g29

Hi,

Thanks for the feedback from all of you for my other thread. After time and cost considerations we have decided to go for a three day trip to Cambride. York and Edinbourgh were very tempting alternative, which hopefully will be visited in the near future.

Day 3I start with Day , beacuse the Shakespeare festival starts on 7th July in Cambridge and we want to see a play.)

We plan to go for one of the walking tours, then visit the colleges and then do one or two more things depending on how we feel about it at that time. At 7 we are booked to see As you Like it.

A few questions:

There are two punting tours on offer. One is the college tour and the other is the tour that takes you to Grantchester. Should one do both tours...or if one is visiting the colleges then just taking a picnic to Grantchester a better idea?

Day 1 and Day 2

There are four places that I have read about which are easliy accessible from Cambridge and less than half an hour. If one could then I would ideally want to do all four : St Edmund's Bury, Lavenham, Ely and Peterborough.

However after visiting their websites and reading the comments of other people on this forum, it seems it may be a stretch, given the fact that we would be depending on public transport.

Is it possible to visit all four? I find the cathedrals at ELy and St Edmunds Bury very interesting, Burghley house too looks great, then Lavenham houses and streets look extremely interesting too.

I would really appreciate if some of you could suggest what would be most feasible for us to see in these three days.

Thanks

g29

Sorry the frowning emoticon was not supposed to be there...i wanted to put the : sign...by mistake it seems I added the ) too. Don't know how to edit it, once it has been posted.

Cyberia

The Duxford aviation museum is just off the motorway outside Cambridge.

Heimdall

Ely, Bury St Edmunds and Peterborough can all be reached by public transport from Cambridge, but getting from one to another without going back to Cambridge may not be easy. I don't see how you could do more than two in a day, and even that would be difficult.

What I would recommend is to rent a car and drive to Bury St Edmunds and Lavenham. The two are near to each other, and could be done together in one day. You could even drive through Ely on the way back from Bury, but that would be too much in one day, IMO.

Ely is near Cambridge, and can be accessed by bus or train - likewise Peterborough, but both in one day?

g29

Thanks Cyberia. I am sure my husband would be interested in the aviation museum. We will look at it in greater details.

Heimdall, we always knew it was going to be too much for two days. That is why wanted to know from people who have been to Lavenham, Bury St Edmunds, Ely and Peterbrough that if we had to choose two, which two should we choose.

Also sorry about the Bury St Edmunds mix up...I don't know why I keep saying St Edmunds Bury.


Any recommendations on the punting tour?

Thanks for all the help...

flanneruk

For some purposes, the town most of all call Bury St Edmunds most of the time IS actually called St Edmundsbury. The local council is called St Edmundsbury and the Anglican diocese it's the centre of is called the Diocese of St Edmundsbury, so its central church is called St Edmundsbury cathedral.

I really don't know whether this is historical or just - like the relatively recent elevation of the town's parish church into the grand status of a cathedral - an early 20th century piece of pretentiousness.

Heimdall

Flanner is correct. I live between Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds, so know the area well. You may be interested in the origin of the name: http://tinyurl.com/rb26y

For punting, you could have a go yourself, but remember to twist the pole when pulling it out, and be careful while going under bridges. For a punting tour, I think I would opt for Grantchester and the picnic. It is easy to walk along the river at the backs of the colleges, so a punting tour of that area isn't necessary.

For one day out, Duxford is wonderful, but if you want to see some English history, then either a day in Ely by train or bus, or a day in Bury St Edmunds and Lavenham by rental car.

Heimdall

And if you go to Lavenham, have afternoon tea in the Swan. While there, look in the bar, where signatures and insignia of WWII airmen have been preserved.

Heimdall

http://www.theswanatlavenham.co.uk/

SandyBrit

g29

I think it depends on how early a start you get as to what you plan to do. Ely cathedral opens at 7:00 am in the summer. www.elycathedral.org for more details - 15 minutes from Cambridge on the train.

Duxford is wonderful and again we took a full day but we move around at a fairly slow pace. I do think there is a bus connection from Cambridge.

Where are you staying?

Sandy

g29

Thanks for all your replies.

Flanner and Heimdall the story about St Edmunds is really interesting. Thanks for the link Heimdall...I found it very interesting. I will hopefully be able to read up more on the history of England once I am done with my compulsory reading (I am taking my exams right now!). I have found out about an extremely interesting book on London (it's written by a historian), however don't know of any which covers other regions. If you people may happen to know, I will really appreciate recommendations.

We too were inclined towards trip to Grantchester...thanks for confirming it Heimdall.

Hopefully we would be able to take the afternoon tea at Swan on our trip to Lavenham. It would be my first experience of an afternoon tea in UK. The Sunday brunch looks great too, but we will have to give it a miss this time.

Sandy the fact that the Ely cathedral opens that early is a huge plus. We can at least start our day early...and then decide if we have the capacity or the inclination to go on to Peterbrough or not. Thanks for the information.

