A Perfect Day Trip to Cambridge: Tale of Three University Cities Part 1
King’s College & Chapel [Copyright - Travelling Torrsome]
A Perfect Day Trip to Cambridge: Tale of Three University Cities Part 1
A city renowned for its world class university and punting pioneer is one that will truly leave you in awe. Located under 2 hours away from London, this city makes the perfect quick getaway or as an add on to a London or UK adventure.
The city’s name is derived from the River Cam which runs through the city. As a city with an important river, it was necessary to build iconic bridges, such as the Bridge of Sighs, which it became famous for and thus how it came to be Cambridge: River Cam and Bridge.
You’re probably wondering what the title means. The University of Cambridge is famously located around the city. It is the third oldest university in the world behind the fellow University of Oxford and the University of Bologna. I have visited the city numerous times for work but never just to explore the city, whilst this was Tee’s first visit.
Fitzbillies
[Copyright - Travelling Torrsome]
Tale of Three University Cities
The second of three interconnected cities, the University of Cambridge was founded by an Oxford Scholar. Keeping in tradition, a Cambridge Scholar went on to found Harvard University in yes, Massachusetts. Given the town the incredible name of…well Cambridge.
As I like little travel connections, we’re inclined to visit all 3 universities to not compare them of course! But I think Cambridge is just one of my favourite cities in the UK. It's hard to not be biased.
Alas, welcome to our first university city within this mini travel series guide.
Overview of Cambridge
Currency: GBP
Language: English
Cambridge [Copyright - Travelling Torrsome]
Contents
When is the best time to visit?
How to get to Cambridge
Transport in Cambridge
How long should we spend in Cambridge?
A Simple Day Trip Itinerary
Where to stay in Cambridge
What to do & eat in Cambridge
Accessibility
Should I go to University here?
Cambridgeshire Itinerary
Optional Day Trips
1) When is the best time to visit?
We visited in February for a Valentine's getaway. However the city is great all year round. Although it can get cold in the winter months which might make punting harder, especially if the river levels are too high. If you are looking to make the most of your punting trip, I would suggest visiting between May and September when the weather is more stable.
Also worth noting, the city can get busy during graduation season, typically in July. Thus, ensure you are checking hotel prices early enough as prices can often increase with rooms booking out. On the topic of students, it has a busy student population with student events, especially during freshers (orientation) week in September/October. Although student events tend to calm down during important exam periods which make for quieter nights.
Cambridge Station [Copyright - Travelling Torrsome]
2) How to get to Cambridge
Cambridge is a very well connected city to neighbouring parts of the country.
By Train
The fastest way to reach the city is by train. GBR Greater Anglia trains run direct services into London Liverpool Street whilst Thameslink run direct services into London St Pancras and Great Northern run into London Kings Cross. Cambridge also has two other prominent stations, Cambridge North and the newly opened Cambridge South which is expected to sit on the new East-West line connecting to Oxford. The latter station is the first in the country to feature the new Great British Railway branding. But, for ease, you’ll want to travel into the main station for your visit.
By Car
We actually drove to Cambridge which was a pretty relaxing journey. We stopped off in Saffron Walden which was a quaint, pretty town (more details below). You can also stop off in Bishop’s Stortford.
By Plane
You can get direct train services from London Stansted with Greater Anglia and from London Gatwick with Thameslink.
Rutherford's - Punting Company [Copyright - Travelling Torrsome]
3) Transport in Cambridge
Cambridge is a relatively compact city with strong bus services including the park & ride which eases congestion within central Cambridge. We boarded a park and ride bus from Milton that took less than half an hour to reach the city centre. Parking was also free which is a nice incentive to discourage driving in.
4) Where to stay in Cambridge
We stayed in a wonderful Airbnb located near Milton. It was a cosy annex that provided us the comfort, space and privacy we needed after a busy day of travelling. We loved it and we’re already looking forward to going back. This accommodation style works well if you have a car and prefer your own space as hotels in the city centre can be limited and pricey. For a hotel stay, there is the convenient Ibis directly located next to the station.
5) How long should we spend in Cambridge?
With a relatively small city, this will be determined on what you plan to do. You can easily visit on a day trip or turn it into a weekend trip with nearby visits, which is what we did.
6) A Simple Day Trip Itinerary
Morning: Arrive into Cambridge
Grab a drink and classic buns from Fitzbillies
Visit the Fitzwilliam Museum
Early Afternoon: Go punting
Admire the amazing architecture of the college buildings
Lunch: Grab a bite to eat
We’d recommend stopping by the market where there are various different cuisines.
Afternoon: Take in various spectacular colleges making up the University of Cambridge with a nice wonder through the city centre.
Take a walk around the shops
Evening: Have Dinner
Punting in Cambridge [Copyright - Travelling Torrsome]
7) What to do in Cambridge
Punting
Arguably the best way to experience Cambridge! There are an abundance of punting companies all vying for customers. Which one you pick is your choice but Rutherford’s was the company we used and we had a very friendly, knowledgeable guide. You’ll pass many of Cambridge’s famous colleges and bridges including The Bridge of Sighs and the wooden Mathematical Bridge. If you're feeling brave, you can self hire a punting boat. But be warned, it’s harder than it looks! We do recommend checking the weather of your chosen date but you can also book the day before or on the day if you arrive early enough.
