Cambridge
Cambridge
Where From, Where To and How
We live in Cheshire which is a part of England bordering Manchester. It's basically about a third of the way up the island from the bottom. The destination for this trip will be south London which is where the spider therapy (look out for the next blog) takes place. In order to get there we need to drive for a few hours, and since it's a bit far for us to go down there as a day trip, we wanted to make the most of it and go somewhere on the way. This is where Cambridge comes in! It's a slight detour from the most direct route but it doesn't add a massive amount of time so it makes sense to stop off there on the way down before we head over to the hotel for the night with the therapy session the following day. We drove, which is our preferred method of travel, especially as at the time of writing this there are a few railway workers strikes so going by train wouldn't be the most reliable method.
Parking and getting around Cambridge
Cambridge is one of those places in the UK around which you do not want to be driving if you can help it. It's just not a very effective way of getting around the central part of the city and if you're not a confident driver, you will get stressed out so best to leave the car on the outskirts. Luckily, Cambridge, just like York in the north of the country, has the Park & Ride system worked out pretty damn well. It's effective, it's relatively cheap (£3 per person, but group discounts also available) and it takes a lot of the hassle out of the trip. There are currently 5 Park & Ride sites dotted around the town so there's always a convenient one regardless of which side you're coming from.
The way it works is very simple, you drive to a relatively large carpark on the outskirts of Cambridge, you park your car there, jump on the bus which is most likely already waiting there for you, pay the driver or buy a ticket from one of the machines at the bus stop, the bus then takes you into central Cambridge and you enjoy the ride whilst looking at the pretty surroundings on the way. Simples! Some of the sites also have destination chargers for electric cars so in our case we plugged the car in when we arrived and by the time we were back later in the evening the battery was full again. If you go on their website you'll be able to see if the site you want to use has electric car chargers and also how many.
Central Cambridge is a pretty small place and you can walk from one end to the other in a matter of minutes. If you're feeling adventurous or fancy hiring a set of wheels then you will find electric bicycles and electric scooters dotted around the place. You simply download an app, put your card details in, scan the QR code on the vehicle you want to use and off you go. We used the electric scooters in Krakow (Poland) and they were pretty fun to ride and sometimes even faster then public transport or a car to get to various places. Narrow one way streets and a lot of roads closed off to regular traffic will make it a nightmare if you're determined to drive in, not to mention hardly anywhere to park. Oh, and Jo was wearing orange whilst we were in Cambridge, see if you can spot her 😁
Things to Do & See
Most people will have heard of Cambridge University, but not as many will know that it's made up of various "Colleges". If you like Harry Potter then you'll like this bit, think of those colleges in the same way as the houses in the Harry Potter movies because that's essentially what they are. We have asked and I'm afraid there is no sorting hat though, sorry!
Food and Drink - you will be spoiled for choice in Cambridge. The centre is packed with cafes, pubs, restaurants, ice cream selling trolleys, coffee shops and places where you can grab a take out. There is a lot of variety here but if you want to be boring then there's always a McDonald's (don't, just don't, not there). Oh and if you like Pink Floyd then why not stop off for a pint at the Anchor where Syd Barrett used to hang out? The pub below isn't the Anchor but I think it looks like a pretty cool place to stop off for a bite to eat whilst you're there, what do you think?
Architecture - the place is dripping in heritage and history, it clearly shows and you can't help but to notice it as you walk around the narrow streets. Everywhere you look makes you feel like you're surrounded by buildings that have witnessed important events in history, are housing objects of historic significance and like you're walking in the footprints of those you will find in history books or in the public eye. The oldest building in the city is the St Bene't's Church dating back to the 11th century with the rest spanning the centuries that followed. Going back to the Harry Potter reference earlier, at times you will feel like you're walking past what could have easily been a campus at Hogwarts! 