Haven't yet spoken to my husband about Duxford...don't know if it's a wise idea...it may actually further complicate our priorities .

We are going to stay in a B&B in Cambridge. It's called The Tudor Guest House. The lady who runs the place seems to be great and extremely accommodating. Do any of you have an experience of staying there?

Heimdall

Duxford is interesting, especially for aviation buffs. I have been there many times, and never tire of seeing the old airplanes. Most days, even when there isn't an air show, a few WWII era planes will be doing circuits. From there the aerial scenes in the film "Memphis Belle" were staged.

I have to say, though, Duxford would require a full day. Exhibits are spread out among the old hangars along the runway (Duxford was a wartime fighter base). The new American Museum is furthest from the entrance, and has everything from WWII planes to an SR-71 Blackbird.

SandyBrit

g29

Do you know about looking at reviews for lodging on www.tripadvisor.com?

Usually the owner or whoever is running your B&B will have good information on the local area. You could ring her ahead of time for additional information and if she doesn't know may be willing to find out for you.

It would be helpful to this board if you would be kind enough to post back how your 3 day trip works out - especially the part on public transport.

Sandy

Marz

I'm not sure what attracts you to Peterborough, the only thing I can think of is perhaps the Cathedral ?

Burghley House is accessible via train from Cambridge to Stamford (passing via Peterborough).

It is a nice walk from the train station if you are so inclined, otherwise a taxi will take you there.

g29

Thanks again for your replies...

Heimdal I spoke to my husband about Duxford and we have agreed to do a separate day trip from London some other time.

Sandy I have looked at the trip advisor reviews. They seem to be mixed...a few good and a few bad. However we got this place at a decent rate (65 pounds/night), and the lady who runs the place sounds really good, so we decided to go with it.

I will definitely try and post some form of a trip report, though I will acknowledge I am not too great with it. I am still living with the guilt of not posting on another trip, for which this forum was a great help. A lot of things happened...but still I should have...I do have a half typed trip report...which one day I hope to finish.

Marz, Burghley house is the main attraction...and not Peterborough...but I had read that the town of Peterborough is not bad...and the walk from there to Burghley house is a nice walk...so just wanted to do that. However if we are running short on time then we may just go directly to Stamford.

rogeruktm

I was staying in Ely and took the train to Cambridge to visit Duxord and the museum. Only a 20 minute train ride. Just out side of the station you can take a bus, 50 minutes, to Duxford and the aviation museum. Another thought is to take the 9:12 train from Cambridge to Ely, spend a couple of hours and the the 11:52 train to Peterborough arriving at 12:24. You will have time for lunch, a bit of a visit, then the 3:18 train back to Cambridge going a different route, changing trains at Hitchin, and back in Cambridge by 4:54.

g29

Thanks rogeruktm. That gets me thinking...

Is there a cheap way of buying tickets...are there 3 day passes or something similar for a particular area? If we take a train ticket to Cambridge, where can I find out about the route that the train takes...can I stop at one of the places that we plan to visit and then get to Cambridge later in the day? What is the best website for booking cheap tickets? Should we book the tickets right away...or are there last minute offers?

I am sorry...I haven't checked for this information on the forum...can I please use the excuse of the large looming exam...and the fact that I am going to write one after eight years.

We have Saturday/ Sunday and Monday in the area. We plan to be in Cambridge on Monday. Between Ely and maybe Peterborough (on one day) and Edumnds St Bury +Lavenham (on another), does it make a difference in terms crowds, atmosphere etc if we do either of the combination on a Saturday/Sunday?

Heimdall

Saturdays are busy with shoppers in market towns like Bury St Edmunds, but also lots of fun. The street market in Bury is on Wed & Sat, something you may enjoy seeing.

rogeruktm

The only problem on Sundays is fewer trains run. In regard to cost and places.. You really need to check two web sites and see what works best for you. One problem is the fact that there is no one train company and different ones could be needed, so first check out "National rail Enquiries". Complete the planner with dates and time. Be sure to indicate a same day (date) return for your day trip. They will show different options and cost. Another site is a particular train company. In this case get into "National Express East Angica" and do the same, perhaps allowing for a special pass. One other option that I don't think will work, but worth the time, is the cost of an England only 4 day rail pass. The up side of this pass is that you can board any train at any time, but for short distances is could provr too costly. You can just type in Brit Rail Passes and then choose one. I use Rick Steves, but they are mostly the same. Let me know how your search pans out.
Roger

flanneruk

"where can I find out about the route that the train takes"

Go to www.nationalrail.co.uk. INput your proposed journey. When the results screen comes up, scroll down to "journey details".

Press "see all stations called at on this leg" opposite "calling points".

"can I stop at one of the places that we plan to visit and then get to Cambridge later in the day?"
ON most cheap tickets, officially no. Conditions differ between tickets: see those shown on the National Rail site for thge deal you've bought.