The University of Cambridge
The university is not one single institute but made up of separate individual 31 colleges that have their own very competitive admissions process. 29 are undergraduate colleges and 2 are dedicated to postgraduates. Nevertheless, the university was founded by an Oxford scholar coining the long standing friendly Oxbridge rivalry.
King’s College & Chapel
Arguably the most recognisable (that very famous one you see in all the blogs) of all the colleagues and unsurprisingly the perfect photo shot. The College was founded by King Henry VI and historically admitted students from its sister school, Eton College (the famous boarding school near Windsor). A radical college known for its much more relaxed nature than the more traditional colleges, it became one of the first to admit women in 1972. It now holds the record for highest proportion of state school admissions.
The best way to view the college and chapel in our opinion, is by taking a punting tour where you can also learn the history. You can still visit the chapel itself but we thought the prices were a little steep.
Other notable colleges
These include Pembroke College which you can walk around the peaceful grounds and Trinity College. Pembroke is also handily located on Trumpington Street, a few minutes up the road from the Fitzwilliams Museum.
Corpus Clock
Also known as the Grasshopper clock is located outside the Taylor Library, Corpus Christi College. It acts as a philosophical symbolism to time with it having a purposeful unsteady way to tell the time. Sometimes speeding up, slowing down or pausing, mimicking the human perception of time.
Fitzwilliam Museum
The Museum is located on the busy Trumpington Street, passing the Grasshopper Clock and Pembroke College on the way. You can visit the museum for free which I think is great for cooler days. The Egyptian collection was our highlight. It is open on Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10am - 5pm and on Sundays from 12pm - 5pm.
Fitzbillies
A great spot after your punting experience. Try their famous buns which you can choose from the original to funkier editions.
Other sights of interest
You might also want to pop into the Cambridge Botanical Gardens or the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology if of interest to you.
Punting in Cambridge [Copyright - Travelling Torrsome]
8) Accessibility
This is an area of travel I’d like to keep building on in future. I think it’s particularly important to talk about the accessibility of travel destinations, which in this case is Cambridge. In terms of physical accessibility, the city is generally flat with bridges mainly contributing to any inclines. However, it’s a busy city during peak times with uneven pavements in the centre at times.
For travellers with hidden disabilities, this is a busy university city that can attract hundreds of tourists in a day. I found it particularly crowded during the afternoon. For respite spots, we particularly found wandering around the quieter colleges such as Pembroke calming. Access to the grounds are free during certain times, please check before arrival.
Anglia Ruskin University [Copyright - Travelling Torrsome]
9) Should I go to University here?
The University of Cambridge runs sort of like a consortium of 29 undergraduate colleges and 2 postgraduate colleges Hughes Hall and Wolfson College), that will have a different feel and admissions process.
Anglia Ruskin is the city’s second and newer university, previously a Polytechnic. It is renowned for its nursing and midwifery department.
Trinity College, founded in 1546 (chances are, you would’ve heard of it’s famous name), by none other than Henry VIII, during his break from the Catholic church to create an institution for leaders of his new Church of England.
It is actually the richest of the colleges, making it one of the richest academic entities in the UK worth 2.2 billion. Wealth is largely thanks to its previous 50% stake in a number of Tesco properties acquired back in 2012. They were subsequently brought back by Tesco, who had rented the units as stores in 2021 for a large sum of £500 million.
Fun Facts
Cambridge, Oxford and UCL have such a high net worth combined, they are worth the same as all other UK universities combined.
Peterhouse College, founded in 1284 is both the oldest and smallest college
Robinson College opened in 1977, is the newest custom built college.
Homerton College transferred from London and became a college of the university in 2010.
Cambridge College [Copyright - Travelling Torrsome]
10) Cambridgeshire Itinerary
We have provided below a short itinerary for visiting the county of Cambridgeshire, in which Cambridge is located.
Day 1: Stop in Saffron Walden and Duxford
Day 2: Full Day in Cambridge
Day 3: Spend the day visiting Ely & St Ives
Saffron Walden [Copyright - Travelling Torrsome]
11) Optional Weekend Add on: Saffron Walden
This charming affluent market town located on the periphery of Essex, provided for a quaint stop during our journeys both ways, for lunch and a walk around. I particularly loved the two cafes we had lunch in. It felt trendy with a small town charm. We also had a nice walk around and popped into a few of their stores. It did feel quiet but maybe that was down to it being in the winter.
Optional Weekend Add on: Ely
Ely Cathedral is easily the stand out that must be visited. I have visited many different cathedrals, but this one felt magical. Maybe that is because on our first visit, we started seeing snowflakes.
Duxford, part of the Imperial War Museums and St Ives (another pretty city) are another good stop on a Cambridgeshire weekend trip.
Ely Cathdral [Copyright - Travelling Torrsome]
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