Cambridge might be world-famous for punting, picturesque colleges, and scientific breakthroughs – but when you’re craving adventure, its perfectly manicured streets can feel a little too tame. Luckily, our long-time Cambridge resident Philip has spent years scouting the region, hand-selecting his favourite spots for escaping the city. Here’s his personal pick of the best adventurous day trips within an easy drive of Cambridge.
There’s no denying that Cambridge is a beautiful place. The city (though it feels more like a village) boasts a long and interesting list of things to see and do.
You can visit the world-famous pub, the Eagle, where the discovery of DNA was first announced over a pint, go punting, visit over a dozen museums or just go for a wander through the streets and colleges, marveling at the idea that gravity, the computer and the rules of footfall were all more or less put down on paper in this quaint little town.
But while that’s all very interesting, it’s not exactly exciting. If, like me, you find yourself hankering for some outdoor adventure every now and then, you may feel at a loss for how to spend your weekend in Cambridge.
As I’ve said before, the landscape around East Anglia is flat – flat – flat, but that doesn’t make it boring or devoid of history. Far from it.
As a long-time resident in Cambridge, I made it a point of honour to get out and about as often as possible and discover the more unusual, nature-focused spots of the region. Compiled below is a brief list of the most interesting locations to visit within an easy driving radius from the city centre.
So, if you’re looking to escape the cobbled streets and have an adventure in nature, here are eight day trips from Cambridge that you can do within an hour and a half drive (ish).
The Best Day Trips from Cambridge within an Hours Drive:
Byron’s Pool
- Location: Grantchester, Cambridgeshire
- Distance from Cambridge: ~2.5 miles
- Driving Time: ~10 minutes
If you read my latest adventure on the hunt for wild writers, you’ll know all about Byron’s Pool.
In a nutshell, it’s a serene 4.5-hectare nature reserve named after the poet Lord Byron, who is said to have bathed here during his time at Trinity College in the early 1800s.
The spot features lush woodland paths, ponds, and riverbank walks. Though a bit chilly and muddy in winter, it’s an ideal picnic and potential wild swimming location for spring and summer adventures.
Of all the places on this list, Byron’s Pool is probably the easiest to get to and the most recommended, as you can combine it with Grantchester Meadows and The Orchard Tea Rooms. Both are essential Cambridge spots to visit.
Gog Magog Hills
- Location: Southeast of Cambridge
- Distance from Cambridge: ~4 miles
- Driving Time: ~15 minutes
If you’re hankering for something a bit more pagan, you’re in the right place.
While most of the region is understandably dominated by the civilising influence of the Church of England, there are one or two wilder and weirder spots to be discovered. Perhaps the best of these are the Gog Magog Hills.
Located just southeast of Cambridge, they feature a range of low chalk hills replete with scenic views and walking trails.
The area includes Wandlebury – an Iron Age hillfort which offers the perfect leafy stroll, and Magog Down, a gently undulating chalk ridge with vast open meadows, often covered in flowers.
I’ve been here many times and while the hills aren’t particularly large, reaching an elevation of about 75 metres, they still offer a welcome change from the sheer horizontality of the rest of Cambridge.
As for the pagan-connection, nobody’s really sure about the ancient history of the site, but some believe it to be an eroded chalk figure, similar to the chalk horses of Wiltshire. Others say the hills are actually the bodies of one or more giants, who ruled the land before modern-day Britons arrived and slew them.
Whatever you believe, the Gog Magog Hills is undeniably one of the best day trips from Cambridge to have.
Fen Drayton Lakes
- Location: Fen Drayton, Cambridgeshire
- Distance from Cambridge: ~13 miles
- Driving Time: ~25 minutes
For those more interested in nature than folklore, you might prefer a day at Fen Drayton Lakes.
A great spot for birding, fishing and dog-walking, the area comprises a network of lakes and meadows, formed from former gravel extraction pits that naturally filled with water.
It’s a hidden haven for wildlife, hosting nationally important numbers of wintering ducks and more.
Unfortunately wild swimming is not permitted in the lakes, but if angling is your thing you might consider joining the local angling association.
Royston Cave
- Location: Royston, Hertfordshire
- Distance from Cambridge: ~15 miles
- Driving Time: ~30 minutes
The Royston Cave has it all. Rich, mysterious history – check. Funky, medieval carvings – check. A difficult-to-get-to, claustrophobic space – check.
Discovered in 1742 beneath the crossroads of Ermine Street and Icknield Way in Royston, this man-made, bell-shaped cave is carved 8 metres into the chalk. The cave’s original purpose remains a mystery, with theories suggesting links to the Knights Templar, or perhaps the abode of a reclusive and religious hermit.
