Destinations > England > East Anglia > Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire

Cambridge

This historic city shares many similarities with Oxford but it enjoys a much less hurried pace and attracts fewer tourists than its larger rival. Cambridge is also a thriving base for an increasing number of high-tech businesses although its famous university still dominates the city. The 31 colleges of Cambridge University – England's second-oldest – have educated many notable figures including Charles Darwin, Sir Isaac Newton and Stephen Hawking, not to mention John Cleese and Eric Idle.

Practical Information

Tourist Information Centre

Wheeler Street, Cambridge

Tel 0906 586 2526 (20p per minute)

Website www.visitcambridge.org

Open Mon-Fri 10am-5.30pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 11am-4pm

Coming & Going

AIR

Cambridge is close to Stansted Airport, which has flights to most European destinations including a large choice of destinations served by budget airline, Ryanair (website www.ryanair.com).

Central Trains (website www.centraltrains.co.uk) operate a direct rail link between Cambridge and Stansted Airport. The airport is also served by frequent National Express bus services.

BUS

National Express (website www.nationalexpress.co.uk) has buses to Cambridge from Birmingham, London, Milton Keynes, Oxford and Stansted Airport. Buses arrive and depart at the coach stop on Drummer Street.

TRAIN

Central Trains (website www.centraltrains.co.uk) run trains to Birmingham, Ely, Norwich and Stansted Airport; One (website www.onerailway.co.uk) run trains to London (Liverpool Street) plus local trains in East Anglia with services to Ely, Ipswich and Norwich and WAGN (website www.wagn.co.uk) has trains to Ely, Kings Lynn and London (Kings Cross).

The train station is south of the city centre, accessible by buses 1, 3 and 7.

Local Transport

Stagecoach Citi (website www.stagecoachbus.co.uk) operate a comprehensive network of seven bus routes in the Cambridge area with buses running every 10 to 20 minutes.

Accommodation

Cambridge YHA

97 Tenison Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB1 2DN

Bus 1, 3, 7

Tel (01223) 354 601

Sights

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY

More than 60 Nobel Prize winners have graduated from Cambridge University, which is England’s second oldest. The university is divided into 31 colleges, the most prestigious being King’s and Trinity Colleges.

King's College

Henry VI founded King’s College in 1441 to provide higher education to Eton students. Although it was restricted to former Eton students until 1861, King’s College is now Cambridge’s most liberal college, however its outward appearance is one of the most traditional. Its highlight is the impressive King’s College Chapel, a Gothic masterpiece that is Cambridge’s largest college chapel.

King's Parade, Cambridge

Bus 1, 2, 5, 6

Tel (01223) 331 100

Website www.kings.cam.ac.uk

Admission £4

Open during term time Mon-Fri 9.30am-3.30pm, Sat 9.30am-3.15pm, Sun 1.15pm-2.15pm & 5pm-5.30pm; out of term Mon-Sat 9.30am-4.30pm, Sun 10am-5pm

Trinity College

Henry VIII founded Trinity College in 1546 by combining two earlier buildings dating from 1317 and 1324, however most of the college’s buildings date from the 16th and 17th centuries. Trinity College is the largest of Cambridge’s colleges and is noted for its large courts and the library designed by Christopher Wren. Trinity has educated six British prime ministers and 31 Nobel Prize winners. Famous former students include Francis Bacon, Earl Grey, Sir Isaac Newton and Ernest Rutherford.

Trinity Street, Cambridge

Bus 1, 2, 5, 6

Tel (01223) 338 400

Website www.trin.cam.ac.uk

Admission 1 Jan-6 Mar free; 7 Mar-10 Jun £2; 19-23 Jun £2; 25 Jun-30 Sep £2; 6-24 Oct £2; 25 Oct-24 Dec free; 26-31 Dec free

Open 1 Jan-10 Jun 10am-5pm daily; 19-23 Jun 10am-5pm daily; 25 Jun-30 Sep 10am-5pm daily; 6 Oct-24 Dec 10am-5pm daily; 26-31 Dec 10am-5pm daily

OTHER ATTRACTIONS

Imperial War Museum at Duxford

The Duxford branch of the Imperial War Museum houses a huge collection of 180 aircraft ranging from World War I biplanes to the Concord. It is in Duxford, 15km south of Cambridge.