Boats / Punts - canals are one of the things that you will want to see from a boat, or in the case of Cambridge a Punt. A Punt is basically the name of those shallow boats you'll see in Cambridge. They remind me of those you will find in Venice, but the Italians just went a step further with the styling, what do you think? You can either hire one and try to use the scaffolding pole that they will give you to propel and steer your vessel ooorrr you will do the probably more sensible thing and spend a bit extra if your budget allows and just book onto a tour with a guide who will do the tricky steering for you whilst you sit back and look around with a drink in your hand (maybe bring a bottle of Prosecco?). If you're thinking of opting for a simple hire and do it yourself trip then just bare in mind that there will be a few obstacles along the canal you will need to get around and in the summer the canal does get quite busy. Oh and we've seen somebody from another punt lose the pole ... and if you do then you're buggered!
Booking onto a punt tour with a guide will also mean that as you float around you can look around at the buildings which you would struggle to see otherwise and the guides are also quite knowledgeable, so you'll hear some interesting facts about what's surrounding you. For example if it wasn't for our guide I wouldn't be able to recommend that you look at the below image I took of the Bridge of Sighs from our punt and then do an online search for "Cambridge bridge of sighs Austin" 😂. That's what happens when you have too much money, go to Cambridge University and want to pull a prank!
One tip for the punt tours is that depending on when you go, you may be able to get a discount! When we were there it was relatively quiet for these guys so they had some of their guides dotted around the place handing out vouchers for discounted tours on that day so when you're there in the area look around to see if they are out and about. You are probably unlikely to get a discount if you just go straight to the place where you book the tour. It's worth having a look as for us the discount was about a third of the original price.
We live in Cheshire which is a part of England bordering Manchester. It's basically about a third of the way up the island from the bottom. The destination for this trip will be south London which is where the spider therapy (look out for the next blog) takes place. In order to get there we need to drive for a few hours, and since it's a bit far for us to go down there as a day trip, we wanted to make the most of it and go somewhere on the way. This is where Cambridge comes in! It's a slight detour from the most direct route but it doesn't add a massive amount of time so it makes sense to stop off there on the way down before we head over to the hotel for the night with the therapy session the following day. We drove, which is our preferred method of travel, especially as at the time of writing this there are a few railway workers strikes so going by train wouldn't be the most reliable method.
Parking and getting around Cambridge
Cambridge is one of those places in the UK around which you do not want to be driving if you can help it. It's just not a very effective way of getting around the central part of the city and if you're not a confident driver, you will get stressed out so best to leave the car on the outskirts. Luckily, Cambridge, just like York in the north of the country, has the Park & Ride system worked out pretty damn well. It's effective, it's relatively cheap (£3 per person, but group discounts also available) and it takes a lot of the hassle out of the trip. There are currently 5 Park & Ride sites dotted around the town so there's always a convenient one regardless of which side you're coming from.
The way it works is very simple, you drive to a relatively large carpark on the outskirts of Cambridge, you park your car there, jump on the bus which is most likely already waiting there for you, pay the driver or buy a ticket from one of the machines at the bus stop, the bus then takes you into central Cambridge and you enjoy the ride whilst looking at the pretty surroundings on the way. Simples! Some of the sites also have destination chargers for electric cars so in our case we plugged the car in when we arrived and by the time we were back later in the evening the battery was full again. If you go on their website you'll be able to see if the site you want to use has electric car chargers and also how many.
