Klute Alternatives

In the spirit of the Durham difference and revolution in the face of losing student tradition, I along with many others will be boycotting the reformed Klute until it responds to the wants of those who keep it open - the students. In the meantime, I bring you three decent places to drink your student loan away in Durham.

With the changes Klute has made, Studio now holds the title of Durham's leading club. Fresh from its successful merger with sister club Loft, colloquially-nicknamed 'Ludio' holds a special place in the collective Durham student heart. Highlights include the pervy first floor DJ and University College's infamous 'Castle Corner' on a Tuesday night. Studio does not try to be a small-town superclub; it is simply reliable and promises the same good night on the regular. Studio hits the nail on the head by not trying to be something it is not.

Durham's only haunted venue Jimmy Allens, affectionately known to students as Jimmy As, is located under Elvet Bridge opposite Klute's final resting place. The club offers free entry, good cheesy music and its trademark quirky cave-like dancefloors. The club's downside? It's clientele: a combination of locals and sportsmen. I would avoid Jimmy A's, along with Loveshack (which I deplore at the best of times) on a Wednesday night, unless you are looking to become yet another notch on a uni sport player's ego and bedpost.

When you want to start a swanky and glitzy Durham venue, Klute owners, this is how you do it. Renaming and rebranding an old and washed up bar opposite the equally washed up Boathouse, Whisky River is Durham's latest and most glamorous cocktail venue, boasting the most glorious drinks menu in the city. The venue, only opened in the autumn of 2011, has already attracted the attention of Britain's reality royalty - including the likes of Hugo Taylor, Spencer Matthews and Mark Wright. A sign of a good night out? I think so.