Cambridgeshire

Cambridgeshire is a historic county in the East Anglia region of England, part of the United Kingdom.

Cities

 * the county seat is a university city with must-see historic colleges.
 * is a small cathedral city perched on what was once an island in the Fens.
 * is industrial yet has a well-preserved centre and cathedral.

Towns

 * – home of Oliver Cromwell
 * – home of Oliver Cromwell

Villages

 * – location of the aircraft collection of the Imperial War Museum and air shows

Understand
For centuries much of the north east of the region was inaccessible marshland, until a programme of drainage assisted by Dutch engineers transformed the Fens into the country's most fertile farmland, leaving the landscape criss-crossed by canals and dotted with windmills.

The major population centres today remain concentrated in the south and west of Cambridgeshire, with the north and east of the region remains a bleak, empty landscape.

Talk
Cambridgeshire residents speak in the standard form of English common across South East England, and there should be little difficulty for English speakers in understanding them. Contrary to popular belief, most locals do not speak in the distinctive upper-class accents common amongst Cambridge University students.

By car
Cambridge, Peterborough, Huntingdon and Wisbech are located on some of the UK's major routes. There are direct road connections between Cambridgeshire and major destinations across the country, such as London, Doncaster, Hull, Ipswich, Northampton, Norwich, Stansted Airport and Stevenage.

Major routes into the county include:


 * to Cambridge - from East London, Harlow, Bishop's Stortford and London Stansted Airport;
 * to St Neots, Huntingdon and Peterborough - from London, Stevenage, Grantham, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland;
 * to Cambridge and Ely - from Hertford, Royston, Downham Market and King's Lynn;
 * to Cambridge - from Newmarket and Norwich;
 * to Huntingdon and Cambridge - from and Birmingham, Northampton, Kettering, Newmarket, Bury St Edmunds; Ipswich and Felixstowe;
 * to Peterborough - from Hull, Scunthorpe and Lincoln;
 * to Peterborough - from Grimsby, Louth and Boston;
 * to Soham, Ely, and Chatteris - from Newmarket;
 * to Littleport and Wisbech - from Bury St Edmunds, Mildenhall and and Sleaford;
 * to Peterborough and Wisbech - from Leicester, Uppingham, King's Lynn, Norwich and Great Yarmouth;
 * to St Neots and - from Milton Keynes and Bedford;
 * to and  - from Luton, Hitchin, Letchworth and Royston;
 * to Peterborough - from and Kettering,  and Northampton, and Oundle.

By train
Cambridge is located on several train routes, with direct connections from destinations throughout the UK.

From London King's Cross and London St Pancras

 * Great Northern express service London King's Cross to Cambridge non-stop - onwards to Cambridge North, Waterbeach, Ely and Littleport, then destinations to King's Lynn in Norfolk;
 * Great Northern fast and stopping services from London King's Cross, Finsbury Park, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Letchworth and Royston - into Cambridge, Cambridge North, Ely and Littleport, then destinations to King's Lynn in Norfolk;
 * LNER express services from London King's Cross and Stevenage - into Peterborough, then destinations towards Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh;
 * Thameslink fast and stopping services from Brighton, London Gatwick Airport, Croydon, London Bridge, Farringdon, London St Pancras, London King's Cross, Finsbury Park, Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage, Letchworth and Royston - into Cambridge;
 * Thameslink fast and stopping services from Horsham, Crawley, London Gatwick Airport, Croydon, London Bridge, Farringdon, London St Pancras, London King's Cross, Finsbury Park, Stevenage, Hitchin, Biggleswade - into St Neots, Huntingdon and Peterborough.

From London Liverpool Street and London Stansted Airport

 * CrossCountry fast services from London Stansted Airport to Cambridge non-stop - onwards to Ely, March and Peterborough, then destinations to Leicester and Birmingham New Street;
 * Greater Anglia fast and stopping services from London Liverpool Street, Tottenham Hale, Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Harlow, Sawbridgeworth, Bishop's Stortford and Audley End for Saffron Walden - into Whittlesford Parkway (near Duxford), Cambridge, Cambridge North, Waterbeach and Ely;
 * Greater Anglia fast services from Stansted Airport and Audley End for Saffron Walden - into Whittlesford Parkway (near Duxford), Cambridge, Ely and onwards towards Norwich.

From Birmingham and Leicester

 * CrossCountry stopping services from Birmingham New Street, Leicester, Melton Mowbray and Stamford - into Peterborough, March, Ely and Cambridge, then London Stansted Airport.

From Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds

 * Greater Anglia stopping services from Colchester, Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket - into Soham, Ely, March, Whittlesea and Peterborough;
 * Greater Anglia stopping services from Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket - into Cambridge.

