Cambridge- be underwhelmed, be very underwhelmed (Cambridge in General)

Name: bagoproverbial

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Product:	Cambridge in General
Date:	04/10/07 (102 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Decent gig venue, a few good bookshops

Disadvantages: They are many and varied. My 2 stars may be a tad generous.

Be prepared to be seriously underwhelmed if your idea of Cambridge is a glorious, posh, classy city full of culture.

The bit by the river and the old University buildings is nice (in fact some of the old buiuldings around the centre of the city are very nice indeed), there are some big open parks, and there are some splendid churches and other historial buildings dotted about the place, but I'm afraid once you've seen those then there isn't a lot left to see.

The rest of Cambridge is drab, grubby and in parts really quite seedy, especially around the Mill Road and Arbury areas but in quite a few other places as well. Everyone I know who has driven in Cambridge has seen their blood pressure rise through the roof, as the road system is horrendous (although they do have a park and ride facility). and quite apart from that, the train station is literally miles from the city centre. You have to walk not only down Station Road but then down Hills Road, and trust me- that is one long, long, tedious walk.

As if that wasn't enough, walking down Hills Road and almost anywhere else in this place you are continuously plagued by idiot students who insist on illegally riding their bikes on the pavement and have no concept of getting out of the way of pedestrians. Yes, Cambridge has probably more bikes, and more crap cyclists than almost anywhere else in the country. If you wander down a Cambridge pavement, be prepared for cyclists coming straight at you at over 20mph, presumably in the firmly held belief that the walkways are their domain.

Cambridge also seems to have the pushiest Big Issue sellers in the country. Half of them are already drunk (and this is at lunchtime) and actually step in your way to try and peddle their wares- and when you try and walk around them or ignore them, of course out come the expletives in a steady (and often quite inventive) stream.

There are lots of restaurants, especially in the Hills Road area- there must be hundreds down that street alone- and some of them are actually pretty good. Most of the pubs, however, leave a fair bit to be desired. The King Street Run (on King street, oddly enough) is nice though- they play alternative music upstairs (plus there are two pool tables) whilst the football types congregate downstairs and watch the telly- so the two groups rarely seem to get in each other's "way".

However there are rumours afoot that like most other alternative bars and clubs, the place is to be shut down or have a "trendy makeover"- no doubt to arise from the dead as a squeaky clean wine bar where spoiled students can hang out after spending the previous six hours in Starbucks.

Cambridge at night is pretty ropey, so don't leave it too late to get back home!

On the plus side, they've opened a new bowling centre on the other side of the railway bridge, and it's pretty good, although drinks and meals are horrendously overpriced as you would expect. Rather than eat in the bowling centre, check out the Frankie and Benny's restaurant next door- we had a lovely meal there and the place has a nice, relaxed ambience to it. There are several other restaurants in that area, and all in all that complex doesn't seem too bad- lacking in soul and any kind of atmosphere but then again its has only been built quite recently.

This area also has the Cambridge Junction, which is a nice gig venue with decent acoustics and a good ambience- unfortunately not that many decent bands play there very often, and it's a tad on the small side. But the Junction is still one of the better things that Cambridge has to offer.

Cambridge has all the chain stores that you'll find anywhere else in the country- I don't need to name them, you can probably recite them all yourselves, and kids probably have a nursery rhyme to help them remember each one. However it does have three decent bookstores in the city centre- Waterstones, Borders (my personal favourite) and Hammicks, which is a redeeming factor.

In summary Cambridge is way, way overrated. I know a few Americans who are desperate to go over there- "Hey, we really wanna visit Cambridge Cambridgeshire!" I've explained to them that it might well be worth a day trip, but don't spend any longer in the place.

It's a very, very average place for a city of its size, and the house prices, whilst they're steadying now, are far too high. In fact considering how overrated and ordinary much of it is, Cambridge's house prices are truly extortionate. This is a city that likes to think it's London but just isn't and never will be.

By all means go and check the place out, but don't expect too much and hopefully you won't be too disapointed.

Summary: At least it's only 45 minutes to London