The River Cam

The vacuous pleasure of being herded into an upturned wardrobe by a posh version of a fairground roustabout and being mugged of a small fortune.
Carried by a narrow channel of rat piss and paupers tears, you can marvel at the institutions of inequality and privilege.
Splendid views of hundreds of other tourists, inspecting each other, some bridges, walls and a duck.

The romantic River Cam is the main river flowing through Cambridge. It winds its way around and through the city and for me it creates an advantage over Oxford. You can take a walk around some of it in the city center and enjoy the peace and the splendid views of the bridges or the colleges or you opt for Punting which although, not cheap, will give you an experience to remember.

Walking around some of the city's open areas beside the River Cam on a lazy sunny day in December is just delightful. You can look around & simply enjoy the beauty of the place.

Take a boat trip - as the river meanders through Cambridge, it passes between some of the most beautiful college buildings and parks.

Or stroll along The Backs, so called because many of the University colleges back up on the riverside walks & landscaped gardens, although be aware the colleges and their gardens are closed at the moment due to Covid. Between Magdalene Street & Silver Street there are many small footbridges & you can stand on them & watch the people on the river.

A very beautiful place.

Cambridge is a beautiful city full of architectural delights that should be seen from land and the river Cam which meanders through the town with enthusiastic students punting and educating the tourists.

Beyond the center, the river Cam offers an opportunity for a peaceful walk to the small traditional English village of Grantchester made famous by TV series of the same name. (The filming lights surrounding the church this week indicate another the series will be back on our screens again.)

It’s a easy 2-3 miles walk to Grantchester depending on the path you take and there are plenty of opportunities to pick blackberries and you will see locals enjoying boating on the river and picnicking beside the Willows.

An enjoyable walk.

Lots of activity on the river as you walk around. Also passes the main shopping areas. Lots of old building coupled with pubs and restaurants nearby. Shame most best water front locations are occupied by restaurant chains (Prezzo, Iguanas etc)

After being hassled endlessly by students dressed in stereotypical "punting" outfits, we decided to walk through the town following the river as much as we could. Yes some parts are inaccessible but exploring the streets and alleys to try and meet up with the river again was half the fun of exploring this beautiful city. Made it to the other end and stumbled across a green space filled with grazing cows and people having picnics in the summer sun. Amazingly, each was not bothered by the other.

This river that runs through the city is just beautiful. A pedestrian path has been designed to walk along small pontoons. We also saw the typical boats sailing along the water and canoes. The place is beautiful for walking and taking pictures. Unfortunately we did not have the chance to do the boat trip because the money did not allow it. But I strongly advise the person who have the time and money to do it because it is a perfect activity to do as a lover or family.

You simply have to do this if you visit this wonderful city. The leisurely meander along the river Cam with a knowledgeable guide is so relaxing and you get great views of the old ‘backs’ of several colleges. One thing which surprised me was the amount of hen parties which enjoy these. It helps when there’s a bar punt selling Prosecco too! Didn’t see any stag parties and they don’t get too many. It’s roughly 45/50 minutes and we’ll worth doing.

The back views of the universities arenot accessible on foot by the river so the only way to view them is by boat. It’s a lovely way to see the buildings and with a guide you get a bit of the history and some local knowledge. It’s a beautiful river and worth getting a boat to go along it. Does get quite busy at peak times.

We had a lovely experience along the river. We arrived in Cambridge and walked up to the Quayside area near Las Iguanas. There are lots of punting companies and we chose one. The punting started from their station near the Jesus Green Tennis courts.

Our guide told us all about the colleges and the history of the river and it being used as the transport highway in days of yore. It’s really beautiful. We learned lots about the bridge of sighs and the mathematical bridge and so on.

Punting is the way to see the river as the colleges own the land on both sides so access is limited. You can walk from the quayside area along the river out past the park for a while but be careful. Some cyclists don’t dismount when they’re supposed to and some cycle past like they’re in a race. Very disconcerting with children milling about.