KCL vs UCL: which Wednesday night is better?

For some reason, students in London go out on Wednesdays. This brings a whole new dimension to the KCL vs UCL rivalry: which Wednesday is better? Obviously, we couldn’t leave this unanswered, so we went along to find out.

Wednesdays at KCL 

At King’s, depending what campus you’re on and which sport you do, you will either most likely be seen at Waterfront or Guy’s bar at the start of a Wednesday night. Afterwards, the plan usually is to go to the sports bar Walkabout by Temple and finish the night at around 2. However, a lot of those who go to Guy’s bar typically stay there, because for some odd reason it stays open longer than Walkabout. Also most people are already pissed at 7pm so unfortunately don’t manage to make it to Temple.

Guy’s bar on a sports night typically starts at around 5-6 if you’re keen or have just finished rugby training and want to celebrate your last try by getting absolutely shit-faced as quickly as possible.

Boys and girls stay separate and play drinking games in their respective teams till about 9 when the lights finally go off, the chairs are pulled to the side and the mating ritual begins. The rest of the night at Guy’s is usually spent watching hockey players in fancy dress attempting to dance to repeats of the latest Top 40.

All in all, whether you’re even on a sports team or not, there’s a good night to be had at Guy’s. If you decide to move onto Walkabout, you’re looking at a £3-5 entrance fee and there’s usually less of a queue than at Guy’s. Walkabout is an Australian pub that shows sporting events on big screens, but on Wednesday night it’s filled with King’s student usually migrating from Waterfront.

Our bar still has the best view.

If you’re wondering what Walkabout is like as a night out, go on Trip Advisor and the in-depth reviews given by angry students who were refused to be let in will really say it all.

That Walkabout vibe

Wednesday as a UCL student

I was hoping to get a more full experience of a sport’s night at UCL, but my friend informed me that their actual sport’s night, which he referred to as “Circle”, is actually quite intense and, (like a lot of people who go to Guy’s bar), they often don’t make it to the club.

What I imagine the medics have to go through.

We decided instead to pre at Ramsay Halls (UCL halls of residence) then head out to The Loop at around 11. Coming from KCL’s Ewen Henderson Court halls of residence, which only has about 200 students living there, Ramsay Halls was rather intimidating. One girl told me they had around 700 students there, much more than I’m used to, and they even had study rooms….

But we were certainly not there to study. Half a bottle of vodka and several Blue Bolts later we were ready to go. On our way to Loop I was trying to get over the jealousy I felt of their halls being so near the club, and as we walked so near Oxford Street, I sensed the somewhat grimy Walkabout wouldn’t be quite up to the standard of what UCL had to offer.

I felt the first pang of discrimination when I had to pay a frankly extortionate £7 to get into Loop (UCL students only had to pay a fiver), but decided not to worry about it when I went into the club and found it was actually rather nice. Loop is a what a club in central should be: 3 floors, a light-up dance floor and different music selections if different rooms. The drink prices weren’t exactly student friendly, but the club made up for it by having 4 different bars, meaning you didn’t have to queue up for ages to get a drink (something both Walkabout and Waterfront needs to improve on).

Fancy af.

Jealous.

We need more beer pong at king’s, guys.

Our enemies

The expensive looking club had a friendly feel to it thanks to all the students, who were even playing beer pong at one point. I wouldn’t pay £7 to go there again, but for a UCL student, the Loop is a pretty top-notch student night out. Lucky bastards.

Overall, although I didn’t manage to see the UCL sports players’ drinking games in all their glory, I think the premise of going out on a Wednesday is pretty much the same for KCL and UCL students: get drunk early, play stupid and most likely dangerous drinking games, then if possible go out to a club. (I just think UCL have a bit more in the budget to splash out on the club).