Return to Cambridge

In spring 2026, I was lucky enough to accompany my son to an event at Cambridge University, to a celebration event for an essay-writing programme run by Homerton College. As I’d studied English at Cambridge’s Downing College, I grabbed the opportunity to show my son around, retracing my student footsteps and also exploring anew.

Straight off our 5-hour train journey from Edinburgh, we headed into the town centre, dipping into Downing College as our first port of call. Whilst the road the college sits on has got noticeably busier and brasher in the twenty years since I had studied there, inside the college gates the grounds were peaceful and as beautiful as I remembered. We had a whistle-stop tour, admiring the Heong art gallery and the Howard Theatre. Momentarily giving in to the nostalgia, I stopped to gaze up at my former room on one side of the quadrangle.

From Downing College, it’s a short walk to Cambridge town centre, and we headed to Japanese restaurant Kibou for dinner, savouring bao buns and sushi in a show-stopping pink room. This was definitely a new addition since my student days and was an indulgent splurge.

We’d decided to opt for an authentic university experience and as Downing doesn’t allow guests under 16 in its accommodation, we’d chosen to stay at Clare College. These digs offered a ‘set’, meaning my son could have his own space in the lounge part of the room. The college offered friendly porters and a gorgeous view of the River Cam as we headed to college breakfast in the buttery the next day. It even had its own punts we were offered the use of, although on this occasion we decided to opt for a guided tour provided by Trinity College.

• 

• 

• 

It was a gloriously sunny day but whilst the town itself was bustling, behind the college gates and along the river all was calm.

As a former student, my CAMCard meant we could enter most of the colleges, and we took in a blissfully quiet moment inside King’s College’s famous chapel before exploring the grounds of Trinity College.

After a quick tour of Fitzwilliam Museum (the Fitz), we climbed the 300 steps at Great Saint Mary’s Church to view the city laid out below.

A graduation was taking place, with gowned graduates lining up next to the Senate House.

• 

• 

Offsetting our indulgent splurge of the previous evening, we ate a Van of Life dinner of cheesy chips. Trailing home, we lingered in the college gardens by the river, and I recalled watching a student play of Alice in Wonderland in the gardens…

The next day, we said goodbye to the friendly Clare porters and trekked to Homerton for the celebration event. I’d never visited Homerton during my student years and was wowed by its welcoming atmosphere and grass you can walk on. The buttery and bar were both gorgeous and the admissions tutor had created a bespoke escape room to get the brain working as though undergoing a Cambridge admissions interview. If you can be said to be so towards a college, my son was smitten.

I was so grateful to have this time exploring and reminiscing about student years. The May Balls, the creative writing competition sponsored by author PD James (I still have her handwritten letter), tramping the city to audition for student plays of varying ambition.

Of course, I found time to visit a bookshop.