jers52

My 82 yr young mom and I will be coming back into Stansted about 4 PM and she has her heart set on seeing Cambridge. We know much will be closed - after hauling ourselves out there and must be at Gatwick for a late AM flight. Any thoughts?

thanks,
JERS52

jers52

forgive me - I omitted that we got great rates Ryanair so flying from Philly into Gatwick the 1st - staying in London going from Stanstead to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia for almost 3 weeks then returning to Stanstead - and the 'heart's desire' to see Cambridge. We were planning on a theater night the first London night since the flights worked out ... any help would be appreciated!
JERS52

indytravel

It's a 30 minute train ride on an express from Stansted Airport to Cambridge. I did the reverse a couple of years ago.

At the Cambridge train station you just might make the last lap of the hop-on/hop-off bus right outside the Cambridge train station. It'll depend upon the time of year. The last tour much of the year is at 4:00pm, but in the summer months it's as late as 6:00pm.

www.city-sightseeing.com

It takes an hour to make a "lap" and you'd see much of the city albeit from a bus.

rex

I see that you are new here - - how did I know that? click on your own name (this is one of the numerous useful tips that Fodors fails to tell you when they send you that first e-mail confirming your registration) - - we'll assume that you have also not taken the time to read the "HELP" (little tiny red letters in the upper lefthand corner) - - another oversight that Fodors fails to recommend to you to do.

Anyhow, you owe it to yourself to take a look there: http://www.fodors.com/forums/faqs.cfm - - especially http://www.fodors.com/forums/faqs.cfm#Q6 - - which I have listed below, in excerpt form, for you (my own emphasis added):

=========================

Finally, create a title - make sure it is concise and clearly describes your message (<b>and destination</b>, if applicable) -- and write your message in the space provided

==========================

Thus, when you re-post - - and you really <b>should</b> do that (even though you have a helpful answer from indytravel) - - be sure and mention <b>Cambridge</b> in your message header.

Best wishes,

Rex

flanneruk

You don't need a bus tour to see Cambridge, and there are swathes of the city that don't really close anyway. Arriving at 1700, you can still see the outside of places like King's, though it's very unlikely you'll be able to get inside any of the colleges that late.
Even if you're there at a time of year when it's dark by 1700, nightime central Cambridge is pretty compact and can be very atmospheric.Hop-on buses can't take you where your own feet can

BUT, Cambridge-Gatwick is a 4 hour direct coach ride, or about 2.5hrs by train changing at Kings Cross/Kings Cross Thameslink. You won't have time to do anything more than an early-morning riverside stroll the following morning.

janis

jers52. Do I understand it correctly -- you are flying into London, staying one night before flying out of Stansted, then back into Stansted 3 weeks later, one more night in London before flying out of LGW?

If so I would do this entirely differently. As flanneruk says - the trip from Stansted to LGW is long and you would have to leave at the crack of dawn to be at LGW 2 hours before your flight home.

I would go to Cambridge the first day/night. Most Stateside flights into LGW land either morning or early afternoon. This would give you enough time to get to Cambridge and see a bit of the city.

Then on your return into the UK stay in London - preferably near Victoria station so you would be close to the Gatwick Express. This would give you time to see a show, do a bit of sightseeing and only be 30 minutes from LGW by train.