From destinations in Norfolk

 * East Midlands Railway semi-fast services from Norwich, Wymondham, Attleborough, Thetford and Brandon - into Ely, March, Whittlesea and Peterborough, then onto destinations towards Liverpool, Sheffield and Nottingham;
 * Greater Anglia semi-fast and slow services from Norwich, Wymondham, Attleborough, Thetford, Brandon - into Ely and Cambridge.

From the North East and Scotland

 * LNER fast services from Edinburgh, York, Leeds, Harrogate, Doncaster and Grantham - into Peterborough, then Stevenage and London King's Cross.



From Nottingham and Lincoln

 * East Midlands Railway stopping services from Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Sheffield, Chesterfield, Nottingham and Grantham - into Peterborough, Whittlesea, March and Ely, then destinations to Norwich;
 * East Midlands Railway stopping services from Lincoln, Sleaford and Spalding into Peterborough.

By plane
There are no international airports in Cambridgeshire, but several with direct road and rail connections into the county:


 * London Stansted Airport  - approximately 25 miles south of Cambridge, London Stansted Airport is the UK's fourth busiest. There are direct flights into the airport from destinations in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Direct CrossCountry and Greater Anglia trains into Cambridge, Ely and Peterborough. Direct National Express bus connections into Cambridge city centre. Road connections via ;
 * London Gatwick Airport  - south of London, you can fly into this major international airport from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and North America. There are direct Thameslink trains from London Gatwick Airport to Cambridge, just under two hours away;
 * London Luton Airport  - direct road connection via ;
 * Birmingham Airport  - use and  from Birmingham Airport to Cambridge;
 * East Midlands Airport  - near Nottingham and Derby, around 50 miles from Peterborough;
 * Norwich Airport  - north of Norwich, with regular domestic and international flights.

By bus
Major bus routes into Cambridgeshire include:


 * Centrebus 26 into Cambridge - from Royston;
 * excel A into Peterborough and Wisbech - stopping service from Norwich, Dereham, Swaffham and King's Lynn
 * excel B into Peterborough and Wisbech - semi-fast service from Norwich, Dereham, Swaffham and King's Lynn (express King's Lynn to Wisbech)
 * excel C into Peterborough and Wisbech - semi-fast service from Norwich, Dereham, Swaffham and King's Lynn (express Norwich to Swaffham)
 * Flixbus UK002 into Peterborough - from London, Bradford, Leeds and Sheffield;
 * Flixbus UK006 into Cambridge - from London and Stevenage;
 * Flixbus UKN601 into Cambridge - from Amsterdam, Utrecht and Antwerp;
 * Flixbus UKN603 into Cambridge - from Paris;
 * National Express 490 into Cambridge - from London, Norwich, Thetford and Newmarket;
 * National Express 727/728 into Cambridge - from London Heathrow Airport, London Stansted Airport, Great Yarmouth, Norwich, Thetford and Newmarket;
 * National Express 767 into Peterborough and Cambridge - from London Stansted Airport, Nottingham and Leicester;
 * Stagecoach X4 into Peterborough - from Northampton, Wellingborough, Kettering, Corby and Oundle;
 * Stagecoach 7 into Cambridge and Duxford - from Saffron Walden;
 * Stagecoach 13 into Cambridge and Linton - from Haverhill;
 * Stagecoach 37 into Peterborough - from Spalding;
 * Stagecoach 905 into Cambridge and St Neots - from Bedford;
 * Stephensons 11/12 into Cambridge - from Newmarket.

Get around
The region is well linked by rural bus services.

By dial-a-ride
Ting is a demand-responsive bus service. Ting covers the West Huntingdonshire area including St Neots, Cambourne, Sawtry and surrounding villages. To book a journey, Vectare DRT app is used. The ride can also be called from the booking line on +44 115 777 3187.

See
The region's chief attraction is the splendid architecture and attractive riverfront of the historic city of Cambridge. Further afield, attractions include:
 * Imperial War Museum Duxford
 * Wicken Fen south of Ely
 * Wimpole Hall and Home Farm near Royston.

Do

 * Punting on the River Cam in Cambridge

Eat
Cambridgeshire isn't known for its food specialities. Traditional English roasts are served in attractive country pubs throughout the region. Cambridge offers the widest range of restaurants to choose from, whilst Peterborough is the place to head for Italian.

Drink
The regions small towns and villages offer a particularly fine range of country pubs, many of which serve a good range of real ales. Most of the "local" beer served in the region comes from the Charles Wells brewery in Bedfordshire and Greene King brewery in Suffolk - you will see these names on pub signs everywhere in the region.

Stay safe
Cambridgeshire is a quiet and fairly prosperous region presenting relatively few hazards to the traveller. See the England section for more general safety tips.

Go next

 * Take the train to London
 * Head for the horse racing at Newmarket