Cambridge Satchel Company
If you’re looking for the perfect memento of your visit to the city, look no further than Cambridge Satchel Company. From small beginnings on a Cambridgeshire kitchen table, this business has grown into a world-famous fashion brand, selling its handcrafted, traditional-style satchels all over the world. Pop into the gorgeous St Mary’s Passage store to browse the range.
Cambridge Gin Lab
Described as the ‘world’s first gin tailor’, Cambridge Distillery offers visitors a chance to create their own bespoke bottles at its Green Street laboratory. An interactive space dedicated to the appreciation of gin, you can book tastings and blending sessions, or just pick up a bottle of the company’s award-winning spirit to take home. From seasonal specials to a classic dry gin, there’s plenty to try, but the most unique of all is the Anty Gin – the very first gin in the world to be made from insects!
Cambridge on a Plate
When it comes to Cambridge food legends, Steak & Honour are up there with the very best of them. Responsible for kickstarting the city’s street food scene in 2012, these burger makers par excellence now have a much-loved city centre restaurant – though you can still catch them flipping patties from their vintage vans too. Another local institution is Fitzbillies, a café and bakery with branches on Bridge Street and Trumpington Street. The colourful cake counter has much to tempt, but the spectacularly syrupy, sugary Chelsea buns are the star of the show – don’t leave Cambridge without trying one!
Go punting for the essential Cambridge experience
Another thing you can’t leave Cambridge without trying is punting – the absolute best way to see the sights. For the uninitiated, punts are long, wooden boats which glide through water, steered by a metal pole. Punting dates back as far as medieval times, when the boats were used for fishing and transporting goods for trade, but these days they’re just for fun in Cambridge – and boy do people love them! On sunny days the river is packed with punters (some taking it more seriously than others…), and catching people taking an unscheduled swim is a regular occurrence! For a better chance of staying aboard, you can book in with one of the punting companies and let someone else do the hard work while you relax – head to Mill Lane punt station or Quayside and join the fun.
