10/3/12 - A City Tour of Cambridge

Distance - 4.54 Miles
Caches - 4
Ice Creams - 1
Food Type - Turkish
Pubs - Many
Walk Inspiration


Everyone likes to get something for nothing and this weekend's first visit to Cambridge has been funded by Holiday Inn's loyalty points.  Taken me three years to get enough, so maybe I haven't been quite loyal enough.

Leave the warring children at 9:30am on a Saturday and head off for the 2 hour drive.  A14 looks like its closed on the war back and then my old trusty Tom Tom tries to take me down a road that would have had the car impaled on one of Cambridge's rising bollard if I had followed the instructions.  A quick reprogram on the inbuilt sat nav had us pulling up in front of the hotel for valet parking.  Nice.

Only concern is how much of the City will be closed off for the marathon on Sunday.  Still, worse places to be stuck.

Check out the room and the afternoon's entertainment is going to be a walk to familiarise ourseleves with the City.  Once again, Walking World provides a great way to get to know a town on foot.  Of course, any opportunity to ferret around looking for tupperware will also be explored.

Once I get a signal, we realise that we are in the exact place to start the walk and that there is a cache directly over the road.  Nice use of a very powerful magnet.

We head North up the busy St Andrews Street.  It becomes apparent that if I spend too long looking at the Sat Nav, then I am going to get knocked over by a Student on a bike.  Not the way I want to go.

First place of Interest is Jesus College.  Its possible to walk into the colleges free of charge and have a mooch around.  This takes a bit of getting used to and you feel that you are trespassing.

Just walk on in

There is a cache in the grounds.  Its pretty hard to find the cache, but even harder to find how to get to GZ.  By looking like we are meant to be there, Sonia strikes gold after I have long given up.  Reward her with lunch at the Mitre.

Only Sonia knows where the cache is.

Retrace our steps, getting to the Round Church in the centre.  St Johns Street is the architectural highlight of the walk, as we pass Trinity College and St Johns College.  Pass some fine eateries, but our enquiries are all met with a "tables are free at 6pm or 9:30pm response".  Sonia said we should have booked.

After the photo opps, we head down Silver Street to cross the Cam for the first time.  We could have hired a punt from here, but our views from foot are just as good, so I avoid a nautical adventure.

Our walk around the Backs provides fine views of the Colleges and the Chapels.  The route ensures that every nook and crannie of the City is explored and we do some criss crossing of the Cam to take in the bridges and views.  Here an alarming number of bangs from the punts running into each other and indeed, see one soaked student who has taken a dunk.

Bloody Students

The walk is a little naughty now, as it takes us the back way into St Johns College.  Some stunning views to be had as you walk through another Courtyard.

Brideshead revisted

The walk has been clever, because as we emerge out of the front, we see that we maybe should have paid.

Technically, we are residents.  £8 towards the Turkish.

The walk then takes in a diversion to look at the Castle.  When I say castle, its more of a big green mound but it does provide the second refreshment stop of the day at the pub.  Cunningly called the castle.  I leave Sonia to her pear cider and climb to the top for some views.  Sonia prefers to google ancient monuments.

Back down and to the River.  A quick blast along, though parkland.  A cache lives under a bridge and head off alone to find it.  Recieve a text asking "is that you looking shifty under the bridge".

Final walk through "Christ's Piece", finding a very clever cache.  This drops us back at the shops.  One of us goes looking for a new coat and the other goes after a place for evening sustenance.  Both meet up disappointed.

After a short rest, we are out in the evening following a different guide book.  My Camra Pub Crawls never fails to find the hotspots of a new city.  Lets just say all the run down ones have been gentrified and all the nice ones have been run down but it was still an experience.  We even found somewhere to eat at a reasonable time and I can add Turkish Shepherds Roast Meats to my top 10 favourite dinners.

A fine city.  Watch out for the bikes.