A505, Duxford

Bus 7

Tel (01223) 835 000

Website http://duxford.iwm.org.uk

Admission £10 (£5 students)

Open 1 Jan-12 Mar 10am-3.15pm daily; 13 Mar-30 Oct 10am-5.15pm daily; 31 Oct-31 Dec 10am-3.15pm daily

Fitzwilliam Museum

Cambridge University’s art museum has been described as Europe’s finest small museum. The neoclassical building houses a collection that encompasses Egyptian, Greek and east Asian antiquities as well an art collection that includes works by the French Impressionists.

Trumpington Street, Cambridge

Bus 4

Tel (01223) 322 900

Website www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk

Admission free

Open Tue-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm

Kettle's Yard

This small museum displays contemporary art through a programme of temporary exhibits.

Castle Street, Cambridge

Bus 1, 2, 5, 6

Tel (01223) 352 124

Website www.kettlesyard.co.uk

Admission free

Open Jan-mid Apr Tue-Sun 2pm-4pm; mid Apr-mid Sep Tue-Sun 1.30pm-4.30pm; mid Sep-Dec Tue-Sun 2pm-4pm

Museum of Classical Archaeology

This museum is home to the world’s finest collection of plaster casts of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture.

Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge

Bus 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7

Tel (01223) 335 153

Website www.classics.cam.ac.uk/ark.html

Admission free

Open outside university term Mon-Fri 10am-5pm; during university term Mon-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-1pm

Scott Polar Research Institute

The museum run by the Scott Polar Research Institute displays artefacts relating to polar exploration.

Lensfield Road, Cambridge

Bus 1, 4, 7

Tel (01223) 336 540

Website www.spri.cam.ac.uk

Admission free

Open Tue-Sat 2.30pm-4pm

Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences

This museum has a large collection of rocks and fossils from around the world. Exhibits include dinosaurs and other prehistoric wildlife plus specimens collected by Charles Darwin's 1831 voyage on the Beagle.

Downing Street, Cambridge

Bus 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7

Tel (01223) 333 456

Website www.sedgwickmuseum.org

Admission free

Open Mon-Fri 9am-1pm & 2pm-5pm, Sat 10am-1pm

Ely

This small city would just be another charming market town if it weren’t for its majestic cathedral.

Practical Information

Ely Tourist Information Centre

Oliver Cromwell's House, 29 St Mary's Street, Ely

Tel (01353) 662 062

Open Jan-Mar Mon-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 11am-4pm; Apr-Oct 10am-5.30pm daily; Nov-Dec Mon-Fri 11am-4pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 11am-4pm

Coming & Going

Central Trains (website www.centraltrains.co.uk) runs trains to Birmingham, Cambridge, Norwich and Stansted Airport; One (website www.onerailway.co.uk) runs trains to Cambridge and London (Liverpool Street) plus local trains in East Anglia with services to Ipswich and Norwich and WAGN (website www.wagn.co.uk) operates trains to Cambridge, Kings Lynn and London (Kings Cross).

Sights

Ely Cathedral

Ely’s eye-catching cathedral was founded in 1081 but its stained glass windows and elaborate ceiling date from the 19th century.

The College, Ely

Tel (01353) 667 735

Website www.elycathedral.co.uk

Admission £4.80

Open summer 7am-7pm daily; winter Mon-Sat 7.30am-6pm, Sun 7.30am-5pm

Ely Museum

This museum has exhibits about local history.

The Old Gaol, Market Street, Ely

Tel (01353) 666 655

Admission £2

Open summer 10.30am-5.30pm daily; winter 10.30am-4.30pm daily

Stained Glass Museum

Located inside Ely Cathedral, the Stained Glass Museum has displays about the history of stained glass.

The South Triforium, Ely Cathedral, Ely

Tel (01353) 660 347

Website www.stainedglassmuseum.com

Admission £3.50

Open Jan-Easter Mon-Fri 10.30am-4.30pm, Sat 10.30am-5pm, Sun noon-4.30pm; Easter-Oct Mon-Fri 10.30am-5pm, Sat 10.30am-5.30pm, Sun noon-6pm; Nov-Dec Mon-Fri 10.30am-4.30pm, Sat 10.30am-5pm, Sun noon-4.30pm