Punts, poets & nudity
Cambridge
Route by IAIN SHAW
A great way to see and experience the city of Cambridge.
Location: cambridge, England
Total distance: 8 miles
Above distance (hike, run): 5 miles
Below distance (swim): 2 miles
A (start): cambridge station
B (finish): cambridge station
Duration: Day trip
Difficulty: easy
Before you set off, please read our safety guide and blog post on the risks of biosecurity. And here is our recommended kit list.
description
Arriving at Cambridge train station walk down to the bottom of station road where you then have the option of taking the perfect scenic walk through the University Botanical Gardens www.botanic.cam.ac.uk The Botanical Gardens are stunning at any time of year.
The alternative is to take either Brooklands Avenue or Bateman Street both of which run parallel to the Botanical Gardens.
The southern exit/entrance of the Botanical Gardens, Brooklands Avenue & Bateman Street will bring you out at Trumpington Road head directly across the road & take one of the well-marked footpaths where you follow the fast flowing Vicars Brook on your left as you head towards Hodson’s Folly & Lammas Land.
Hodson’s Folly includes the Temple of Venus and is where the Victorians learnt to swim in Cambridge. Take the bridge over the river & then follow the river through Paradise Nature Reserve which brings you out on to Grantchester Meadows Lane in Newnham.
Follow Grantchester Meadows Lane, the road eventually turns to a gravel path. On your left is Skaters Meadow & you will see a somewhat strange ‘lamppost’ in the middle of the field. This is actually an old gas lamp and is where the Victorians skated on the flooded meadow. The gravel path leads you through to Grantchester Meadows where you can either take the tarmac footpath or walk along the river.
Where the road meets the gravel there is a new house on the left & you’ll also see a path that leads down to the Newnham River Club
As you reach Grantchester you’ll see a gate on the right which takes you through to the Red Lion pub which has a large carpark.
This is the best place to start the swim. There’s very easy access at this part of the river & if you’ve followed the river path you will literally swim back, downstream, & retrace your route.
It’s approximately a three mile walk from Cambridge Station to Grantchester.
If you swim back along the meadows you will reach ‘Dead Mans’ corner or ‘Otters Corner’ this is where the river turns ninety degrees & after two hundred meters you reach the steps of the Newnham River Club, the ‘back door’ or ‘tradesman’s entrance’ It’s a 2k swim from Grantchester to the Newnham River Club.
If you’ve packed provisions by using the RuckRaft the lawns of the Newnham River Club is a lovely place for a flask of tea & a slice of cake.
If you’re feeling intrepid then you can continue to swim downstream another kilometre which will take you past & through the river access gardens of Grantchester Meadows Lane Newnham before opening out into the Paradise Nature Reserve. The logical end to the swim is The Temple of Venus at Hodson’s Folly. The Victorians crafted sunken steps & ledges all along the Folly area making for a very easy exit & a lovely green space to recover. This is idyllic countryside & you might not realise this is also central Cambridge and you’re less than a mile from Cambridge Station
Food and beer
If you haven’t visited Cambridge in the last ten years you’ll find the City has changed, the station is good example, & all for the better. This is especially true with regards to the food scene with high quality local artisan options available throughout Cambridge.
While the area around the station has the usual M&S, Sainsbury’s local & Pret a Manger etc head to the bottom of Station Road where you’ll find the Norfolk Street Bakery norfolkstbakery.co.uk/our-shops if you turn right at the end of Station Road onto Hills Road you’ll find The Cambridge Oven thecambridgeoven.co.uk & my personal favourite Maison Clement www.facebook.com/MaisonClementUK both within two hundred meters.
Maison Clement also has a bakery in Derby Street Newnham
Grantchester is of course famous for the cream teas at the Orchard Tea Rooms www.theorchardteagarden.co.uk there is also the Red Lion pub & the Rupert Brooke pub however if you have all day then the Blue Ball Inn www.blueballgrantchester.co.uk is unmissable.
If you finish the swim & need to head back to the station then there’s always time for a pint at The Old Ticket Office www.oldticketoffice.com which as the name suggests is at the station…
your guide
Want to give this route a go, but not ready to go it alone? Send us an email to hello@abovebelow.sc and we can put you in touch with a local guide to accompany you.
All our local guides are qualified lifeguards or swimguides with first-hand experience of the route.