Home to brilliant minds like Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking and more Nobel Prize winners than any other city, Cambridge is a year-round destination. Brimming with learning, culture and world-changing discoveries, it’s a vibrant place.
But be warned, Cambridge in the summer months is absolutely heaving!
On our last visit on a typical English summer day, we were jostled at every step by groups of fellow tourists or accosted by polite offers of everything from walking tours to punt trips on the famous River Cam.
Everyone was perfectly pleasant, but after a while it became … well … just a little irritating.
So here are 6 places in Cambridge to snatch a moment of calm, even in the height of summer.
The Backs
Cambridge is a very green city, where the fens flow into the centre along the River Cam. You’ll find cows grazing in sight of university buildings, riverside parks and grassy commons.
The most iconic area is The Backs – so called because they are simply the backs of the various University colleges which spread across both banks of the river.
You can walk some of the way for free, getting you away from the majority of tourists and giving you a great view of the colleges. But some parts are only accessible when the colleges are open, and many charge an entry fee.
Midsummer Common, however, is open to all. It’s an ancient area of grassland bordered by the River Cam, where you can see the boathouses of the Colleges of the University and watch rowers on the water.
Punting on the Cam
The queues for the boats may be long, but once you’re aboard it’s one of the best ways to see all those famous bridges. You can choose a self-steer option or have a professional punter do the work for you.
Watching them all go by, it’s easy to spot the experts by their perfect poise, smooth pole action and relaxed banter. Those who take the self-drive version show just how difficult it is to steer smoothly along the crowded waterway.
It’s even more fun standing on a bridge, placing bets on who would get a ducking. We witnessed more than one near collision and one total immersion as a punter forgot the golden rule: ‘Never let go of the end of your pole’!
King’s College Chapel
Although it’s the busiest, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see that glorious chapel.
Started by the saintly King Henry VI, King’s College Chapel took 74 years and four more kings before it was finally finished.
As the long-running War of the Roses came to end and the Tudor era began, each king was keen to keep in with God and the church and continue the work of the previous ruler.
The chapel is therefore an extraordinary building with a mixture of styles from the understated plans of the first Henry through to the overblown Tudor roses, portcullises and intertwined initials of Henry VIII.
Take your time, linger, and let the guided groups pass you by. Then seek out the informative guides who are on hand to answer any questions, because many of the glories of this amazing building – from its fan vault ceiling to the enormous stained-glass windows – have hidden secrets and meanings that the casual visitor can easily miss.
Anne Boleyn
That’s how we discovered one of the few remaining traces of Henry’s game-changing marriage to Anne Boleyn. When Anne lost her head, Henry ordered all traces of her reign to be obliterated.
But the wooden rood screen at King’s College Chapel was overlooked and there, in just one single section amongst a riot of HRs for Henry himself, are the carved initials HA – for Henry and Anne.
The price of admission also allows you access to the riverbank, where you can watch the aforementioned punts drifting lazily by.
Take a walking tour
Some UK cities offer a free official guided walk, which is great as an introduction to a place.
In Cambridge, you will have to pay for the privilege of a professional Blue or Green Badge guide, as only official tours are allowed on the University campus.
If you can’t afford that, or the individual college admission fees, you can take a stroll yourself and admire the entrance gates to each and every one. Many allow you a free peek of the open courtyards and beautiful buildings that surround the quads.
Climb the tower of Great St Mary’s
The best way to escape the packed streets below and get a great view of the city is to climb the tower of Great St Mary’s.
Great St Mary church has dominated the Market Place for over 800 years and as the university grew up around it, it became the place for official ceremonies and meetings.
Today a small fee and 123 steep steps take you 35 metres up the winding tower, past the chamber where the bells ring out a sonorous Westminster chime every quarter of an hour, to the top and a glorious panoramic view of the city.
Corpus Clock
You have to be patient to see this wonder without an admiring crowd around it, but it is worth the wait.
On the outside wall of Corpus Christi College is this bizarre clock, an amazing timepiece which is only accurate once every five minutes.
The rippled gold-plated steel central disc is dominated by a weird looking insect, which creator John C. Taylor named The Chronophage.
This locust-like creature moves its mouth, as if it’s swallowing the seconds as they tick by. The pendulum swing is irregular and hypnotic, like a heartbeat in a panic attack.
A reminder, if any were necessary, to slow down and take your time to see all the sights of this historic and popular city.
Getting to Cambridge
The city is well served by road and rail links and has a Park and Ride system which we found very easy to use.
Bicycles are everywhere and there are plenty of bike hire outlets.
For more information on the city as a tourist destination, see Visit Cambridge
Accessible Cambridge
Although it gets very busy, it’s a great city for walking, cycling and for anyone needing assistance.
All Park and Ride buses are accessible for wheelchair users and pushchairs, and many of the punts are adapted for people with restricted mobility.
For more details, see Accessible Cambridge
All photographs copyright ©rosemaryandporkbelly
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