Central Cambridge is a pretty small place and you can walk from one end to the other in a matter of minutes. If you're feeling adventurous or fancy hiring a set of wheels then you will find electric bicycles and electric scooters dotted around the place. You simply download an app, put your card details in, scan the QR code on the vehicle you want to use and off you go. We used the electric scooters in Krakow (Poland) and they were pretty fun to ride and sometimes even faster then public transport or a car to get to various places. Narrow one way streets and a lot of roads closed off to regular traffic will make it a nightmare if you're determined to drive in, not to mention hardly anywhere to park. Oh, and Jo was wearing orange whilst we were in Cambridge, see if you can spot her 😁
Central Cambridge is a pretty small place and you can walk from one end to the other in a matter of minutes. If you're feeling adventurous or fancy hiring a set of wheels then you will find electric bicycles and electric scooters dotted around the place. You simply download an app, put your card details in, scan the QR code on the vehicle you want to use and off you go. We used the electric scooters in Krakow (Poland) and they were pretty fun to ride and sometimes even faster then public transport or a car to get to various places. Narrow one way streets and a lot of roads closed off to regular traffic will make it a nightmare if you're determined to drive in, not to mention hardly anywhere to park. Oh, and Jo was wearing orange whilst we were in Cambridge, see if you can spot her 😁
Things to Do & See
Most people will have heard of Cambridge University, but not as many will know that it's made up of various "Colleges". If you like Harry Potter then you'll like this bit, think of those colleges in the same way as the houses in the Harry Potter movies because that's essentially what they are. We have asked and I'm afraid there is no sorting hat though, sorry!
Food and Drink - you will be spoiled for choice in Cambridge. The centre is packed with cafes, pubs, restaurants, ice cream selling trolleys, coffee shops and places where you can grab a take out. There is a lot of variety here but if you want to be boring then there's always a McDonald's (don't, just don't, not there). Oh and if you like Pink Floyd then why not stop off for a pint at the Anchor where Syd Barrett used to hang out? The pub below isn't the Anchor but I think it looks like a pretty cool place to stop off for a bite to eat whilst you're there, what do you think?
Boats / Punts - canals are one of the things that you will want to see from a boat, or in the case of Cambridge a Punt. A Punt is basically the name of those shallow boats you'll see in Cambridge. They remind me of those you will find in Venice, but the Italians just went a step further with the styling, what do you think? You can either hire one and try to use the scaffolding pole that they will give you to propel and steer your vessel ooorrr you will do the probably more sensible thing and spend a bit extra if your budget allows and just book onto a tour with a guide who will do the tricky steering for you whilst you sit back and look around with a drink in your hand (maybe bring a bottle of Prosecco?). If you're thinking of opting for a simple hire and do it yourself trip then just bare in mind that there will be a few obstacles along the canal you will need to get around and in the summer the canal does get quite busy. Oh and we've seen somebody from another punt lose the pole ... and if you do then you're buggered!
Booking onto a punt tour with a guide will also mean that as you float around you can look around at the buildings which you would struggle to see otherwise and the guides are also quite knowledgeable, so you'll hear some interesting facts about what's surrounding you. For example if it wasn't for our guide I wouldn't be able to recommend that you look at the below image I took of the Bridge of Sighs from our punt and then do an online search for "Cambridge bridge of sighs Austin" 😂. That's what happens when you have too much money, go to Cambridge University and want to pull a prank!
One tip for the punt tours is that depending on when you go, you may be able to get a discount! When we were there it was relatively quiet for these guys so they had some of their guides dotted around the place handing out vouchers for discounted tours on that day so when you're there in the area look around to see if they are out and about. You are probably unlikely to get a discount if you just go straight to the place where you book the tour. It's worth having a look as for us the discount was about a third of the original price.
Funky & Weird
There are also some quite weird things to be seen in Cambridge. The two that stood out to me were a big metal grasshopper clock thing and a graveyard at one of the little churches right next to the bins ...
Let's start with the grasshopper thing clock. It's actually called Corpus Clock, it was made in 1959 and the golden section of it isn't painted aluminium or something, it's actually plated with pure gold. The grasshopper at the top moves as the seconds tick by and there are blue lights around it to show hours, minutes and seconds. Pretty funky and creepy at the same time. You can read more about it here.
Summary!
- Use Park & Ride if you're driving over, most of the car parks have electric car charging points but not many
- Enjoy the variety of food on offer, grab an ice cream as you stroll through the streets and don't you dare to go to McDonald's, go to one of the cool atmospheric pubs instead
- Keep your eyes open and enjoy the beautiful architecture
- Go on a Punt ride, either hire one for a self-drive (?) or better still if you can afford it book onto a guided tour
- Go and see the funky Corpus Clock
- Take a stroll through a tiny graveyard?
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