How to absolutely nail your first year at Newcastle

Newcastle has so much going on – there’s always something you haven’t done. Blue trebles in Soho are a rite of passage for all freshers and the Angel of the North is a landmark everyone needs to tick off in their first year. You are about to move to one of the most exciting cities in the country, and here’s how to make the most of it.

Dance in the Sinners cage and have forgotten about it by the morning

New to Newcastle? Promoters won’t line the street telling you to go to sinners but it’s because it doesn’t need the promo. With a treble vodka and coke being as cheap as £1.95 it doesn’t take long before getting all of your mates in a giant bird cage seems like a great idea. By the time your last drink of the night kicks in though it’s likely you’ll only remember that you went in the cage when you see your flatmate’s snapchat story of it.

Spend a day hungover in Jesmond Dene

Jesmond is the most popular place to live among second and third year students and often first year students never make it there until they start looking at houses. Jesmond Dene is a little tucked away but it is almost certainly one of the most gorgeous place in Newcastle. It’s the perfect place to have a lazy Sunday after a big Saturday night out. Plus if you feel like hair of the dog is the answer to the hangover you’re only a short walk from Jesmond’s Osborne Road – full of bars and places to eat.

Take an Instagram pic beside the Angel of the North

It’s iconic to the Geordies, used as an emblem on everything from postcards to Newcastle’s student radio logo. It’s an obligatory visit because how else will your friends at home REALLY know you went to Newcastle? It’s also pretty impressive.

Celebrate an essay hand-in at Tynmouth Beach

It’s easy to forget how close the beach is when you spend most of your days in a busy city. Whether you choose Tynemouth or Whitley Bay both are only a metro ride away and promise fish and chips, sand and sea. The water may be pretty cold but have you really lived in the North East if you haven’t experienced the coldest temperatures known to man?

Tip-toe around cows on the path through Leazes field

Second half of the year comes round and the field in front of Castle Leazes fills with cows which obstruct every route between the halls and campus. For some just getting over the fear of cows can be ticked off the bucket list. Everyone has that friend that missed lecture after stepping in a cow pat – extra points if that’s you.

Feel intelligent reading a book and drinking tea at Quilliam Bros

Round the corner from campus is Quilliam Brothers tea house. Old fashioned tea pots brew over 40 types of tea, best enjoyed reading a pretentious book pretending to be cultured – bonus points if you post this all over social media with a sufficient filter. People will think you are a bit of a ‘Rah’ (a phrase that will make more sense when you’ve been at uni a few months).

Visit Durham and realise why Newcastle is superior

With only a 20-minute train journey you can be transported from a busy modern city to the quaint Durham. With free entry into the Cathedral, cobbled streets and every other building being a cafe it makes for a good day out, especially if you want somewhere to go when your parents visit. However as beautiful as Durham can be you’ll leave being glad that you’re at Newcastle Uni where everything is more modern and there is a bit more happening.

Eat Greggs for lunch everyday in freshers’ week

Greggs is big business in Newcastle. Originating from the North East and still having its head quarters located here you don’t have to live in Newcastle long before you feel the pride associated with the Geordie chain. There’s two on the same street (Northumberland street just opposite main campus) and one open super late night near one of Newcastle’s biggest clubs Digital. The menu is extensive enough to eat there everyday, don’t forget to try a stottie – Newcastle’s local bread.

Skip a lecture to go to a cat cafe

Newcastle has not only one but two cat cafes in the city. Have a hot chocolate and chill with a kitten, life doesn’t get much more idyllic. Catpawcino even overlooks the Tyne however the cats at Mog on the Tyne are probably cuter.

Go to Grainger Market and try the giant pizza slices

Grainger market offers fresh meat and veg, vintage clothes and most importantly the best pizza slices you’ll ever eat. for under £2 you can have a freshly cooked ginormous slice of pizza- be warned the lunchtime queues can get big.

Drink blue trebs in Soho

What’s in the blue drink is a mystery but what is true is that when you first move to Newcastle stomaching trebles can be a learning curb. The illusive blue drink offers the same amount of vodka with a fraction of its after taste, plus the amount of chemical flavouring in the drinks probably have their own effects too. A night out on the Toon isn’t complete unless you wake up and your tongue is stained blue.