Things to do in Cambridge with 3 year old

[Treacle2014]

I’m going to be travelling to Cambridge this month for a few days, staying at a hotel on the A14 just north of the city. I will have a 3 year old with me and am trying to find something for us to do in the afternoons. I would really appreciate any tips for places to visit around the area! Anything like visiting like an animal farm, bowling, soft play areas, outdoor parks etc

Wimpole Hall, Anglesey Abbey, the Cambridge museums - esp Zoology and Fitzwilliam, Duxford Imperial War Museum, Shepreth zoo, Wicken Fen

The Botanic gardens are lovely with lots of interesting stuff for kids!

If it’s a sunny day try the outdoor lido at Jesus green or the many free splash parks (one at Coleridge park) or Lammas land.

Milton country park is also lovely and close to A14 so no need to go into Cambridge city itself.

Lamma Land might be best if you can get there. They have a car park and it's a lovely big park with climbing frames and paddling pool, ducks to look at. You can walk to the river or the outdoor swimming pool. There is a cafe in the main park and public toilets, so it's just a very nice place to hang about and do not very much. The public swimming pool is called Sheeps Green pool and has its own website. From lammas land you can walk to the city centre pretty easily if you walk up the river.

It's on the opposite side of the city from you so you'd need to have a car to get there.

If you want something really close by the Histon recreation ground is probably your closest park. It's a nice place. There is also a scotsdales garden centre very near to where you will be.

Histon has a public library if you are looking for reading books.

In the city centre there are a lot of churches which are quite good for toddling around, for very tiny people. The round church and Great St Mary's are particularly good for both touristing adults and toddling tiny people.

Look at summer at the museums for activities at the University museums and Botanic Gardens.
There is a learner pool and splash pad at kings hedges (north Cambridge) and an outdoor paddling pool and play area at Lammas land near Newnham.
Wimpole Hall (NT) has a farm.

Thank you so much everyone for the suggestions! We will check out some of them out 🥰 thank you x

The science centre is good - lots of hands on experiments that are suitable for a toddler with adult help eg launching paper planes, putting giant cogs and gears together, testing paper seed pods in a wind tunnel. It’s in the science park out of town near Milton country park so you could spend a day there. There is a nice cafe in the park and at the science centre.

Check out the university museums (all the museums mentioned so far are university museums) website for kid’s events.

Things that haven’t been mentioned so far:

The technology museum (an old pumping station) is quite good for toddlers. Giant machinery, lots of mention of poo, and a cuddly rat trail hidden around the museum 😂 There is a great wood fired pizza place in the garden overlooking the river.

The leisure park near the station has bowling, an IMAX, theatre and climbing wall (I think they do toddler sessions).

The dinky doors trail is quite fun to do, little fairy doors all over the city.

Thank you, that’s so helpful! :) x

You’re near Fen Drayton lakes, it’s great to walk around or for a picnic. St Ives is a great place to feed the ducks too, there’s a knicknack shop that sells duck food near the old bridge and Toms cakes is just a little walk away for an afternoon treat.

If they're into dinosaurs the Sedgwick museum has a few good skeletons and is opposite the Zoology one, we usually combine the two.

The tiny Norris Museum in St Ives is very kid friendly too. Lots of hands on exhibits. They also hold the keys for Holt Island nature reserve that you can borrow to let yourself in.

If you are on the A14 near Fen Drayton, there is a soft play in Fenstanton at the holiday park, although I have never been.

ETA look out for the black squirrels! I have seen them at Fen Drayton and the services on the A14.