The Best Vegan University Cities in the North of England

The Vegan Society revealed that 4.1% of students have already decided to go vegan. A further 10% are looking to make a plant-based lifestyle change soon.

For all students, choosing which university offer to accept is a big decision. But those following, or looking to follow, a vegan lifestyle need to think about more than just the academics. Which city is going to best accommodate their dietary requirements? 

To help vegan students, we’ve analysed the top five vegan university cities in the North. We used the QS World University Rankings and took the top 5 universities in the North of England (ranked based on research quality, graduate employability, teaching experience and international outlook from over 8,000 academics). We then used the Happycow website, which is used by many vegan foodies to find restaurants all over the globe and calculated: 

· The number of vegan restaurants in each city

· The square mileage of each city

· The number of vegan restaurants per square mile

· The average star rating of these vegan restaurants

Each city was assigned a rank from 1-5 based on the number of vegan restaurants per square mile and their average star ratings.

 1. Sheffield ranks as the Number 1 vegan university city in the UK, with an average star rating of 3.70, despite there being less than 1 vegan restaurant per square mile.

Sheffield’s highest rated vegan-friendly restaurants:

· Church – Temple of Fun

· The Magic Sunflower

· South Street Kitchen

2. Newcastle-Upon-Tyne is the runner-up, ranking in 2nd place. With 1.7 restaurants per square mile and an average star rating of 3.5, it’s a great northern university city option for vegan foodies.

Some of the Newcastle favourites are:

· Vegano

· Son of Seitan

· Snackwallah

3. Leeds comes in at the mid-way point, ranking 3rd with a 3.54-star rating, proving to be a great plant-based contender. Yes, there’s less than 1 plant-based friendly restaurant per square mile, but Leeds covers a total square mileage of 213 miles, making it the biggest city centre in the list. 

The most popular Leeds choices are:

· Doner Summer

· Bundobust

· Fat Annies

 4. Manchester has the most vegan restaurants with almost 2 per square mile. But with an average star rating of 3.06, this ranks Manchester in 4th place.

Manchester’s 5-star vegan-friendly restaurants include:

· Purezza

· Wholesome Junkies

· Lotus plant-based kitchen

5. Durham comes in at 5th place. This doesn’t mean it’s a poor choice though! Despite having fewer vegan restaurants than the other contending north cities, they have an average star rating of 3.47. While vegan students may need to walk a little further, they can rest assured that the quality will be good.

A couple of Durham’s favourites are:

· The Nook

· Head of steam

 Michael Rainsford, our Co-founder, says “It’s becoming clear that students today aren’t just looking for a place to live and study, they’re also searching for communities that align with their ethical and dietary preferences. It’s not just all about the prestige of the university anymore.”

Thinking of going to university in the North of England or elsewhere in the country? StuRents provides all of the information and contact details you need to make the right choice of student home. With student accommodation in close to 100 UK and Irish towns and cities with a higher education presence, you’ll find something to suit you.

Start your search today!