England- Cambridge
 

will be spending a few days in cambridge england in late april or early may.

Looking for ideas on things to do, to see, places to stay, etc.

not too much walking if possibly

thanks

Hi Joanel, from memory there is rather a lot of walking in Cambridge because the town centre is a huge pedestrian mall. Another alternative might be bicycle. The colleges are a must-see. I think King's is the one that attracts a lot of visitors, as does Trinity. There are tours you can do but they are walking tours!
Good luck!

The Fitzwilliam museum is very good - international quality collection, but quite compact, so feet shouldn't get too tired :-

http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/

Kettles Yard for modern art:-

http://www.kettlesyard.co.uk/

This site has a guide to the various colleges:-

http://www.visitcambridge.org/index.php

The 'Backs' of the riverside colleges makes a nice walk, if you are up to it, and there are various self-contained college gardens and botanic gardens if not.

Try and visit Kings College Chapel, it's only open at certain times but free to enter. We were there on a Sunday morning and heard the choir singing. The sun shining through the stained glass and the whole atmosphere of the massive church was amazing.

There are lots of nice shops for browsing, also a small market in the centre of town. You can go punting on the river too, either punt yourself or just sit and enjoy the scenery while someone else does the work.

They are quite strict with visitors at the colleges, there will be a sign outside each college if no entry is allowed. At other times, you can pay a small fee and enter which is worthwhile, just to see a bit inside. You are not allowed to roam freely though.

Cambridge is lovely. The guided walking tours that leave from the visitors centre are good, though I know you said not too much walking. As there are no cars in the centre (just bikes so watch out) you can't do a bus tour right in the centre. Maybe you could do half the walking tour?

Kay

We were in Cambridge last year-the pedestrian area is quite large--we took a bus from the train station to as close as we could get to the colleges and walked from there.

We paid separate fees to get into each college and they start to add up after awhile--some you can peek in and see the quad without paying. We paid to get into Kings to see the chapel (worth it) but I would guess/hope on Sunday a service would be free. The Fitzwilliam in excellent and compact.

On a pretty day, it's a very good day out and for stays of longer than a day there seemed to be many concerts, etc. open to the public. Don't think I would have wanted to spend more time there but it's pleasant.

King's - and St John's - college chapels are free to enter for Evensong most days of the week in term time, and for sung Eucharist on Sundays. I THINK the general public can see other college chapels only during visitor admission times - and need to pay.

Outside services, you need to pay to enter King's to see the inside of its chapel. Opening times for King's - like all Oxbridge colleges - are limited: usually about 10-3 on term weekdays, but check each individual college's website.

Which said, if I had walking difficulties, I wouldn't necessarily choose Cambridge to stay a few days in. It can be got round in a wheelchair (Stephen Hawking does alright), but practically nothing is accessible by car. Cambridge, the city, isn't a desperately good base to explore the area, because you have to go through the hassle of driving in and out of a town that really isn't car friendly.

The official website offers quite a bit, though mostly walking tours. I did see a punting tour, which sounded like tons of fun.

There is also an official bus trip to Ely which sounds great. I read about it and it runs regularly and is inexpensive.

How limited are you? If you really can't walk very far - then Cambridge might need a re-think. It is very pedestrian friendly, but otherwise can be a real pain. Stephen Hawking aside (he has attendants and a motorized chair) - if walking is difficult it isn't an easy place to explore.

If you must go to Cambridge, and if walking is difficult - I'd look into renting a wheel chair.

must go there. visiting family who are temporarily located there.

who is stephen hawking. and where does one rent a wheel chair?

notice the garden and museum may have them to borrow.

http://www.hawking.org.uk/home/hindex.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/s..._universe.html

Depends if you want to hire a wheelchair for your entire trip or Cambridge only. If Cambridge, I would ask the family you are visiting to inquire at local medical supply stores. If for entire trip, choose an easy pick up and drop-off point.

Stephen Hawking, a Cambridge research fellow, wrote "A Brief History of Time." He is almost totally incapacitated by motor neuron disease but continues to think and write.