You did these 10 things in Freshers’ week, congrats you’re officially a Cardiff student

Congrats freshers, you’ve made it to reading week. A perfect point to check in with what you’ve been up to so far in your first term, and if you’ve qualified yet as an official Cardiff University student. We’ve put together a guide for you to check off what you’ve done and what else there is to explore as a Cardiff University student.

Yolo Wednesday

A classic for Cardiff University students and what better way to start your uni experience by waiting in a two hour queue surrounded by blue shirts and chinos? A great excuse to dress up all year round and see how creative everyone gets with their costumes. Bonus points for the SU if they have the silent disco on.

You’ll be burping up “four for ten” VKs at your 9am the next day (that’s if you make it).

Picking your favourite VK

Cardiff University students love a VK to an embarrassing degree. The general consensus is blue VKs are criminal and you WILL be judged. We hope you played it safe and picked any of the others (or grow up and get a double).

Bute Park

Contrary to popular belief, not all freshers activities involve drinking. A relaxing walk through Bute park is a great way to appreciate Cardiff and take in the less urban sights, especially the river Taf. If you’re lucky enough to live in student accommodation near the park, we recommend detouring through to get to town and we hope you explored the cafes throughout.

Obligatory Cardiff castle trip

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Most likely your mum’s favourite spot in Cardiff. Whether you went with uni or of your own volition, you’re not a student here if you haven’t at least meandered through. In case you’re interested, Wales has more castles per square mile than anywhere else in the world and Cardiff’s castle is iconic so it’s definitely a box ticked in your fresher journey.

Live Lounge

The clue is in the name as to the novelty of Cardiff’s classic club which many freshers flock to. Between 12pm and 12am it’s live music, but if you miss the live music the tunes stay rolling until 4am, with classic throwbacks and a great club atmosphere. We are sorry to say but if you have not been here then you are definitely not a Cardiff student, so grab your drinks voucher and get on that stage.

Getting accustomed to the wildlife

By the end of Freshers’ you have most likely encountered a rat or two (and we don’t mean that one flatmate). You have to learn to co-exist with these creatures or you will not survive your next few years. Also be aware of the seagulls – they have no decorum when it comes to your chippy.

P.S. we hope you won the battle against the silverfish in your room.

Chippy alley

Just like the rats, freshers flock to chippy alley and devour their greasy goods with no dignity. If your night took a turn and you ended up in Walkabout, we hope you found solace in one of the many takeaways along Caroline Street.

Arcades

Assuming you didn’t sleep your days away during Freshers’ Week, we hope you took a trip to the arcades in the city centre to explore the independent cafes and shops. It would have been a great place to go and scrape the barrel for conversation with your new fresher friends.

Greggs

While Greggs is a goated snack stop in every city, you can’t turn a corner in Cardiff without being bombarded by the blue and yellow sign. Don’t mistake the Greggs queue for the SU queue – they are similar sizes. If you resisted the constant temptation, we’re not sure whether to respect you or send you running for a sausage roll.

Rubbish on Column road

The one day students don’t look forward to is bin day and as a fresher I bet you got the shock of your life having to wade through the unspeakable rubbish on the pavement, especially on Column road. Don’t worry it only gets worse!

Related articles recommended by this writer:

• What your Cardiff Uni night out says about you
• What your Cardiff Uni halls says about you according to a third year
• Five places in and around Cardiff where you can reconnect with nature