27 of Lancaster’s ultimate bucket list items

Freshers, take notes!


Since it’s nearly the end of Freshers’ Week, all of Lancaster’s newest students will have spent a week acquainting themselves with the hottest spots in town for drinks, the cheapest place to get caffeine, and the best brunch spots to curb that hangover. But the true test of navigating campus will come next week, when second and third years will inevitably get a barrage of questions asking where Bowland Main Lecture Theatre actually is.

But for now, our freshers will be gathering all sorts of helpful (and questionable) advice from long-serving Lancs students, including the best societies to join, must-visit places in town, and big university events that cannot be missed. This can all be a little overwhelming for new students, so we have done the service of collating every single thing you must do whilst being a student at Lancaster to create the ultimate bucket list. Whether you can get all this done by your first year or third, below is a list of things you must do in order to call yourself a proud Lancastrian after graduating.

1. Visit Sultans after a night out

There’s a reason Sultans is jam-packed on Wednesday and Friday nights – it’s simply the best place to visit when returning to campus after a night out. With free water on arrival and banging tunes inside, what’s not to love?

2. Catch the Sugarbus

Something which goes hand in hand with item number one, the Sugarbus is the easiest way to get to and from The Sugarhouse from campus on a Wednesday and Friday. It costs only £1 for a return and leaves Sugar at 1:50, 2:30 and 3:10.

3. Visit your college bar

Since every college has its own bar, it would be silly to pass up the opportunity to visit your own and share some college pride. Each bar has its own vibe, some are better for cocktails and some give a more intimate environment, but we’ll let you work that out for yourselves.

4. Do a campus bar crawl

Even better than visiting your own college bar is to visit all of them! Take some of your friends and create your own ranking for future reference

5. Get a picture of the ducks

If your camera roll doesn’t have at least 50 low-quality pictures of ducks on the move around campus then are you even a Lancs student?

6. Pull an all-nighter in the Library

About five weeks into the term, nipping to the Library for a late-night study session is going to become your saving grace. Not that we’re condoning becoming so behind on your uni work that this is necessary, but the Library is open 24/7 for a reason!

7. Buy a sausage roll from Greggs

A rite of passage for every Lancaster student. The line may seem off-putting, but the wait is well worth it!

8. Have a picnic in Williamson Park

Williamson Park is Lancaster’s equivalent of Hyde Park. As soon as the sun comes out in Lancaster (it does, I promise), the residents of Lancaster flock to sit by the Ashton Memorial. It’s the perfect spot for a picnic and procrastination from coursework.

9. Lose your flatmates in Sugar

You don’t even have to try to complete this, it will just happen. You’ll probably find them tearing up the dancefloor thirty minutes later.

10. Join a society

Joining a society is the best way to make friends and meet like-minded people as a uni student. It’s also great to go out of your comfort zone and join something you’ve never tried before – it might end up being your new favourite sport or hobby!

11. Visit Morecambe

Don’t ask me why, but every Lancs student at one point needs to catch the 100 all the way to Morecambe and sit in the freezing cold by the beach eating a cone of chips.

12. Make up your own drinking game

For a lot of students, drinking games are the glue that holds pres together and gets everyone ready for a night out. Bonus points if you make your own game!

13. Go for a walk on the canal

You can walk on Lancaster’s canal from near the University into town and beyond. It’s home to some beautiful wildlife and is a great way to clear your head on a cold morning.

14. Go to a pub quiz

If there’s one thing Lancaster isn’t short of, it’s pubs. And most of these pubs do some sort of quiz event every week. It’s highly recommended to take your friends to a pub quiz at least once and see if you can get anywhere near the top five.

15. Go to Freshers’ Fest

Even if you’re not sure about joining a society, Freshers’ Fest is the best way to see all of the clubs and facilities the Students’ Union has to offer. Going for the freebies themselves is enough of a reason

16. Throw your own party

As stressful as it sounds, hosting your own party is a must-do for your time at uni. How difficult will it be to get most of your friends in one place again? Whether it’s a pres before a night out, or a quieter night in with friends, being a host gives you skills you should be able to list on your CV!

17. Visit Lancaster Castle

Situated right by the train station, Lancaster Castle deserves its own special mention. You can take a tour to discover the historic parts of the Castle, or simply visit the cafe and enjoy the surroundings.

18. Support the University at Roses

If you haven’t heard of Roses – it’s the iconic sporting event where York and Lancaster battle it out for the title every year by competing in almost every sport imaginable. It should be hosted at Lancaster at least once in your time at university, and whether you take part or simply go to watch, it is unmissable.

19. Go ice skating at Dalton Square

Once a year, Dalton Square in Lancaster is somehow transformed into an ice rink. Although slightly scary for some of us, it’s one of the best ways to get in the festive spirit.

20. Make friends in the smoking area at Sugar

Taking a visit to Sugar’s smoking area is a better networking event than any career fair, trust us.

21. Go to the Lake District

In week one you’ll discuss going on a flat trip up to the Lakes since “it’s just so close by” and then you’ll forget all about it. Let this be your reminder – it is well worth the visit and surprisingly easy to get there!

22. Partake in a pub crawl in Lancaster

As mentioned above, Lancaster town centre is not short of pubs. At some point throughout your degree you should make time to do a trail of as many different pubs as you can!

23. Take a day trip to Manchester

At least once, you need to make use of Lancaster’s excellent transport links and head into Manchester for the day – it’s only an hour on the train.

24. Go to Highest Point Festival

Every summer, Highest Point Festival is held in Williamson Park. A great weekend, if you can spare the time away from exam revision!

25.  Visit the Farmers’ Markets

Either on campus on a Thursday, or in town on a Wednesday and Saturday, the markets are a great way to support local businesses!

The Farmers’ Market can be found in town on the aptly named Market Street

26. Play for your college sports events

Every college has a rival college, and they compete against one another in various sporting events at the end of every year. Is there anything more worthwhile then beating out another college to be champions?

27. Go to extravs

At the end of every year, each college throws a themed night out. From themes of Las Vegas, to Formula One, Extravs are a great way to dress up and blow off some steam at the end of a hard year!

The Lancaster Tab is looking for new writers for the upcoming academic year! You can find everything you need to know here! We hope to see you at our open meeting on October 11th, 7pm, at County Bar.

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