Help with Cambridge in May and June

It looks like Cambridge exams for the Easter term will be scheduled from April 17 to May 17. https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/exams/students/all-students-timetable

Coming back to add more: If you decide not to see Cambridge, there are many things in London that are wonderful. I'm heading there in March and it's been 25 years since I was last there (and I'm an older woman traveling solo also)

Hampton Court Palace is wonderful! I loved seeing it. I'm going to miss it on this trip but plan to take 2 of my grandkids there next year when I go, but it's killing me not to go see it. It really is well worth a day trip. You also might consider Kew Gardens and a side trip to Richmond. Here's a thread of mine with some more details about it. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/please-check-logistics-of-day-trip-to-kew-gardens-and-richmond

And don't let a bad experience keep you from visiting Westminster Abbey again. I lost my money belt on my first trip to London, complete with passport, credit cards and all my money. But I did not let that experience keep me from enjoying London again.

It would make more sense to travel by train than drive. A very reasonable itinerary.

Cambridge is 2 hours or so from Heathrow (Piccadilly line to Kings Cross St Pancras then fast train from King's Cross) or Elizabeth Line to Liverpool Street, then Greater Anglia slower service to Cambridge.

Cambridge to Canterbury is 2 hours- Thameslink to St Pancras, then South Eastern HS1 St Pancras to Canterbury.

Do you mean the Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral or the Church of England Westminster Abbey?

I would not have thought the whole University would be locked up- that decision would rest with each individual college. You would probably need to check with each college. Each College Chapel would, it is safe to assume, remain open for worship. And not every student does exams each day. But there is lots to do in Cambridge beside visiting the colleges.

Have you found this website with information about opening times for the Cambridge colleges (and also museums)?

We're going on the same tour in May, and plan a trip to Cambridge before hand. We plan to take a class at the Cambridge Gin Lab!
https://cambridgedistillery.co.uk
Should be a fun way to get to know the locals and learn some mixology.

Thanks to all of you who responded. I AM going to Cambridge. In addition to all of you, the representatives from the Fitzwilliam Museum answered my questions.

The second spring term is going on until mid June, however all the museums are open. Even though the colleges are closed, it doesn't mean all of them at the same time.
I also found a walking tour led by alumni or current students who will adjust for closings with a punt ride included.

I am amazed at how friendly all of you are in the Forum.

I could use some advice on how and when to buy the train tickets from London to Cambridge and the on to Canterbury. I did take the train in the UK in 2018, but don't remember how I arranged it!

For Americans the LNER website is the best place. You are not travelling on LNER, but any train company can sell each other's tickets, and LNER is the most user friendly.

It has also come to light in the last few weeks that the Northern rail website is also very user friendly to Americans. That was found out by chance when I checked fares (for East Midland Trains) on Northern Rail- but that OP had become locked out of a hyper sensitive EMT website, and LNER did not yet have the tickets on sale.

Tickets 'should' be released 12 weeks before travel, so will not quite be ready yet for another three weeks or so.

Stuart has told you about the slow train from Liverpool Street station to Cambridge being cheaper than the fast train from Kings Cross (Great Northern, nonstop), but the train from Kings Cross is significantly faster if you aren't a lot closer to Liverpool Street, which is why I prefer it. But that's just me...

The Fitz (as we call it) is a great little museum with great staff. It doesn't hurt that Fitzbillies, the home of the famous Chelsea Bun (and other scrummy stuff) is just kitty corner from the Fitz.

Just down the road out of town from the Fitz is the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, a real jewel (biased, long time member).

For Canterbury, fast train back to London, Kings Cross. Cross the road to St Pancras station and go upstairs for the Javelin service to Canterbury.

Check all times on the National Rail website or app, or get the Thameslink app for all times to and from Cambridge. You can get HS1 Javelin timings there too... and tickets.

We took a tour of Cambridge university by university docents. It was very good and I would recommend it.

I'd also mention, about the Fitz, that they often have excellent special exhibitions on, very well curated, so it might be worth checking their Whats On page. They don't usually charge extra for the special stuff, and their admission charge of free (donations accepted) is pretty good too. National Treasures: Botticelli in Cambridge will be there for the summer from 10 May. https://fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/

It looks like Cambridge exams for the Easter term will be scheduled from April 17 to May 17. .https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/exams/students/all-students-timetable

Is this correct? I cannot open the linked page as it requires having an account with Cambridge University.

But it looks like the Easter Term begins 23 April and extends to 17 June, so why would the exams be scheduled April 17 to May 17?

https://www.cam.ac.uk/about-the-university/term-dates-and-calendars

We are hoping to visit Cambridge on a daytrip from London on 24 April, so hoping that the colleges will not all be closed at that time.

I have more questions on Cambridge but I will start my own discussion to raise those. Please stay tuned!

This is last year's exam timetable- presumably this year is pretty similar- https://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/files/main_et23_v6.pdf#:~:text=The%20following%20pages%20show%20the%20timetable%20for%20online,in%20the%20exam%20period%3A%2019thMay%20%E2%80%93%2014thJuly%202023

If you are still looking for accommodations in Cambridge, I can recommend the Regent Aparthotel. It's convenient to the university and to the train station. Reasonably priced as well.

Can anyone help me sort out this confusion?
As part of our trip to the UK, my husband and I were planning to stay in Cambridge May 13 and 14. Someone has posted above that exams will be April 17 to May 17, 2024, so that would mean the colleges would be closed (or have restricted access).
However, someone else has posted that in 2023 the exam period was May 19 to July 14 -- quite a different kettle of fish.
I haven't been able to confirm 2024 exam dates on the university's own website, because I need to have a student log-in.
I realize that other parts of Cambridge will be open, but we particularly wanted to visit some of the colleges.
Could anyone confirm the exam dates for May 2024?

This is my post. Since I wrote it I’ve learned a lot. There are two terms with two exam times. Spring ends May 17th. Summer term ends Mid June.
The University museums are open throughout. Not all colleges close at the same time, but there will be closures. I will be there May 30 and May 31. There is an Alumni led tour company that does a walking tour of some of colleges, the chapel, and a punt ride that I will take. The company explained that some closures would be a factor and they work around them.

I'm still having difficulty pinning down the dates of exams. I checked three college websites and got different answers. Pembroke said closures would take place mid-May to mid-June. Queen's and Sidney are closed April-June.
Our plan will be to politely introduce ourselves at the porter's lodge and hope to be allowed a quiet look, as long as we keep out of trouble and off the grass.