Member Article

Newcastle students share cultural hotspots

Students in Newcastle upon Tyne have been sharing their favourite city venues for the past few months on social media sites, helping Freshers to get to know their new home.

As part of a Facebook competition run by student letting agency Walton Robinson, students from Newcastle University and Northumbria University were encouraged to upload pictures of themselves holding a written ?Newcastle Secret? on a board to share with their peers.

Entries could comprise of anything in the city, from parks and landmarks, to restaurants and cafés, or bars, or even club nights. Students could then vote for their favourite three entries on the Walton Robinson Facebook page with the top entry receiving £300, which would easily cover a month?s rent for most.

Walton Robinson partner Jaimie Hocking said: ?We wanted to bring students together in a fun activity that was also useful, by helping Freshers find cultural places to visit in the city.

?As a letting agent I know the area very well and I am proud of the vibrant culture we have here, so I was really excited to see a few entries uncover some hidden gems that I am looking forward to visiting, such as the Jazz Café on Pink Lane.?

Newcastle?s reputation as a party city was officially confirmed with many students sharing their favourite bars, particularly the trebles bars, Sinners and Basement, along with popular nightclubs such as World Head Quarters, Tup Tup Palace and Madame Koos.

Entries also included a wide range of businesses, such as city centre tattoo studio Northern Glory, the independent Tyneside Cinema, and even the Bigg Market chip shop.

Food lovers were also not disappointed as there were plenty of recommendations for places to eat like popular café, Heaton Perk, which came second in the public vote, The Fat Hippo in Jesmond and Newcastle?s first burrito bar, Zapatista.

The winner of the competition, and £300, was Francesca Aresti, a second year Newcastle University student, originally from Italy. Studying International Business Management, Francesca beat off the rest of the competition by receiving 464 votes for her ?Quayside? entry.

Francesa made sure she showed off the best the Quayside had to offer by posing in The Baltic?s viewing room with the iconic Tyne Bridge, Millennium Bridge and the Quayside as the backdrop.

Newcastle University student Francesca Aresti said: ?I?m not originally from Newcastle myself, so when I first started at university I remember getting to know the area by talking to other students to find out the popular areas to go to.

?Walton Robinson?s competition was a great way of doing this via social media, and I can imagine any Freshers that logged on would have got lots of ideas for nights out from the entries.

?I chose the Quayside because it is has the best bars and restaurants in the city, but it?s also very pretty both at day and night-time. It seems other people agreed with me ? so I?m really happy to have won.?

All the Newcastle Secrets entries are still available to view in a photo gallery on Walton Robinson?s Facebook page.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Walton Robinson .