The Cheltenham Bucket List: Things To Do in Gloucestershire
Regency terraces line streets built for a slower century, and somewhere among them, students at the University of Gloucestershire are living at a rather faster pace. Three years pass quickly here, and it is entirely possible to spend them moving between lecture halls and a bedroom without ever really meeting the town properly. These are the Cheltenham bucket list items you’d be missing out on.
Where Can You Go To Relax?
Pittville Park answers that question well. Its lawns stretch wide enough for a picnic, a boating lake for a slow afternoon, and the Grade I-listed Pump Room standing quietly at its centre, all without costing a penny.
When the pace of student life demands a bigger reset, Cleeve Hill delivers it. A short bus ride out of the centre puts you at the highest point in Gloucestershire, with the Severn Valley and the hills of Wales laid out below on a clear day.
The Day-to-Day Attractions
The Brewery Quarter has many of the answers to your boredom under one roof! Mini golf at Mr Mulligans, a round at Hollywood Bowl, an evening at Cineworld, and a table at Nando’s or Five Guys afterwards, with student discounts running across several of them. Cheltenham Lido, meanwhile, offers a different way to have fun. It houses a fifty-metre heated outdoor pool set within its own landscaped grounds near Sandford Park, with sunrise and sunset sessions worth building a morning around and student pricing that makes it an easy yes. For something quieter still, The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum offers free entry, rotating exhibitions, and a calm, study-friendly corner when the library feels too familiar.
Where Does Cheltenham Come Alive at Night?
MooMoo Clubrooms holds the answer on a Wednesday, when Blue and Blue Wednesdays turns the club into UoG’s unofficial weekly gathering point. For somewhere you can have a quieter conversation, The Frog & Fiddle on the High Street does the job well thanks to well over a dozen screens for the big fixtures, a dog-friendly beer garden that fills early, and a live music scene that’s run through the venue since 1998.
What Events Do You Need to Attend?
Welcome Week in September sets the tone, launch parties at MooMoo and fair stalls doing their best to make a new town feel familiar within days. Cheltenham earns its Festival Town reputation properly come October and June, when the Literature and Science Festivals bring well-known names to a town this size, often with tickets priced for students.
March belongs to the Cheltenham Festival (Gold Cup), one of the biggest fixtures on the National Hunt racing calendar. May turns Pittville Park and Montpellier Gardens into an open-air stage for the Jazz Festival, and the academic year closes properly with the Summer Ball and Varsity, live music and inter-university sport marking the end of one chapter before the next begins.
Make the Move
None of this needs to be rushed. It simply needs to be enjoyed. Browse our range of Cheltenham student accommodation today, and find the right base for your time at university.