Everything you would’ve experienced growing up in Dorset

Behind the scenic shores and sparse land populated entirely by sheep there is a hidden understory to Dorset. Although it may seem a little sleepy for students to visit, there is much more going on than meets the eye.

Nightlife 

Living many miles from civilisation, many Dorset villages are a very warm, friendly place to live, but lacks sources of entertainment for teenagers. The nearest nightlife is Bournemouth, a good half an hours drive away. Paying ‘mates rates’ for lifts to town, everyone is prepared for the awful quality of nightlife they are heading into.

Let’s face it, are you really a young person in Bournemouth if you’ve never been to a Toast Tuesday? After having several pitchers at the Mary Shelley, people are prepared to queue for mad drunken antics, and some free bread.

However, these nights out do not come without drama. You can expect at least four girls you know to be crying, six to be screaming at someone and an unequal male to female ratio. But let’s face it, it’s all worth it for the £1.50 Jäegerbombs.

Other popular destinations are Halo, The Winchester and Cameo. Halo has some great nights, particularly on Mondays, but you have to pick the day wisely to go. The Winchester is good for events, particularly Drum and Bass. Recoil events are relatively common occurrences, headlining up and coming DJs.

Events

There are always varied events, festivals and fairs going on in Dorset. Every year the Wimborne Folk Festival is a highly popular event. Local acts are showcased along with semi-professional acts, merchants set up stalls and sell their handmade goods, henna stalls are just about everywhere and everyone is in high spirits.

The Bournemouth 7s Festival is renowned for being one long party for rowdy teenagers and students and is favoured for this reason. Beach events are also particularly popular such as Bournemouth Air Festival, which is an annual event displaying the famous Red Arrows.

The summer

Having the beach right on your doorstep is great. During the day you can go in the sea and play games like volleyball or football, then as the sun starts to go down, you and your mates can whip out your temporary beach BBQ and booze and get the real party started. If you are clever you will make sure to befriend at least four different people with beach huts so you will have a back up plan for the inevitable rain.

The best part of living by the sea by far is star gazing in the sand. It’s the most out of this world, surreal feeling, especially after coming out of a sweaty gig and tearing down to the beach at three o’clock in the morning to cool off and watch all your drunk friends trying to climb on the pier and dig their own graves in the sand.

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Camping is the best thing to do with friends if you are tremendously poor. As long as you make sure you bring enough toilet roll you can’t really go wrong with spending a good five days in the middle of nowhere with your closest chums, a ton of booze and some beautiful views only a minutes walk away.