quite some time ago.

Thanks everyone, I really do appreciate you all taking the time to share your knowledge! Good to know the walk into town is busy really as there should always be people around.

We've since found that most of the houses near them are student lets too, so at least they won't be bothering families when they have a party!

Joining the Facebook page is an absolute brainwave, thanks!