Cause and effect
Cambridge websites
Things to do in cambridge
I live in Cambridge England and have done since I was five years old, I went to school here, I have worked here and I cycle everywhere, (Gas guzzling 4 by 4s are no advantage here) Cambridge is my town and the nearest thing to home that I can imagine. I have seen the many changes, some good some bad that have shaped this city over the years. I have lived away from Cambridge for many years too, but somehow always find that I am drawn back here. A rather crude analogy would be that Cambridge is like a railway station, with hundreds of people passing through on their way to far away places and you can sit and watch them, get to know them and share with them - safe in the knowledge that there will be another train load due into the station on the 4.30 from Kings cross. So you see there is no rush to catch the 5 o clock train out of here!
Most picturesque town
Chariots of Fire (1981) was filmed in Cambridge but surely if there were a drama set in heaven, I cannot think of a more idyllic setting than Cambridge. Basically Cambridge is a small city set in the most lush of great and pleasant pastures. A financially rich city, it can afford to spend good money on its upkeep and to a great extent stop developers from ruining the place.
There are no perfect towns in the world, but Lets face it, Cambridge should at the very Least, be up there with the "near perfect" if there were such a competition. Most of us would say that about our home town wouldn’t we!, but how many can make claim of knowing a number of foreigners who upon making Cambridge their home declare that it is their spiritual home, and that they have found the place where they at last feel the most happy and free. I met a French girl at a house party some years ago, who declared that in Paris she died every day, and that now in Cambridge she was once more alive! I love the French passion! Or where a night out at the local cinema can lead to a photo opportunity in the high street with Stephen Hawking!
City centre of Cambridge
Visitors rarely venture out of the centre and that’s not born of fear of some unknown species of local predatory animal lurking around but simply that a day trip or a weekend snap visit is just not enough time to see anything other than the historic gem laden centre of the city. Spread out like a finely served pancake Cambridge with numerous parks really does require the use of a bicycle if you are to see more in a short time.
Cambridge city centre is pretty self-explanatory and well documented in most guidebooks. The idea for this website is to take the Tourist to the many interesting places just outside of the city centre and glance at Cambridge from a locals perspective. I will not touch the University, and the colleges and only scrape at the edges of the city and instead try to reveal the places where Cambridge people go about their business, drink their coffees and down their beer. Rather than to attempt to list every pub, every coffee shop and every possible activity, (not humanly possible) I hope to be able to suggest a few “musts” , and the best places to visit, ones that the casual visitor might take too long to discover on their own. A picture speaks a thousand words so wherever possible I will illustrate a location with a photo. I am not a professional photographer and it tells, so please bare with me whilst over the months I update the photos with hopefully better ones. All the photos were taken during the winter months, I was lucky to have one sunny day, but this being England I don’t know if nor when there will be another one till the charms of spring befall us.
Internet in Cambridge
I thought I would mention on the homepage where to find Internet cafes in Cambridge. A bit like tourists themselves I have found that they do seem to come and go. As I speak there are only a handful. There used to be a popular but cramped and run down Internet call centre behind the Guildhall on the market but sadly no more. The central library has been out of action for a few years now due to major re-development of the Lion Yard shopping centre in the heart of the city and we are just waiting for it to re-open as it had dozens of computers for use. Most of the StarBucks and Caffè Neros have Internet hot spots where on opening an account and paying a fee you can access the Internet. Just out of the centre are located others. My favourite is at the top of Norfolk street, situated in a row of shops and coffee shops and well located for access to Mill Rd and the Grafton centre. In the same row of shops there is a very nice restaurant/coffee shop/music venue called CB2. Upstairs they have if I remember correctly 4 computers. What's on musically there can be checked out on a website called Acoustic Routes (see resource page) Their sister coffee shop called CB1 is on Mill rd - completely different in character - by the way. The ground floor is a coffee shop lined with books for sale and downstairs rows of user hungry computers await. On Mill rd itself there are three or four others at various intervals right along the street and the other side of Mill rd bridge too. There is another that seems to have been around long enough to mention. If coming from the railway station you take the station rd to town, and on Hills Rd, on the left before the Catholic church you will find it.
Cambridge crime
Is Cambridge a safe city? Interesting question! Is anywhere safe these days? There has always been a conflict particular to Cambridge and Oxford called Town and gowna term coined to highlight the tensions that exist between a university that dominates the city and a people that actually live and work in it. Growing up I remember feeling this tension, and getting my first job as a waiter in one of the colleges compounded this feeling of them versus us. Although this contrast of lifestyles might have been responsible for increased nightlime tension I do believe that Cambridge has changed so radically in recent years that town and gown is now a thing of the past. Certainly Cambridge does feel safe, but like anywhere I don't recommend walking alone at night across the large and badly lit parks that surround the city. The city centre now is pretty well covered by CCTV cameras which obviously go some way to improving a feeling of safety.
Safe as houses
I have just looked up the crime stats for Cambridge. Theft of a motor vehicle offences is below the national average and Burglary dwelling offences is 6.7 against a national average of 4.3 for a Cambridge population of 117,913. It's always good to know where your local police station is. In Cambridge its pretty centrally located on Parker's piece, the park that dominates the city.
About me and this website
I was looking into ideas for a new website when it soon dawned on me that sitting right under my nose, as Cambridge does, was the very theme that having spent most of my life living here, I felt qualified to talk about. This is a new site and one that I hope to grow and add to as time permits. I am also interested to see if I can make it pay for itself through advertisements. Hopefully it will build into an interesting resource of user submitted tales of the unexpected and prove useful for the casual visitor to Cambridge.
I shall soon be adding a map to this website so that you can locate places that take your Interest.
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