Cambridge Punting and Oxford recommendations

I would think the whole village of Grantchester is a must see and of course the church and the vicarage.

In Cambridge visit King’s College Chapel, founded in 1441 by Henry Vi it’s is a gem with its fan vaulted ceilings and stained glass windows. If has a very famous choir and the public can attend services and concerts All sorts of ancient buildings make up the colleges and many are open to the public. A punt trip is a great idea, best views of the colleges is from the river or a walk along the Backs. A walking tour of the town might be a good way to learn more about the long history of this University.

Oxford is a bigger city than Cambridge but the colleges are old, have beautiful gardens and river walks.The Pitt Rivers Museum is quirky and full of interest and was seen in episodes of Morse., Lewis and I think Endeavour. Both towns are full of pubs and a friend highly recommends the bacon sandwiches unfortunately he did’t give me the name but you could have fun trying to find it!

My son-in-law was a student at Cambridge. He borrowed a boat from the college and took us punting. The picture of my daughter's sheer terror while seated in the boat is now a family treasure. I would guess that any of the "professional" companies offering punting tours would be great.

Likewise, my SIL managed to charm our way into a number of venues that might otherwise be difficult to visit. He also knew all of the best places to eat and drink.

King's College was the highlight for me. Grantchester fans will recognize many places from the show's "establishing shots."

We decided against a private punting tour, but went with Scudamore's for a group tour and couldn't have been happier. They were more expensive that some of the others but we were very happy with the experience and would wholeheartedly recommend them.

"Endeavor" and "Grantchester" lover here. We are staying at the Randolph Hotel in Oxford. These are notes for our trip: "Go to the Eagle and Child Pub (3-minute walk) where Tolkien and C.S. Lewis met to discuss their works." "Go to The White Horse (bar in Morse books) 5-minute walk from hotel." Furthermore, "The Randolph Hotel’s beloved Morse Bar is an ode to Morse creator Colin Dexter who was a regular and penned some of the Morse books from the bar. Filming for the Inspector Morse series took place in this intimate panelled bar, which focusses on cocktails and whiskey." (Endeavor is the prequel to Morse). If you haven't viewed "Morse," it is excellent and includes much Oxford scenery.
Endeavor is filmed outside and inside the Bodleian Library and Radcliffe Camera. We are taking the 90-minute tour which includes going inside the Radcliffe Camera: https://visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/tours. I believe that both Christ Church and Magdalen Colleges are featured in Endeavor and are must-sees anyway.
We will also be in Cambridge with a planned walk to Grantchester. This is a great link for a walk to Grantchester from Cambridge: http://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home.nsf/RoutesLinksWalks/cambridge-to-grantchester-walking-route. We will have lunch at Orchard Tea Room which is along the walk. I believe that the whole of the village of Grantchester is filmed for the titular series.
We are not staying at the Randolph or taking certain tours because of the two series but because those are simply sights that we want to see. A walk along the Cam is just our style but it is also frequently seen in "Grantchester".
We are leaving in just a bit over three weeks. I hope you have a marvelous time.

P.S. we plan to take the Rutherfords Punting Tours in Cambridge without booking in advance which might be a mistake, but I want to do it in good weather. We will take the group tour since I think being with others adds to the fun. We also plan to take the HOHO bus in both Oxford and Cambridge. Lastly, I have to give kudos to many on this forum for all the information that I have included in my post to you.

You can punt in Oxford too. There is great argument between the two places as to who end you stand on so you can compare.

I will be in Oxford in September. I love Morse and 'Sgt' Lewis and have watched all 3 iterations of their stories. I have booked a Brit Movie Tour of Oxford which is devoted to Morse, Lewis & Endeavour. If you haven't watched the 2 older shows try to watch some of them before your trip. I originally planned this trip for 2020 and Brit Movie Tour have been wonderful about changing my date at least 3 times.

Question:

Hello! I’m taking my daughter to visit Cambridge tomorrow, In one of Steve’s posts, he. Said there is a bus connection between Cambridge and Oxford.
If we decide to go by bus from Cambridge to Oxford, anyone knows which bus or where to catch it or how long it takes?
My maps search only shows 3 hour rides!
Thank you.

I don’t believe there is currently a direct bus link between the two.

Either by bus or train, I’d expect to have to change in London. By car, it’s a couple of hours.

Although I do remember hearing about such a service, I don’t believe it’s currently running.

X5 (by Stagecoach) used to be direct - Cambridge Drummer Street bus station - St Neots - Bedford - Milton Keynes - Buckingham - Bicester - Oxford Gloucester Road bus station.

3 hours is about right.

Nice high level coaches (sometimes a regular bus is substituted) with leather seats, individual lighting, USB, free wifi.

Recently there has been a split at St Neots or somewhere near there, X5 and 905 with a connection.

Search google for X5 Stagecoach Cambridge (or Oxford) and see what you get...

Bus switchover point has now moved to Bedford. Oxford-X5-Bedford-905-Cambridge.

Takes over 4 hours though which is a bit of a slog.

It’s one of those: I wouldn’t start there to go there…

I’d do them both as trips from London. Much easier. If you have a London base, that is.

thanks for the 905 correction, Marco - I was writing well after my bedtime

Lindy – note that the Eagle & Child is currently closed. We were in Oxford on Tuesday and Thursday last week. My husband said there is an application for some sort of license posted in the window of the pub.

My favorite Oxford pub, the Lamb and Flag, also owned by St John's College, is also closed. Sigh ...

We were just in Cambridge last week and punted on the river. No need to book. There are many operators. You will see many young people holding our clipboards in the streets trying to get you to go with the company they work with. You can certainly negotiate a price. We ended up only paying £12.00 a person (there were 6 of us so had a little more negotiating power). They first wanted £23.00 each. We went back and forth about three times before we agreed on a price. It was a lovely sunny day but not busy mid-week so that helped. We also took a trip to Ely Cathedral that day. It is only the next stop on the train. It is quite impressive and the restaurant with a cathedral view serves great lunches. (The Almonry Restaurant).

Margaret

The Lamb & Flag in Oxford has been taken over by community group "The Inklings" on a 15-year lease.

Various Oxford colleges have annoyed local people by closing pubs and in some cases such as the Mitre (Lincoln College) allowing them to become dilapidated. This has apparently recently been leased to become an Italian restaurant despite being a pub since the 13th century (cellars are original).