Our celebration of the best things in Cambridge
Cambridge University
Cambridge University celebrated 800 years of academic excellence in 2009. They one of the world’s oldest universities, and known worldwide as a leading academic centre. The university comprises 31 Colleges and over 150 departments, faculties, schools and other institutions.
It has more Nobel Prize winners than any other institution. 81 affiliates of the University of Cambridge have won the Nobel Prize since it started in 1904.
- Affiliates have won in every category, with 29 Nobel prizes in Physics, 23 in Medicine, 19 in Chemistry, seven in Economics, two in Literature and two in Peace.
- Trinity College has 31 Nobel Prize winners, the most of any college at Cambridge.
Cambridge University library was built between 1931 and 1934 by Giles Gilbert Scott who also designed the Bankside Power Station, now the home of the Tate Modern. The similarities between the academic and the industrial building are very clear. As a legal deposit library, it is entitled to claim without charge a copy of all books, journals, printed maps and music published in Britain and Ireland.
Tourist Attractions
The Fitzwilliam Museum houses world-class collections of works of art and antiquities spanning centuries and civilisations. These include sculpture, furniture, pottery, oriental art, paintings, drawings and prints, illuminated, literary and music manuscripts, antiquities from Egypt, Greece and Rome, coins and medals and a fine collection of 20th century art. There is a regular programme of exhibitions, events, family activities and music.
The Botanic Garden is about a mile south of the City centre, just five minutes walk from the railway station. This tranquil 40 acre garden offers year round interest to visitors. It has a collection of over 10,000 plant species in beautifully landscaped settings, including Rock Garden, Lake, Glasshouses, Winter Garden, Woodland Walk, and nine National Collections.
Kettles Yard on Castle Street is a beautiful house containing a collection of modern art. It was founded by H.S.Ede as a place where visitors would find a home and a welcome, a refuge of peace and order, in the visual arts and of music.
The Scott Polar Research Institute’s Museum displays a unique collection of artefacts, paintings, photographs, clothing equipment, maps, and other materials illustrating the history of polar exploration and polar science.
Shopping
Cambridge shopping facilities offer something for all shopping tastes. The traditional market in the heart of the city sells everything from fresh fruit and vegetables to clothes and antiques. For those looking for something more modern the Grafton Centre is a modern mall type shopping centre with ten screen cinemas, cafes and a wide range of shops from Debenhams to Topshop. So whether you’re looking for a wide range of modern fashion or some traditional home grown goods Cambridge has the best of both.
Transport
Transport in Cambridge is known to be unique and efficient. The city has an extremely high bike to people ratio, and bikes are certainly the most efficient way to get around with the centre being closed to cars from 10am to 4pm. However if biking is not your forte a very efficient park and ride system operates from different parking points around the city. This means easy access to Cambridge by bus from the car parks and the chance to enjoy all the nooks and crannies of the city by foot. It also means avoiding expensive day parking from the inner city car parks. It is certainly the best way (next to biking) of accessing Cambridge and enjoying its atmosphere.
Where To Stay
The Best Western Gonville Hotel is, as the name suggests, one of the best hotels in Cambridge. This three star, family run establishment is ideally situated to fully explore the city. Most of the sights in Cambridge are within walking distance, including the museums and historic university colleges. For those who love shopping the hotel is only a few minutes away from the two shopping centres. Mainly local produce is also used in the majority of food they produce so you can truly experience the sights and tastes of Cambridge.
Punting – things you must try
If the English weather allows for some sunshine then there is no better past time in England than a punt on the Cam. You can either do it yourself or pay someone to do the hard work. It’s a superb way to see the sights of Cambridge and do something a little different that nowhere else in the country, except perhaps Oxford, has to offer.
Pink Floyd
The Rock band Pink Floyd has its roots in the city of Cambridge The lead singer and guitarist Syd Barret was born and lived in the city till 1962. He met other founding member Roger Waters at Cambridgeshire High School for Boys. He did not like it: it inspired “we don’t need no education”, which is not a common thought in Cambridge. Attending the nearby Pearse School, also in Cambridge, was David Gilmour.
Cambridge Beer Festival
The Cambridge Beer Festival has been going since 1974 which makes it the longest running CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) beer festival in the UK. It is also one of the largest, attracting up to 8,000 vistors on sunny days and warm nights. Cambridge can certainly organize a piss up at a beer festival.
Cambridge Folk Festival
The annual Cambridge Folk Festival is a highlight of the year for many folk fans and performers throughout the UK. It combines top-rated acts, thought the definition of “folk” is a bit too wide for some, with a laid-back, family-friendly atmosphere.
Cambridge Guided Busway
Cambridge Guided Busway is the longest construction of it’s type in the world. But it’s not much to boast about. It came in way over budget when it was completed in 2011. The original estimate was £116 million, but the real cost was £181 million. It does carry a good number of passengers every day, but it probably wasn’t the best use of the money.
Cambridge News
The best place to find new on Cambridge is in fact, Cambridge News. it’s been published in the city since 1881, and still continues to publish every day of the week except Sunday. The focus of the news is local, and definitely town not gown. It’s circulation is gradually falling, as like most local papers it struggles to keep up with competition from the BBC website, and from social media. The circulation in 2019 was just below 5,800 per day. Most of it’s content is also available from it’s ad-ridden web site here.
The Best Music Venue – The Corn Exchange
The best place for gigs in Cambridge was actually built for a completely different purpose. It’s the Corn Exchange, and was built to give a space where farmers selling their corn could meet with traders and bakers looking to buy corn. The building was opened in 1875, and over a quarter of a million local bricks were used to create it’s ornate gothic appearance. It always doubled up as both a place to trade and a place for concerts. The first concert, by the band of the Coldstream Guards, took place soon after it opened, and ended in a small riot that gave the Corn Exchange world-wide but unwelcome fame. Agricultural trading finally moved away in 1965.
The Corny now puts on a wide range of events, including bands, shows and comedians. Famous name who have played there include The Who, Oasis, David Bowie and Queen. Of course, it does not attract such big names nowadays, but many people prefer it’s compact size to the stadium concerts where you need the video screens to know who you are watching.
Corpus Christi
The main image (Corpus Christi) is by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0