Visiting Cambridge - help please :)

[May09Bump]

The plan is to combine a general look at the universities with a bit of a Christmas break, looking at November 23rd weekend (I think the universities are still in term then?) I know probably limited to what we can see as not an open day. My son's wants to apply for Computer Science (the amount of people applying is mind blowing for these courses), so the main campus we will visit is in the Madeningly Road area.

Please can anyone advise of the best hotels to stay - ideally with parking, park and ride nearby. Also, any must see's in Cambridge, university and generally?
Thanks in advance.

There's a Park and Ride carpark at Madingley Road, which is short walk from where the Comp Sci dept is. I always stay with friends, so no idea about hotels, sorry. Cambridge is pretty and full of architecture and museums, but I suppose it depends whether you're treating this as primarily a tourist trip or a potential student trip? I think you're right that you won't be able to see a lot that is relevant to your son's potential degree. It will still be Cambridge termtime.

Premier Inn and travel lodge if prices are good - jlchoise one of the ones on the outskirts often near a park and ride. Make sure you check parking options if choosing a town centre hotel.

Your focus should be on the potential College NOT the department building. College is where the students live, eat and socialise. Have you done any research on colleges? If not just wandering around the city centre will bring you to many of the older Colleges (newer ones like Fitzwilliam, Selwyn and Churchill are a bit further out) and you can ask to wander around the quads/grounds. You won’t see the rooms though if students are still in residence.

Thanks for this, yes we've done lots of research and will attend the open days to focus on the college side (which I agree with you is so important) - my son has hit a bit of a wall with studying, sometimes it helps if he can visualise what he is aiming for. He's getting downtime - but hoping this may refocus him too. I would also like to visit the city as never been and as PP said lots to see! This visit is aiming to be a more relaxed first introduction to Cambridge.

Term finishes 6th Dec so if you can wait a couple of weeks you might see more.

When I visited with dd we went in the Easter holidays and actually stayed in one of the colleges, most of them will rent rooms out in between terms. It was a nice experience.

It's been about 10 years since we were in Cambridge regularly but we always stayed at either the Premier Inn or the Travelodge in Orchard Park. There was plenty of parking at both. The Park and Ride at Milton is the closest or you can get an ordinary bus into Cambridge from near the hotels. .https://cambridgeparkandride.info/milton.shtml If you scroll down there's a handy map with an overview of the town centre. I agree that looking at the individual colleges could be helpful.

There are Premier Inns and Travel lodges in the centre but I think parking was an issue when I looked at those ones, we stayed in the A14 one on the outskirts, parking was free, great bus service straight into the city. Was on a fairly new housing estate with a small parade of shops with a Tesco and Pizza Hut if you don't want to eat in the hotel.

The North Cambridge Premier Inn has parking and is a short walk from a bus-stop.

Agreed about the department buildings. If your DS tells college porters that he is a prospective applicant they will normally let him look around even if the sign says "closed to visitors."

As for Cambridge itself, what do you both enjoy? Plenty of free museums, nice parks, plus of course historical buildings. It's a great walkable city for pottering around, although the weather can be grim in November, all those winds blowing over the fens.

There is a computer science museum which we had a great rainy day out to. There are lots of consoles through the ages to try and play and other interesting exhibits.

Chilly though so take a coat.

If you like middle-eastern food then "Little Petra" is worth booking ahead for a great value evening meal. It's so good that it's moved to new larger premises from its original tiny building!

I had heard you could stay in the colleges - it's great to hear that it worked your trip and thank you for recommending. I will definitely look at this option now.

I might reconsider the timing - it's a balance of experiencing the normal term time buzz and the possibility of seeing a bit more if not in session.

Ahem. We don’t call them “quads”, that’s the Other Place. They are Courts.

I agree that it’s all about the Colleges and town, there will be very little to see at the faculty but getting an idea of how far away it is from certain colleges is a good idea as it will be a regular “commute”.

Another option is to wait until March when the Festival is on as the department is usually open and you can tour it then and attend talks. There may be other outreach events at different times of year. If you contact the admissions for your area link college they may offer a visit. Bear in mind that Nov is peak admissions season so they are likely to be busy with assessing applications for 2025 entry. I think there is a hotel now on the Eddington development which is probably the nearest but it's probably easier to stay nearer the centre as everything is then walking distance.

Tbh, I think it's better visiting in term time, as it gives you a more accurate idea of what the colleges are like while "working". As said, tell the porters at the front gate that you're a prospective applicant and usually they'll let you look around at least the outside spaces, although some of the more tourist route colleges (Kings, Trinity, John's) might not.

