Cambridge Self Guided Walking Tour
Description
Embark on a captivating journey through Cambridge with Helen’s meticulously designed self-guided audio tour. Discover the city's academic spirit and architectural elegance, guided by Helen, a Chartered Geographer with extensive expertise. Starting at the tranquil Christ’s Piece, this 2.5-mile trek passes iconic landmarks like the Fitzwilliam Museum, the medieval Round Church, and the picturesque Backs. As you navigate through cobblestone paths and lush green spaces, Helen’s narrative enriches your stroll with fascinating insights into the storied halls of the University's ancient colleges and vibrant market squares. This tour isn't just a walk; it’s a deep dive into the heart of Cambridge, revealing secrets and stories at every corner.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The tour starts near the park, where you will get an introduction to the history and past of the city and its surroundings.
Emmanuel College has a reputation for academic excellence. Many scholars have passed through these gates, including John Harvard, who was baptised at the college chapel and later became a benefactor of Harvard University in the USA.
Parker's Piece is a large public park located in the heart of Cambridge. It is named after Edward Parker, who donated a portion of the land to the city in 1613.
walk through the University’s oldest museum will take you on a 4.5 billion year journey through time, from the meteoritic building blocks of planets, to the thousands of fossils of animals and plants that illustrate the evolution of life in the oceans, on land and in the air.
The diversity of animal life is on display in the University Museum of Zoology’s brand new galleries. From moths to monkeys, mammoths to manatees, discover stories of extinction, survival, evolution and exploration. Collection Highlights - Cambridge’s largest resident – the 21m fin whale - The giant ground sloth - One of the most complete Dodo skeletons in the UK - Captain Cook’s conch
The collections of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology number more than 800,000 objects of outstanding research and historical value. In addition there are over 100,000 field photographs and negatives in the Photographic Archive, and over 30,000 fonds of historical documentary archives.
The Whipple Museum's collection includes scientific instruments, apparatus, models, pictures, prints, photographs, books and other material related to the history of science.
he Pitt Building was constructed in 1833. It was named after William Pitt the Younger, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
The Fitzwilliam Museum is a neoclassical building completed in 1848. It has an imposing facade featuring grand columns reminiscent of ancient Greek and Roman temples, a majestic dome and grand statues of lions either side of the entrance.
Scudamore's Punting Company was founded in 1910 by Jack Scudamore. Jack was a boat builder who visited Henley Upon Thames royal regatta and saw that punting was popular amongst the upper and middle classes. Hear his history here.
The Mathematical Bridge is a famous wooden footbridge across the River Cam. It connects two parts of Queen's College.
Corpus Christi College, often referred to simply as Corpus, was founded in 1352 by the Guild of Corpus Christi and the Guild of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Bene’t Street is an old street in the city. It’s not commonly on the tourist trail, but for me, it’s one of the more interesting parts of the city.The street is named after St Bene't's Church.
King's College Chapel is one of the most iconic and recognisable landmarks in Cambridge. The site was originally the floodplain of the River Cam, and later Medieval buildings.
The Church of St Mary the Great, often referred to simply as "St Mary's," dates back to the 12th century, although the current building mostly dates from the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
The Market Square is located in the heart of Cambridge's city centre, next to the historic Guildhall. The Square is home to one of the oldest and largest open-air markets in the country.
Trinity College was founded in 1546 by King Henry the VIII and is the largest college in Cambridge by both land area and student population.
The Round Church, officially known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was founded in 1130 by crusaders who had returned from the Holy Land.
The Senate House is an example of Neoclassical architecture. It was designed by architect James Gibbs and completed in 1730.
At this point, the surface of the River Cam floodplain is only 4m above sea level, and the riverbed is only about 2m above sea level. The coastline itself lies almost 50 miles away at King's Lynn.
It’s a relatively new building, dating from the early 20th century, but there are some lovely features in the internal architecture.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(7)
I thought this walk was very good value. I was looking to book on a 60-90 minute in person guided walk, but the times didn’t quite work out, so I thought I’d give this one a go. I thought it was excellent. Unlike a guided walk with an individual guide, I could take my time when particular things interested me, and there wasn’t the issue of not being able to hear the guide, as sometimes happens with large groups. The thing I really liked which I hadn’t appreciated when I purchased it, was that I could do the walk over several days. It is quite long, and it would probably have taken me three hours to do it all in one go, so I actually did it over three days in short spells of time, which worked really well for me. The narrations were informative, and I definitely discovered things that there’s no way I would’ve found wandering around Cambridge by myself.
