Cambridge University With Alumni: Optional Kings College Entrance
Description
Enter King’s College! Established by King Henry VI, with successive King’s providing more ambitious additions (hence the name). The chapel has the largest vaulted ceiling in the world and even a Rubens, once the most expensive painting ever purchased. It is easy to see why numerous Kings and Queens have visited, and why your visit cannot be complete without entering! This tour will introduce you to the crucial role of Cambridge in world history and highlight the city’s architectural wonders, with our University guides. On top of this, the tour will enter King’s College! Sites covered include the oldest church in Cambridge (1033), the oldest College (1284) and the laboratory famous for the discovery of DNA. Along with Cambridge landmarks such as the Mathematical Bridge and Senate house where graduation has been held for the past 300 years. Additionally, our student guides will share their experiences of the college system and let you into local secrets.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Without a doubt, the highlight of your tour will be entering the stunning King’s College Chapel. The foundation stone was laid by King Henry VI himself, and successive English kings providing more and more ambitious additions (hence the name!). The chapel is home to the largest fan vaulted ceiling in the world, its is adorned with majestic stained glass windows, and there is even a Rubens painting (once the most expensive painting ever purchased).
Peterhouse was the first College of the university, funded in 1284. The group will stop outside where you can admire the splendid College Chapel and learn more about famous students such as the poet Thomas Gray.
The tour will stop outside of Pembroke College - the third oldest College in Cambridge - where our knowledgeable student guide will tell you about its history, including details about the College's Chapel, which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. While admission is free the College doesn't admit groups larger than 6, hence we suggest that you return here after the tour with all the historical insight in mind.
First we will have a look inside the Great Court of Corpus, then our student guide will tell you about the history of this famous College.
The Mathematical Bridge is one of the most recognized bridges at Cambridge and it has a rather strange origin story. Our student guide will tell you the popular legend, then clarify what the actual origins of the bridge were.
The group will stop by the entrance to Clare College on the 'Backs' - the local name of the path leading behind the central Colleges - where you will learn about its history. Additionally at this stop, our guide will highlight the University Library just across the road.
This bridge provides a beautiful view of the River Cam. On the right hand side you will see the bridge of Clare College, the oldest bridge of Cambridge. Straight ahead there is the stunning Jerwood Library of Trinity Hall, which was designed to look like a ship! It's a must do photo stop!
Outside the Senate House our student guide will tell you all the peculiar details of the graduation ceremony in Cambridge, which have been held in Senate House for the past 300 years.
The famous neighbor and rival of Trinity College. Here you will learn about its reputation and about the special privilege the College's fellows share with the Royal Family.
The tour will finish by Trinity College where you will learn more about famous alumni such as Sir Isaac Newton and Prince Charles. You will see 'the apple tree' and hear the comically unbelievable story behind the statue of Henry VIII above the gate.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Please ensure you are on the correct tour by asking the guide at the start, as multiple tours leave from the same starting point.
- No health restrictions
Reviews(2,183)
Fantastic, informative and fun tour led by Mark. He was great with historical facts and visual prompts. Mark rembered everyone's name and country of origin (8 of us). We throughly enjoyed the whole and extended tour.....thank you
The meeting point was extremely busy with several other tours being in the same vicinity. Thanks to a phone call we realised we were only 10M from Rachel our tour guide with this tour, thanks for the call, was very good service. Rachel was excellent, very informative, great sense of humour & personable. The other tours had large groups of people but we were a small group of 6 which made for great conversation & sharing information. The many questions that were asked, Rachel provided lots of detail & great history of Cambridge. It was a really good tour. The Kings college chapel is a must visit at the end of tour if you haven't been before. We wish Rachel all the best in your studies to becoming a vet.
Rachael was our tour guide. She is a current Cambridge student. She is knowledgeable and energetic! We enjoyed our tour with her!
The experience started with a morning message on my WhatsApp from the Guide Mark Shere welcoming me to the upcoming tour and explaining how to spot him when I reach the location. When I got there, Mark welcomed me warmly and introduced me to the other family of 3 we were going to go on the tour with. This instantly made me feel comfortable. Mark is a people’s person, and has the personality of an entertainer who uses humour to add to his vast repertoire of knowledge of world history (not surprising given his degree in History from Cambridge). Mark then proceeded to take us on a tour full of information and interesting tidbits about Cambridge. From the King’s College chapel, the Rose Wars and the various British kings and their relationship with Cambridge University - he made every aspect of the tour come alive. He made the tour relevant for all 4 of us on tour which included a young 18 year old, her parents from Germany and me an Indian with an emotional connect to Cambridge (since I got admission here but could not attend due to financial issues). Mark took us to see the College I wishes to see and I am very thankful for that. How the 2.5 hours passed, I never realised and in the end I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of the tour. If I go there again, I would happily do the tour again with Mark! Highly recommended for everyone visiting Cambridge. Look for Mark and book a tour with him!
Charlotte shows around Cambridge this morning. She had great energy and enthusiasm and was both informative and entertaining. Thank you. 😀
Our guide Theo, himself a history graduate from Cambridge was first class. He had a lovely engaging manner, was very polite, engaging and extremely knowledgeable. His commentary throughout the 2 hour walk was extremely well structured, flowed seamlessly and was incredibly informative. We saw and learnt things in those 2 hours that we never could have walking by ourselves or with a guidebook. We have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Theo and this tour!
Mark walked us through Cambridge on a scorching hot day during the heat wave. This didn't stop him from giving us as many details as possible on the UK school system, Cambridge history and walk us to the highlights; all with that iconic dry Bristish humour! It was a joy and we learned so much! I recommend Mark to anyone who loves to be intellectually challenged like Mark would put it! It was a great day trip thanks to him!
What a great guide we had in Mark! He was so enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge with us. He was engaging and entertaining and we came away with a wide range of nuggets of information about Cambridge. We can't recommend him and his tour highly enough. Thanks Mark!
Great experience! Learned quite a lot Cambridge history
Sonia was great she also answered all of our questions she was also very prepared. She also told us a lot about the collages and university’s
