PUB WALKS developed by
CAMRA and Ramblers
Colleges and the Backs in Cambridge
Route developer: Keith Rose
Route checker: Graham Fletcher
Start location: Cambridge YHA
Route Summary: This circular walk gives you a tour of some of Cambridge’s most
beautiful buildings, as well as taking you to the picturesque area of the Backs, where
several of Cambridge University’s colleges back onto the River Cam.
Getting there
Cambridge is well supported by the M11 and the A14, A428 and A10 roads.
There is a good Park and Ride scheme which avoids the severe difficulties of
parking within Cambridge. There are also good bus and train connections. The
YHA is close to the rail station. Cambridge has a small regional airport.
Description
[1] Coming out of the Devonshire Road entrance/exit of the YHA, turn right towards Tenison
Road, then right again (North), along Tenison Road in front of the YHA. After only 50m, turn
left along Lyndewode Road. At the end of Lyndewode Road, turn sharp right along Glisson
Road. Take the next left turn and walk along Gresham Road. On your right hand side you
may be able to catch a glimpse down a passage into the University cricket ground, Fenners. At
the end of Gresham Road, cross Gonville Place at the traffic lights onto the large grassed
area, Parker’s Piece (A). Walk across Parker’s Piece, heading for the far left hand corner
next to the University Arms Hotel, with green copper cladding to its corner tower roofs.
Leave Parker’s Piece and turn right onto Regent Street. Regent Street soon becomes St
Andrew’s Street. Pass Emmanuel College (B), then Christ’s College (C) and St Andrew the
Great church and bear left along Sidney Street, passing Marks and Spencers on your right.
[2] Turn left at Holy Trinity Church (D) into Market Street. Take the first right turn along the
pedestrianised Rose Crescent. Turn left into Trinity Street and pass Gonville and Caius
College (E). When Trinity Street opens out into Kings Parade by the Senate House and Great
St Mary’s Church (F), turn right and walk along Senate House Passage with the Senate House
on your left. At the end of this passage, turn right into Trinity Lane, and pass Trinity Hall (G)
on your left. Take the first left turn along Garrett Hostel Lane which leads between Trinity
Hall and Trinity College (H), then across the River Cam to the Backs. There are usually good
views from this bridge of people punting.
[3] Just before reaching Queens Road,
turn left onto a path and walk South,
with a splendid view of King’s College
Chapel (J). Near a set of pedestrian
controlled traffic lights, fork left onto a
footpath across the grass which cuts off a corner
and comes out onto Silver Street. Turn left along
Silver Street and turn left again down Laundress
Lane until you arrive at Mill Lane for the“Mill
pub”. This pub is in a beautiful location next to
the Mill Pond. The bar has a wood-block top with
eight hand pumps, one of which is for cider. The
pub is free of tie and has a preference for locally
brewed beers – BlackBar, Cambridge Moonshine,
Calverley's, Three Blind Mice, Buntingfords and Lord Conrad's make regular appearances.
It also has beers specially brewed at its sister pub, the Cambridge Brew House, by the
Cambridge Brewing Company. The pub serves
fantastic food that is cooked on the premises and
uses locally sourced ingredients wherever possible.
The Mill also has a vintage radiogram which is used
to play vinyl records. Cambridge’s CAMRA Branch
nominated it their LocAle Pub of the year in 2014
and their 2015 Pub of the Year. The pub serves
seven changing guest ales. From the Mill, head
back towards Silver Street and cross the River Cam
and pass Queen’s College (K), and then St
Catherine’s College (L).
[4] At the T junction with Trumpington Street, opposite St Botolph’s Church (N), turn right.
Pass the famous Fitzbillies cake shop (O) on your left, then Pembroke College (P),
Peterhouse College (Q) and the Fitzwilliam Museum (R) and continue ahead to a mini
roundabout where you turn left into Lensfield Road. Notice the monument and water course,
Hobson's Conduit, on your right at this corner. Hobson built this conduit to supply water
to Cambridge in 1614. Pass the large Department of Chemistry and the Scott Polar Research
Institute (S) which has a small museum, then turn right at the Catholic church (T) with its 65m
spire into Hills Road. Take the 4th left turn on Hills Road and walk along Glisson Road. Turn
right onto Lyndewode Road. At the end of Lyndewode Road, turn right along Tenison Road
and return to the start of the walk.
