Distance from London: 50 miles or 80 kilometres.
There is evidence of Roman settlement in the vicinity, but Cambridge grew from ecclesiastical roots when renegade monks fled Oxford in 1209 to create their own place of learning on the River Cam. We can only assume a bridge was involved, hence the name Cambridge.
Cambridge University is made up of 32 self-governing colleges, each with their own finances and academic strengths. The first college was Peterhouse, founded in 1284, with the most recent college, Robinson, created in the 1970s. In the Middle Ages, students were expected to pray for their college’s founder. As a result, most of the early colleges have chapels.
The university has been home to many academics through the years including Erasmus, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and today’s well-known scientist Stephen Hawking. Cambridge University colleges provide the historical backbone of the city, and there have been ‘town and gown’ struggles in the city’s past as townspeople objected to university privileges.
Many of the university colleges are clustered along the River Cam, therefore a river punt, or flat-bottomed boat, offers a relaxing and informative journey.
Train
From King’s Cross, travel time 45 minutes (by non-stop Cambridge Cruiser which leaves every 30 minutes)
Tel: 08457 48 49 50
Bus
From Victoria Coach Terminal, the journey time takes more than two hours with stops to take on new passengers and drop off others.
For information visit www.nationalexpress.com
The Colleges
Most of the colleges accept paid visitors at limited periods and not at all during exam times.
King’s College is the most famous of Cambridge University’s colleges. It was founded in 1441 by Henry VI so that scholars at Eton could finish their education. King’s College is most famous for its Christmas Eve service, now broadcast around the world.
St Catherine’s College goes back to 1473. It was named after St Catherine, the patron saint of learning.
Gonville and Caius was named after John Caius (pronounced Keys) in the 16th Century. He was master of the college and decreed that the college admit no scholar who ‘is deformed, dumb, blind, lame, maimed, mutilated, a Welshman, or suffering from any grave or contagious illness, or an invalid, that is sick in a serious measure.’
Trinity College is the largest within Cambridge and probably has the grandest pedigree with 85 Nobel Prizes going to alumni.
St John’s College is the richest of all Cambridge University colleges.
Again, some of the colleges are open to visitors, often for a fee, but this varies depending on the college schedule. There is usually a porter at each college’s gate, and he can offer advice on visiting.
However behind many of the colleges lies The Backs – green fields with grazing cattle bordering the River Cam. Punts cruise the river, while students picnic in good weather. Access may be gained through King’s College.
University Museums
The Fitzwilliam Museum (Trumpington Street) contains art from Titian to Picasso as well as books, coins, manuscripts and medals.
The Sedgewick Museum of Earth Sciences (Downing Street) is the oldest Cambridge museum and specialises in fossils and rocks – some from Charles Darwin’s famous expedition on the Beagle.
The Whipple Museum of Science (Free School Lane off Pembroke Street) hosts scientific instruments that date from the Middle Ages.
The Botanic Gardens (Bateman Street) offers a quiet stroll through a vast array of botanic specimens.
Non-University sites worth seeing
Most of the roads in the centre lead to Market Square, a comfortable place for walking. The market place offers a large plaza of independent traders. On its far side, you will see a tall church, St Mary the Great. This Gothic building is the main university and city church. Visitors are usually welcome and, for a fee, you can climb to the top of its church tower and survey the city and the surrounding countryside.
Much of the land is low lying and was once mostly marsh. As a result, few places in the area are more than 50 feet in altitude. This allows the city’s wonderful old architecture to dominate the landscape.
The Round Church (at the junction of Bridge St and St John’s St.) – This Norman building was constructed in 1130 to honour the Crusaders. Services no longer take place here, but it is open to visitors.
The Eagle pub (Bene’t Street) – A great pub with a warren of rooms offering history from its origins as a 16th century hostelry, to World War II when it was frequented by American airmen who scrawled messages with cigarette lighters on the ceiling. In the 1950s, The Eagle was the regular haunt of James Watson and Francis Crick, Nobel Prize winners for the discovery of the structure of DNA.
Bookshops
St Edward’s Passage (off Peas Hill near Market Square) has two small second-hand bookshops that offer great browsing opportunities.
The town is also home to Heffers, a wonderfully large and well-stocked book shop offering academic and regular titles.
Cambridge University Press has a shop on King’s Parade.
Sightseeing buses with hop-on/hop-off service and tours in several languages pick up from the train station.
Local telephone number: 01223 423578
Walking
Two-hour walking tours are operated by the tourist office. In addition there are downloadable podcast guides to the city. Contact the tourist office website for details, www.visitcambridge.org
Boat
Punting – Punts are flat-bottomed boats traditional to Cambridge. They are for hire, either with a guide and ‘punter’ or for you to self-propel with a long pole on the shallow river bed. To find the punting sheds face King’s College, go right (down Trinity Street, left at Bridge Street) or left (along King’s Parade and turn right down Silver Street).
The river journey, whether with a guide or self-steered, will take you past Queen’s College and the Mathematical Bridge (don’t believe anyone who tells you it was built without screws – it simply looks rickety. And it should as it was built in 1749). Further along the river you pass Clare College, Trinity and St John’s. It’s a wonderfully relaxing way to view Cambridge. No traffic noise, only the excited screams of other visitors as their ‘punter’ loses balance.
The Cambridge Tourist Information Centre
Peas Hill
Cambridge
CB2 3AD
Tel: 01223 464732
www.visitcambridge.org