Walking Around, Cambridge

When I was in Cambridge, I saw tourist buses but from my own experience, I think that one can just get around almost everywhere by foot. There does not even need to be a to-do list when walking around in town. Even if shopping is not your thing, do pop into some shops while you walk through the town. I was pleasantly surprised to find quirky products and other awesome inventions in shops which looked "normal" from the outside. The prices of some goods are indeed at the higher end but it might be a good idea to support the limited selection of quality products of local designers. It was a plus that there was no pressure from the staff to buy anything. You can take your time to browse through or just window-shop for free. Great alternative to kill time indoors when the weather is bad.

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One of the best "things to do" at Cambridge is simply walking around the different colleges.
I suggest you begin at the Round Church on Bridge Street, as from here you can embark on a stroll south along the most famous colleges. The Round Church is the second oldest building in Cambridge; dating back to 1130 when the Normans settled here from France.
Just south of the Round Church is Sidney Sussex College, where Oliver Cromwell's head is said to be buried about two blocks from the Magic Joke Shop on Bridge Street.
The rest of this walking tour proceeds south on St. John's Street. Note that this street will change names twice as you pass Trinity College and King's College before becoming Trumpington Street in front of Pembroke College.
When you approach a college, you will see a person wearing purple standing at the entrance gate. The purple people are porters; trolls who seek tolls from tourists. When they ask you "Are you a member of the college?" the secret password is "Yes" as long as you are dressed like a preppy student or look like a professor. I wore a striped Izod shirt and khaki slacks on the day of my walk in anticipation of having a gauntlet of portentous porters inquire about my membership status.
Highlights of the tour include the Bridge of Sighs at St. John's and the Mathematical Bridge at Queen's College. Each time you infiltrate past a porter you will want to see how far west you can go toward "The Backs" in order to see more of the magnificent architecture. For example, the King's College Chapel is best seen from behind.
You can end your tour with a right turn at Mill Lane and a meal at Dojo Noodle Bar or continue south to Fitzwilliam Museum on Trumpington Street.

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One can easily spend a pleasant afternoon simply strolling about this old university town, with no particular place to go. Cambridge is a lovely town, and quite safe.

When I visited in 1995, Amnesty International was protesting the conditions and human rights abuses in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), under its brutal military regime. But protests tend to be somewhat more restrained than in many American university towns.

In July 2005, I was pushed round a good selection of Cambridge colleges.

My dad says I should be ready in about 17 years time. He did however also add that I often make more sense than most of the dons do already.

A wander around a few of the colleges in term time is one of the greatest joys of visiting Cambridge.

Some of the more interesting features are mentioned in other must-see tips. You cannot miss on any account miss seeing King's College Chapel, one of the great wonders of the architectural world. Unfortunately this will set you back over four quid a head.

Nearly all colleges allow public access to the quads (courtyards) and their chapels. Some will charge a pound or two, others are free. Some charge in the summer only (after Easter) some all year. Notices to close access whenever a porter feels like it appear when you least expect it, but then again he might have a bit of a chat with you and give you a unique insight into college life.

There is no rhyme or reason to this, no pattern or centralised information : you will just have to take pot luck.

An part of Cambridge so called because the River Cam flowing behind the university colleges is...um...at the back.Nice for a walk any time of year admiring the colleges you are not smart enough to enter as a student.The little bridges will take you across the narrow river for a nice look at the college buildings.

There are a series of formal and semi-formal gardens along the length of the River Cam at the back of many of the main colleges.

As they are, in effect, the back-yards of the colleges they are commonly referred to as 'The backs'.

They are a wonderful place to wander, but public entry is restricted. Some sections are for college residents only, sections are divided up and connecting gates open and close on the whims of college authorities.

A 'connected' walk is therefore somewhat difficult, but nowhere else in Cambridge will you get a sense of the true 'gown' side of the town. Oxford may have it's dreaming spires but it's the backs that makes Cambridge special, and superior.

I have the privilege to live so close to this city and be able to visit it whenever I wish.

I love going there for shopping, as there are so many passages with lovely small shops . I can spend hours in the big Heffers bookshop, which is just a bit further walk from what you see in this picture.

Shopping combined with walking around these wonderful buildings. Enjoying being in the middle of the mixed crowd.

If you start at Magdalene Street, you can walk along the river for quite a distance. The walk is lovely on a sunny day with geese, swans, ducks and moor hens paddling about in the water. Weeping willows and swaths of daffodils are particularly nice in the spring.

We walked along Jesus Green to the lock and found a bench to sit on for our 'midmorning snack'.

Germaine Greer spent part of her student days accommodated here and the building you see in the picture dates back several centuries; now home to a restaurant,a school and a hairdresser.