What a thoughtful review, Cameron — thank you! You've put your finger on the things we love most about self-guided: no straining to hear a guide in a crowd, time to linger wherever something catches you, and the freedom to spread a longer walk across several days (Cambridge in three short spells sounds perfect). We're especially glad it surfaced things you'd never have stumbled on alone — that's the whole idea. Thanks for giving it a go when the in-person timings didn't line up; we're delighted it paid off!
Although I do not share the recording system, because I prefer a person to ask questions, I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised. Congratulations to Helen and her dedication in seeking the detailed information and conveying it in this way.
¡Muchas gracias por tu reseña y por tu honestidad, Tarsila! Entendemos perfectamente que prefieras a una persona a quien poder hacerle preguntas en el momento — es algo que una grabación no puede reemplazar del todo. Por eso nos alegra muchísimo que, aun así, te hayas llevado una grata sorpresa. Le haremos llegar tus felicitaciones a Helen; se dedica con mucho cariño a investigar cada detalle, y nos encanta que ese esfuerzo se haya notado. ¡Esperamos darte la bienvenida en otro recorrido muy pronto!
The download was informative but a little lacking. Was hoping for a bit more info on each site and maybe add a few more sites. Also was frustrating that (within the app) if you try to plan your route to the next site it will stop and reset the audio description of the current site.
Thanks for the honest "just ok", grayson — we'd much rather be aiming higher than that! Two really useful things here. First, that bug where planning your route to the next stop interrupts and resets the current audio is a genuine glitch, and we're flagging it straight to our dev team. Second, your wish for a bit more depth and a few more sites is exactly the kind of input our Cambridge guide can act on. If you'd like, drop Veronica a line at veronica.grifa@exploro.app — we'd value knowing which sites you wanted more from, and we'll make sure you're looked after.
This was a great audio tour, which did over a weekend stay in Cambridge. The route was great - covering the main sites, plus a few others wer might not have seen otherwise. The interesting information at each site covered the main points, and some of the backstory. We enjoyed going at our own pace, and being able to stop or detour as wanted. We were glad we picked up this tour - it was good value for money as well.
Thank you so much for your fantastic review, Mark! We’re thrilled to hear you enjoyed exploring Cambridge with us and that the tour gave you the flexibility to discover the city at your own pace. It’s wonderful to know the route and insights added to your weekend — that’s exactly what we aim for! We truly appreciate your recommendation and hope to have you join us again for another self-guided adventure soon. Warm regards,
We did the Cambridge Walking Tour Guide and if you're reading the reviews to decide if you should download it, just do it. It was brilliant. Although we had the option to use the audio version, we actually used the text one. We could take our time, the app pings you when to stop and read, the information is really interesting and nicely written, it's all nicely paced. And for that price, we considered it excellent value. So stop thinking, and download it.
Hi Tom, Wow — thank you so much for the wonderful review! We're thrilled to hear you found the Cambridge tour brilliant and that it gave you the flexibility to explore the city at your own pace. It’s great to know the written version worked so well for you — that’s exactly the kind of freedom we aim to offer. Your kind words mean a lot to our team and content creators. We hope to see you on another tour soon — there’s plenty more to discover! Warm regards,
We've done a couple of these tours now, so when we go away I always check to see if one is available! This tour, like the others, is so easy to follow. We can do these at our own pace, and there are useful stop off points for nice places for a snack. It was so well thought through, and flowed perfectly. I would honestly recommend this tour to anyone - I feel like I saw all the sights and learnt so much more than without the expertise of this tour.
Thank you so much, Sharon! We're thrilled to hear you've become a repeat explorer with us – that's exactly what we love to see! The beauty of our tours is the freedom to explore at your own pace, and it sounds like you made the most of it in Cambridge. Thanks for noticing the thought we put into the route and flow – Helen, the guide behind this one, will be over the moon! Can’t wait to have you on another adventure soon.
This is a brilliant, well-planned tour. You see all the sights along the way. Not only is it interesting, but I learned loads too and had a lovely time doing so. Would highly recommend it.
Thank you so much for the kind words! We’re delighted that you enjoyed your time in Cambridge with us and that the tour helped you see the city in a new light. We work hard to create experiences that are both educational and enjoyable, so it’s lovely to hear you found it well-planned and packed with insights. We hope to guide you through another city very soon!