POI information
(A) Parker’s Piece. This 10ha of common land is named after Edward Parker who farmed it and
was a cook at Trinity College who owned the land before 1613. It is now regarded as the
birthplace of the rules of Association
Football. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker%27s_Piece
(B) Emmanuel College. This college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor
of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. Emmanuel has 500 undergraduates and 134
graduates. Alumni include John Harvard who founded Harvard College in the USA,
and Griff Rhys
Jones. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmanuel_College,_Cambridge http://www.e
mma.cam.ac.uk
(C) Christ’s College. This was founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort in 1505, and was the twelfth
of the current colleges to be founded in its current form, though it had been previously founded
as God's House in 1437. Christ's has 420 undergraduates and 170 graduates. John Milton and
Charles Darwin were at
Christ's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ%27s_College,_Cambridge http://www
.christs.cam.ac.uk
(D) Holy Trinity Church. A church has been here since Roman times. One section of the
current building dates back to 1189 and there have been many alterations and extensions to
the building since
then. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Trinity_Church,_Cambridge http://www.h
tcambridge.org.uk
(E) Gonville & Caius College. This is the fourth-oldest college at the University of Cambridge
and one of the wealthiest. There are 475 undergraduates and 230 graduates. Its alumni have
won twelve Nobel Prizes. David Frost and Kenneth Clarke were at this
college. http://www.cai.cam.ac.uk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonville_and_Caiu
s_College,_Cambridge
(F) Great St Mary’s Church. This is the University Church. Previous churches on this site date
back to 1205. There is a modern ring of 13 bells in the key of
D. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_St_Mary_the_Great,_Cambridge http://
www.gsm.cam.ac.uk
(G) Trinity Hall. This, the fifth-oldest college, was founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop
of Norwich. The college has 390 undergraduates and 231 graduates. Samual Pepys, J B
Priestley and Geoffrey Howe studied at Trinity
Hall. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_Hall,_Cambridge http://www.trinhall.ca
m.ac.uk
(H) Trinity College. This college was founded in 1546 by Henry VIII and is now the largest
college with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates. It's alumni include Prince Charles,
Isaac Newton, six Prime Ministers and many Nobel
prizewinners. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_College,_Cambridge http://w
ww.trin.cam.ac.uk
(I)Clare College. The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving
college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its
gardens on "the Backs". The college has 440 undergraduates and 210
graduates. DavidAttenborough studied at
Clare. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clare_College,_Cambridge http://www.clare.c
am.ac.uk
(J) King’s College was founded in 1441 by Henry VI. The famous chapel was built between
1446 and 1544. It is one of the greatest examples of late Gothic English architecture. It has the
world's largest fan-vault, and the chapel's stained-glass windows and wooden chancel screen
are considered some of the finest from their era. The chapel is normally open daily to visitors,
there is a charge. The college has 420 undergraduates and 280 graduates. John Maynard
Keynes, Rupert Brooke, Alan Turing and Salman Rushdie studied at
King's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King's_College,_Cambridge
.cam.ac.uk
http://www.kings
(K) Queen’s College was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou, Henry VI's wife. It has
525 undergraduates and 370 graduates. Stephen Fry was an undergraduate
here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queens'_College,_Cambridge http://www.quee
ns.cam.ac.uk
(L) St Catherine’s College. This college was founded in 1473. It has 436 undergraduates and
165 graduates. Jeremy Paxman was at this
college. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Catharine's_College,_Cambridge https://w
ww.caths.cam.ac.uk
(M) Corpus Christi College was founded in 1352 by Cambridge townspeople. There are 267
undergraduates and 207
graduates. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Christi_College,_Cambridge http:/
/www.corpus.cam.ac.uk
(N) St Botolph’s Church. The Church is dedicated to St Botolph, a seventh century abbot in East
Anglia, who is the patron saint of travellers. Norman and Saxon churches stood on the site
prior to the existing church, which was built in 1350. http://www.stbotolphs.net
(O) Fitzbillies Cake Shop & Restaurant. This cake shop has been selling its ridiculously sticky
Chelsea Buns since 1922. http://www.fitzbillies.com
(P) Pembroke College. Founded in 1347, this is the third oldest college. It has 442
undergraduates and 264 graduates, and was attended by William Pitt the Younger, Ted
Hughes, Peter Cook, Bill Oddie, and Tim BrookeTaylorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pembroke_College,_Cambridge‎ http://www.pe
m.cam.ac.uk
(Q) Peterhouse College. Established in 1284 by the Bishop of Ely, this is the oldest college of
the University. There are 273 undergraduates and 94 graduates. Michael Howard,
Michael Portillo, James Clerk Maxwell, Sir Frank Whittle studied
atPeterhouse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterhouse,_Cambridge http://www.pet.
cam.ac.uk
(R) The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of
Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 with the bequest of the library and art collection
of 7th Viscount FitzWilliam. The museum has five departments: Antiquities; Applied Arts; Coins
and Medals; Manuscripts and Printed Books; and Paintings, Drawings and Prints. Entrance to
the museum is free, but it is closed on
Mondays. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitzwilliam_Museum http://www.fitzmuseu
m.cam.ac.uk/
(S) Scott Polar Research Institute. This is a centre for research into the polar regions and
glaciology worldwide. It was founded in 1920 as the national memorial to Captain Robert
Falcon Scott and his companions. It houses a comprehensive polar Library and Archives, and a
museum which is open Tuesdays to Saturdays, with free
admission. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Polar_Research_Institute http://www
.spri.cam.ac.uk
(T) Our Lady and the English Martyrs, Roman Catholic Church. This large Gothic Revival
church was built between 1885 and
1890. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_and_the_English_Martyrs_Church htt
p://www.olem.org.uk/
Please check individual college websites for details prior to visiting. Admission policies
vary with venue and season.
Notes
Route developed by Keith Rose [email protected]
Acknowledgements
This walk was developed in response to a joint initiative between the Ramblers and the YHA.
For more information about Pubs & Wellbeing please visit:
www.camra.org.uk/pubs-wellbeing
For more information about local routes, please visit:
www.ramblers.com