Cambridge is particularly well-placed for Stansted airport, where many
cheap flights from Europe land. See below for information about getting
to Cambridge by:
Finally some
local information and
what to do when you arrive.
Please note that this information comes without guarantee: public transport
in the UK is sadly not as efficient as in other parts of Europe!
By aeroplane
Stansted airport is very
convenient for Cambridge, and a lot of cheap flights from Europe come here.
There are direct
bus and
train
services hourly which take about 45 minutes and cost around £10 return.
The bus is more reliable. It's about 30 mins in a car.
Luton airport is fairly convenient, and
also has cheap flights. There is a direct
bus
service which takes 1hr and 15 minutes and costs around £15 return.
Or you can take the
train via King's Cross, which seems
a bit roundabout but is sometimes quicker than waiting for the bus.
Heathrow airport is a bit less convenient.
There is a direct
bus service but it takes around
2hrs 45mins and costs £30 return. It's quicker and more comfortable
to take the underground to King's Cross (around 55 mins on Picadilly Line)
and then get the
train (45 mins). It's about 1hr
45mins by car on a good day.
Gatwick airport seems quite far away but
it's not much worse than Heathrow by train. You can take a Thameslink
train to King's Cross Thameslink (45 mins) and then cross over to the main
King's Cross station to get the
train (45 mins). It's
about 1hr 45mins by car on a good day but a grotesque 4 hours by bus.
London City airport is not an airport I've
used, but there are plenty of flights here from Europe. It looks like
the best way to get to Cambridge would be to take the shuttle bus (25 mins)
to Liverpool Street Station and then get the
train.
It probably isn't worth making your way to King's Cross to get the
fast train, and definitely not worth taking the shuttle bus to any other
of the London destinations. There isn't a direct bus to Cambridge as
far as I know. See
here for
travel information on the airport website.
By Eurostar
The direct Eurostar link to King's Cross will not be finished for several
years (!) so you will need to get from the Eurostar terminal at Waterloo
to King's Cross to get the
train. By underground
there are several possible routes but the one with the most convenient connection
is to take the Bakerloo Line to Oxford Circus and then change to the Victoria
line.
By train
See
National
Rail website for fares and timetables, and
Qjump if you want to buy tickets in advance
(mostly not necessary).
From London King's Cross: the fast (non-stop) trains take about 45 mins.
The slow trains are very boring and it's worth waiting for a fast one
if there's one in the next half hour.
From Liverpool Street: the trains are slower (because they stop all over
the place) but it's convenient if you're coming from London City airport on
the shuttle.
From elsewhere: there are direct trains from Birmingham and Liverpool,
and trains from Scotland and the North via Peterborough. That's all
I know about but you probably know better yourself if that's where you
live.
Cambridge train station is about 30 minutes'
walk from Newnham College. A taxi will cost about £5 and there's
a big taxi rank at the station. Taxi drivers should all know where
Newnham College is, but if they've forgotten you can tell them it's on Sidgwick
Avenue. (A bus from the station will take you into town for about
£1 but it will take at least 10 minutes and you'll still be 15 minutes'
walk away from Newnham College.)
By bus
See
National Express website
for fares, timetables and bookings.
Cambridge bus station (Drummer Street) is
about 15 minutes' walk from Newnham College. A taxi will cost about
£5 and there's a taxi rank at the bus station. Taxi drivers should
all know where Newnham College is, but if they've forgotten you can tell
them it's on Sidgwick Avenue.
By car
Newnham College is 5 minutes' drive from Junction 12 of the M11. At
the exit follow signs to Cambridge, which will take you onto Barton Road.
After getting into civilisation, turn left after the second traffic
lights, onto Grange Road. Then take the second right onto Sidgwick
Avenue and the College will be on the right. Parking is available
on site.
See map
here.
The College's postcode is CB3 9DF.
Some Cambridge taxi numbers:
(01223) 715 715
(01223) 31 31 31
(01223) 525 555
See also the official
University
of Cambridge map. Click
here
to see where Newnham College is and then scroll straight up twice to see
where the Centre for Mathematical Sciences is, marked 3 on the map.
Click
here
for a crude map showing both sites at once. Newnham College is located
on Sidgwick Avenue.
To walk from Newnham to the CMS takes about 15-20 minutes.
To walk from the CMS to the centre of town takes about 15 minutes.
To walk from Newnham to the centre of town takes about 10 minutes.
To walk from the CMS to the Bun Shop takes about 20 minutes.
Newnham College supposedly has the second longest corridor in Europe.
To walk from one end to the other takes about 10 minutes. It
is quite bendy.
What to do when you
arrive
If you are staying at Newnham you should go to the Porters' Lodge to
get your key. Our evening reception will be in Sidgwick Hall from
7pm until whenever we want.
