We will be taking a day trip to Cambridge from London in October and are looking for recommendations for walking tours. Ideas/suggestionsinsights are welcome. We cannot afford private tours but would do smaller group tours. We would also like to a punting tour (not private though)
Thank you for you help. This is such a great source of information and support.
I took a two-hour walking tour given by Tony Rodgers. It was excellent. I bought a ticket at one of the big gift shops in town.
When I spent two weeks as a summer student at Cambridge many years back, I took the free walking tours with Footprint tours.(Tip based). So if you can't afford a private tour, these tours are just as good.
https://footprints-tours.com/cambridge/tours/cambridge-walking-tours/free-cambridge-walking-tour/
Note, that entry to Kings College Chapel is not included with many tours. You need to queue up at the college and pay separately for entrance.
As for Punting, just go down to the river Cam at Bridge Street. The main punting company is Scudamore, but there are other smaller punting companies. They will have a shared punting ride with guide and punter. Price should be around £20- £22 per person, but advanced booking is usually cheaper than just showing up as I did.
Way back then, when the price was cheaper, I just showed up after class and wanted a ride. It was well known to all the students that the going price was £15. Scudamore's tours were filled for the day. So I went to another company offering punt rides and they quoted me £20 and I said "Scudamore is only charging £15." The tout said "OK, £15 it is" took my money and pointed me to the boat a few yards up the river. So if you feel the price has been raised on you. Haggle.
The punting tour was fun and the punter tells "dubious" stories about college life. And on the free walking tour, they also tell the same stories of college life which differ than the punting guide. Interestingly, the stories about the car on the top of college building varied big time, so be wary as to the authenticity of the their stories.
Have fun. Also, FWIW, they sell "Cambridge" labeled sweatshirts and T-shirts to the tourists. Real students get T-shirts and sweatshirts with the names of their college, not a generic "Cambridge" logo.
the official Cambridge Tourist information office offer 2 public walks of the city every day. https://infocambridge.com/tours-and-experiences/walking-tours/shared-walking-tours/
They also can organize Green Badge private tours on a related webpage.
It seems that the car-on-the-roof story is true, just a long time ago and not on the top of a college
I suspect that the guides vary the story so that the car was on top of a building that they pass.
It's a bit like the (true - I believe) story of Bill Clinton using his mobile phone in the back streets of Oxford when he was President of the US and visiting his daughter Chelsea who was a student there at the time. Every guide in Oxford claims to have seen this, and even overheard him. They would have needed a small grandstand to fit all the people who were supposed to be there!
Thank you all for all the helpful information and suggestions!
