5 quiet places in Cambridge
Cambridge is a busy city, full of noise and laughter, thanks to its very many students. So, where do you head for in the city when you’re looking for some peace along with rest and relaxation? Well, the secret is often that you head out of the city. Here are some of our favourite spots. Maybe you already know them?
Mill Road Cemetery
You’d be hard-pushed to find somewhere quieter than where the dead are buried, and Cambridge’s Mill Road Cemetery is no exception.
Rather than depressing, sad places, cemeteries can often be contemplative, restful and beautifully atmospheric places. This particular cemetery has been around for more than 170 years and is Grade II listed. It also has six bird stone installations and a wooden seat to admire by celebrated artist Gordon Young.
Fitzwilliam Museum
Another place renowned for its peace and quiet is, of course, a library or museum. And the Fitzwilliam Museum is no exception. A beautiful institute of history and art, it also has a huge collection of antiquities to marvel over. Relax in its comfy armchairs or spend hours browsing its varied exhibits in quiet contemplation.
@varsitycambridge: ‘Throughout the three floors of this neoclassical Cambridge icon, there are plush leather seats you can sink into for the day and gaze up at the nearly half a million artworks the museum holds. The high ceilings, polished floors and the gentle passing by of strangers create the perfect atmosphere for contemplative reading.’
Castle Hill
If you’re feeling energetic enough, then head for the grassy mound on Castle Hill above the city. This is the site of a former Iron Age Fort and Roman town, known as Duroliponte.
There’s no fort there today but there is a lovely vantage point from which to spot some of the beautiful countryside surrounding the city. You can even spot Ely Cathedral in the north, provided it’s a clear day.
Grantchester Meadows
We’re not the only ones who love to relax at Grantchester Meadows. Poet Rupert Brooke loved this gorgeous little village too and wrote about it in 1912, in the poem ‘The Old Vicarage, Grantchester’. Poet Sylvia Plath also wrote about the area in her poem ‘Watercolor Of Grantchester Meadows.’
The Meadows are south of Cambridge and sit alongside the lovely River Cam, which you can also peacefully punt along. Or why not do both? Stop off while boating to picnic at a secluded spot on the bank.
Byron’s Pool
Yes, that really is the Lord Byron that the pool is named after. A former student at the university, the ‘romantic’ poet would come swimming here on a good day. The Byron’s Pool sits in a Local Nature Reserve south-west of the city centre. It is surrounded by pretty woodland and inhabited by Kingfishers and Wagtails. Sitting alongside the pool, or walking through the trees is a great way to spend a chilled afternoon or evening.