I know not very helpful - but we both love visiting a wide range of places and interests, so totally open to suggestions. Pottering may be the answer!

Thanks for the weather update - will wrap up. I'm originally from the north - so hardy :)

Thanks - this is really helpful!

www.computinghistory.org.uk

The uni also has quite a lot of museums on new museums site.

Arc and anth

maa.cam.ac.uk

The whippe museum of science instruments

www.whipplemuseum.cam.ac.uk

All of these museums are free apart from the Botanic Gardens (which isn't great in November) and the main part of Kettle's Yard. Some do have slightly odd opening days/times so check ahead. I think that the smaller ones (all of them except the Fitzwilliam!) qualify as "hidden gems" although Classical Archaeology is a bit off the beaten track.
https://www.museums.cam.ac.uk/index.php/

Also, not many people know about the non-university-run "Museum of Cambridge" which is a great little local-history-and-crafts place and a reminder that the city is more than the university.
https://www.museumofcambridge.org.uk/

I always stayed at the premier inn or travelodge on Newmarket road and walked along the riverside to the centre. Cambridge is beautiful.
Parking can be a pain, because the city is set up to deter cars! There's a car park under the travelodge, or you can park further out and travel in on the p&r or bus.

I’m blushing in shame as a Light Blue graduate (about 234 years ago) 😉

Don't miss the Museum of Computing History if you've time - basically for pleasure, but should be useful too. Big favourite of mine.

Maybe you could think about staying in a college, which could be interesting. The accommodation has variations but the experience will be quite like it is when you are committed to one. Rooms are mainly singles, the site UniversityRooms will show you if there is anything available. Out of term, there can be quite a bit, with occasional in-term options.

Are you signed up to the parents’ and supporters’ newsletter? That will give you info about, eg, college open days outside of the university open days, subject tasters, etc, which are useful to know about.
https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/parents/parents-newsletter

I second staying in an actual college just outside of term time (also if you need to stay in Cambridge the night before the official open days, so that you can start early). That way you get to experience a few college rooms, have free access to a college, and test out their food… There will be some students still around shortly after the end of term, in any event. Some of the further out colleges closer to the computer science labs even have parking, so you don’t have to park and ride to your accommodation; otherwise coming in on the train is a good idea. Outside of term time, you are likely to be allowed into quite a few colleges to look round, even if officially “closed,” if you say you are a prospective student (definitely not King’s, though), but I really don’t think the porters would be so obliging during term time, for security and privacy reasons. As a result, imvho, you won’t get a particularly good idea during term time what it’s like being a student, only what it’s like to be a non-student locked out of great swathes of central Cambridge and threatened from every direction by bicycles!

Just wandering around Cambridge, visiting museums, eating out, doing general touristy things will give you a feel of it and, most importantly, give you an idea of the geography before the open days, so you don’t waste time trying to work out where to go next. I definitely warmed to Cambridge once I felt I knew my way around a bit, had experienced a few friendly porters, visited a few museums and touristy sites, the botanic gardens, tried punting, etc (before that, I was a bit dubious about its charms and much preferred Oxford). I think this little fold-out map is great for seeing how the centre of the City all fits together, where the one-way systems are, etc, too:

https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/cambridge-a-z-pocket-street-map?variant=40348044558414

Is this for 2026 entry? If so, he may be interested in signing up for a masterclass. https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/events/masterclasses

DD went to one on history or politics before she eventually went on to Oxford. I was quite excited to see Hugh Bonneville sitting in front of me at the parent talk.

and you can ask to wander around the quads/grounds. You won’t see the rooms though if students are still in residence.

Emphasis on ASK or do an organised tourist guided tour. Colleges are people’s homes and workplaces not public spaces for tourists.

If you go outside of term, you can sometimes stay in college rooms on a B&B basis, depending on the time of the academic year and the college. Have a look at the University Rooms website

I’d recommend staying in the Travel Lodge or Premier Inn on Newmarket Rd. Check parking arrangements. I think it’s the Travel Lodge that has the most parking.

There is also a Travel Lodge in the Leisure Park off Hills Rd. I think they have car parking arrangements in the adjacent car park, but you would need to check this. It’s not the prettiest building. It’s very well situated for 3 things though - Central Railway Station, Guided Bus, U Bus routes. The U Bus routes take you around nearly all the University sites. Full fare if you are not staff or students of uni but very useful for getting around.

There are also hotels at Cambridge North railway station with access to guided bus routes into the city and on train to Central Station.

University Library has an exhibition on
https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/
Their last one was fantastic, so this will be worth a visit