Camping in Cambridge

When you look up "camping in Cambridge" online you're usually hit with a choice of the Camping and Caravanning Club Site in Great Shelford or the Caravan and Motorhome Club Site in Cherry Hinton. But which one should you choose (presuming you're a member of both)?

Well they are both around a 20 minute cycle into the city centre, with a slightly more picturesque route from the Great Shelford site and a more direct main road route from Cherry Hinton. The costs are also roughly the same (£30/night for members based on 2 adults). It has to be said that there's not a lot in it. On our more recent visit, we opted for the Cherry Hinton Site. It just has a slightly nicer feel and slightly better facilities, with the emphasis on "slightly". But if you're heading to Cambridge, the likelihood is you won't be spending much time on the campsite anyway. There is far too much to see and do. Here's how we spent 24 hours...

As with ALL CAMC sites, check-in is from 13:00, so we dutifully arrived on the dot, quickly set up and had a spot of lunch to power us ahead of a 20 minute cycle along main roads into the centre of a busy, sunny Cambridge. 

By this time, we only had an hour to wander round (and buy new bike lights for the return leg!) before heading over to the river for our punting trip. After an administrative blunder by Scholars Punting Cambridge Limited, we checked in and waited half an hour for our punt, only to be told we were too late and would have to take the last two seats on the 5pm. So, time-wasted, we decided to cheer ourselves up by sitting out the next hour at the delightful pub just around the corner, "The Maypole". We rushed back to make sure we were not forgotten this time. Our only slight regret was that we didn't make time to buy some sparkling beverages as everyone else seem to have done for the 5 o'clock. Fear not, the excellent, guided punting experience was enhanced by the arrival of the Pimms Punt and a wonderful pint of Pimms for £10 each!

Pimms washed down and the sites of Camridge duly consumed, our next stop was Six, the roof-top bar. This was our second disappointment of the day. £14 each for an Aperol Spritz after an untimed but inordinately long wait for service.

The highlight of our day trip, before cycling back to the CAMC site, was dinner at The Ivy. Perfect in every way, delicioius food, excellent service and not as expensive as you might think.

The following morning, a Search For Sites review, led us to parking up for the day at Milton Country Park. It was easy to access, just off the A14 and there was ample room for the van. We cycled on through the park to the Cam tow path and followed it around until we reached the inviting sight of The Plough at Fen Ditton. Naturally, we decided to stop off to refresh and rehydrate. Well, it was a beautiful hot summer's day and it would have been rude not to! This was our last stop, before heading back to resume our daily working life.

All in all a highly recommended mini City break, which I look forward to repeating another time.