The walls of the cave feature numerous medieval carvings, including depictions of saints and religious symbols, as well as several altar spaces where candles might have burned. Again, the age of the structure is not exactly known, but a recent study of the design of the images suggest they were likely made around the mid-1300s.
The space is pretty incredible, and it doesn’t take much to conjure up a powerful image of a medieval knight or hermit retreating here to pray and contemplate questions of the soul. Definitely worth a visit if you don’t mind a bit of claustrophobia.
Bartlow Hills Barrow Mounds
- Location: Bartlow, on the Cambs/Essex border
- Distance from Cambridge: ~14 miles
- Driving Time: ~30 minutes
Once upon a time, much of East Anglia was a centre of trade and industry for the Roman Empire, and the relics of that age can still be found scattered around the region, if you know where to look.
One such relic is the collection of Roman burial mounds at Bartlow. Situated on the border of Cambridgeshire and Essex, these mounds, known as Bartlow Hills, date back to the late 1st to early 2nd century AD.
These steep conical mounds are among the tallest Roman barrows in Britain, with the largest reaching 15 metres in height. Unfortunately, they have a rather sketchy archaeological history, as Victorian antiquarians apparently dug up much of the area and kept what they found to themselves.
Further excavations in the 19th century uncovered lavish funeral goods. But disaster struck again when many of these artefacts were sadly lost in a fire at Easton Lodge in 1847. In more recent days, some of the mounds have been levelled by agricultural activity to a height of about a metre.
Today, only three out of the original seven mounds are accessible to the public and free to explore. Even if the Roman connection doesn’t grab you, the beauty of the surrounding woodland surely will.
Grime’s Graves
- Location: Near Thetford, Norfolk
- Distance from Cambridge: ~38 miles
- Driving Time: ~1 hour
If Roman history is just too recent for you, you might prefer Grimes’s Graves, a unique Neolithic flint mine in Norfolk.
I’ve visited Grime’s Graves several times and the magic of the place never fails to stop me in my tracks.
For a start, you have to drive through the woods of Thetford Forest to find it, and then from the moment you arrive, you’re surrounded by over 430 small shafts and quarries that dot the grass like craters in a lunar landscape.
Named after the pagan god Grim, the mines are approximately 4,500 years old. Of course, their purpose can never be known, but we believe they were cut by the original inhabitants of the area to extract high-quality black flint. This flint was the miracle material of its day, used for all kinds of tools and weapons. This flint was so valuable there is evidence of it being traded far and wide across Europe.
While most of the quarries are small, just a metre or two wide, you can also descend into the much deeper ‘Pit Number 1’. It’s a 9 metre shaft that really does feel like you’re dropping into another world. In the pit, every wall is filled with marks and scars made by Stone Age miners.
Sutton Hoo
- Location: Near Woodbridge, Suffolk
- Distance from Cambridge: ~57 miles
- Driving Time: ~1 hour 15 minutes
Perhaps the most famous location on this list, Sutton Hoo even has its own BAFTA-nominated film – The Dig.
Managed today by the National Trust, Sutton Hoo – just outside Woodbridge – is home to two extraordinary Anglo-Saxon burial grounds dating back to the 6th and 7th centuries, famously the setting for one of Britain’s greatest archaeological discoveries.
The discovery of an undisturbed ship burial in 1939, containing a wealth of artefacts, has provided significant insights into early medieval England.
The burial, believed to be that of an Anglo-Saxon king, included a helmet, weapons, and other treasures. Recent research suggests the helmet may have originated from Denmark, highlighting the site’s international significance.
Wells-next-the-Sea
- Location: Norfolk Coast
- Distance from Cambridge: ~70 miles
- Driving Time: ~1 hour 40 minutes (a bit over the one and a half hour mark, but worth it!)
Last but certainly not least is another location I’ve touched on before here on Adventure Brits: Wells-next-the-Sea, a charming port town on the North Norfolk Coast, boasting a sweeping sandy beach bordered by pinewoods and colourful beach huts.
The town has been a seaport since before the 14th century, historically supplying grain to London and coal to the miners of the northeast. Its name derives from the many springs of fresh water in the area.
This is another spot I’ve been to many times, for a swim, a walk in the woods or a cheeky fish and chips.
The beach is idyllic and the water is dreamy, though the currents can be strong so take care. If you enjoy this kind of scenery, take a look at my experience of walking the Norfolk Coastal Path for more of the same.
Planning Your Day Trip From Cambridge
Unfortunately all of these locations – with the exception of the first two, which are easily cycle-able – can only really be reached by car.
If you don’t have a car I’m sure you could get to some of these via a combination of train and bus fares. Though my honest advice is to hire a car. Or – better yet – find someone with a car and sweet talk them into a nature focused road trip!
Good luck, and have fun escaping with these hand-picked Cambridge day trips!