Life in Cambridge
Life in
Cambridge ranges from the
City to the countryside with a wide range of activities that one can enjoy. The
most famous attribute of Cambridge must be the
market square, with its busy setup of stalls offering all sorts of products
from fruit & veg to flowers to watches and
jewellery to sweets. The market is definitely worth a visit and a sight all
students will get used to throughout their life in Cambridge.
Other famous sights of Cambridge would have to be
the River Cam itself where you can enjoy a relaxing picnic on the banks, a
pleasant walk down the river or for the adventurous, punting on the famous Cambridge punts. Punts can
be hired from many locations and colleges so feel free to ask if you are
interested.
Shopping
Surrounding the market itself are plenty of shops that you¡¯d be used to
seeing in any major city. Gap, River Island, Fat Face and
FCUK to name a few give you plenty of options for clothes that you may need.
The Lion Yard is a mini-mall just off the market square where you¡¯ll find
Dixons, HMV, Sports World, the Body Shop and a select few other stores. From
the town centre you can pretty much get anything you¡¯d need for student life.
For those who feel for a little escapade from the town centre, a 10-15 minute
walk to the Grafton centre will leave you in a department store offering plenty
of alternatives to the basics you find around the town centre.
Boots, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury¡¯s are all located in the town
centre making grocery shopping relatively simple. There are a range of
superstores (Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury¡¯s) located around the outskirts of town.
Please ask current members of the University for Further Information.
Mill Lane is the famous
street found by Kelsey Kerridge Sports Centre for
those who feel they need to get in touch with their Asian heritage with our own
Seoul Plaza selling products
from Korea that you may need
during your time at Cambridge.
Wining & Dining
With a good range of pubs from infamous ¡°Eagle¡± pub where Watson &
Crick founded DNA (found on Benet Street), to student favourites such as ¡°The
Anchor¡± located by the river opposite Queen¡¯s, students can always enjoy their
¡®good ol¡¯ pub food¡¯ around Cambridge.
Chinese food, Pizza, Curry can all be found in around the town, and due
to its tourist foundations, you¡¯ll always be able to find a nice restaurant to
eat out in. Prices can vary so be wary of where you go.
Be sure to ask around about the good places to eat. Below are a few
recommendations.
Pizza Express, Jesus Lane – a beautiful
classic building reminiscent of a senate house.
The Cow – great atmosphere and decent pizzas with a special 2 for 1
offer on Tuesdays.
La Tasca – a classic Tapas
bar for a quite night out.
Night Life
For those clubbers and pubbers, there are
plenty of pubs and clubs around to enjoy a late night out. Music varies from Cheese, D&B to Hip Hop & RnB.
Soul Tree, The Fez Club, Ballare¡¯s, Life and the
Junction are well-known clubs you can visit on any day during the week. Student
prices are low for clubs so feel free to enjoy them to let off the stresses of
your academic life.
College Life
Each college has its own culture and character, which you can experience
by visiting friends in other colleges. Cambridge¡¯s openness to
fellow students always gives you the chance to visit other colleges whenever
you please.
One of the highlights of Cambridge life has to be
Formal Dinners. Each college will hold formal dinners, some daily, others
weekly, where you can experience the typical blend of the culture and history
of a certain college, whilst enjoying the food and wine with close friends and
classmates. At highly affordable prices, formal dinners are a great way of meeting
friends, celebrating birthdays or for just having fun.
The biggest event in the Cambridge calendar – other
then the CUKS events – must be the May Balls. Not all colleges hold these
balls, however, those that do ensure that you are getting your money¡¯s worth,
dousing you with food and beverages of high quality with entertainments from
fireworks and magicians to live bands, often of whom are well-known chart-label
groups. It¡¯s an occasion anybody would want to dress-up for and with Trinity
and St. John¡¯s College ranking 1st
and 3rd in the ¡°best university events in the world¡± charts; this is
something you want to be looking forward at the end of the academic year.
Believe me, outsiders would pay a fortune to go to an
event like this.
