Cambridge Festival

"I felt privileged to be able to wander around such a prestigious place."

Looking back to last Friday and welcoming over 90 of you on tours of the University of Cambridge's Senate House 😍

Open Cambridge may be over for another year but there's still time to tell what you thought!

What did we do well, what would you like to see more of and how could we improve.

The survey will be open until 6 October and you could win a £30 Love2Shop voucher: https://bit.ly/3Tmkvbz

We loved having Cambridge United Football Club as part of the programme for the first time! ⚽️

Thank you to everyone who attended and to our wonderful hosts.

What a 10 days we've had! Thank you to everyone that came to an event and thank you to all of our amazing event coordinators 🤩

Keep up to date with public events at the University of Cambridge and beyond by signing up to our mailing list: https://bit.ly/45dfW6G

It's the final day of 2024. Here's what's open today ⬇️

🔸From 10am: Westminster College, Cambridge, All Saints Church, Jesus Lane, Wolfson College tree and poetry trails and Life Within Landscapes exhibition

🔸From 11am: Histon Road Cemetery open day with FHRC Friends of Histon Road Cemetery.

🔗: https://bit.ly/4cVCDjL

Need a plan for your Saturday? Then look no further ⬇️🤩

🏺Pop along to the Lawrence Room at Girton College and see artefacts from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece as well as Roman and Anglo-Saxon grave goods discovered on the college site. (2pm-4pm)

📚 The beautiful Wren Library Trinity College, Cambridge is open today - it's final day for Open Cambridge! (10am-4pm)

📜 St John's College Library is open today with an exhibition on paper and plants and the Cambridge Colleges’ Conservation Consortium, who will offer a show-and-tell experience about the different materials and techniques that go into growing a book. (10am-4pm)

⛪ All Saints Church on Jesus Lane (aka The Painted Church) has an exhibition showcasing exquisite vestments and embroideries from Watts&Co open for today and tomorrow only. And you'll get to see the beautiful hand painted walls! (10am-4pm)

📐 Celebrate over 10 years of making, inventing and collaboration at Cambridge’s city centre makerspace at Makespace Cambridge. Take a look at some previous projects as well as tour the workshops and find out more about the equipment used. (12pm-4pm)

📷 Share your photos with is us using or tagging us!

Happy final weekend 🙌 It's been a fantastic festival so far but there is loads to do and enjoy this week.

Swipe to see 6️⃣ events we think you should attend at the Wren Library, the Painted Church, Makespace Cambridge, St John's College Library and FHRC Friends of Histon Road Cemetery.

Full programme here: https://bit.ly/3mqB7ze

Tell us how we did and you could win a £30 Love2Shop voucher!

We really do read all your feedback and actively use it to improve how we do things.

If you've attended any of our events, let us know what you thought, what we did right and what we can improve by taking our 5-minute survey: https://bit.ly/3Tmkvbz

Don't forget the stunning Parker Library at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge is open tomorrow (Thursday 12 September).

Whilst you're exploring some the rare books and manuscripts, make sure you pay the Cambridge Colleges’ Conservation Consortium a visit who will be giving demonstrations of how manuscripts were assembled and are conserved today.

No booking required but due to restricted numbers, you may have to queue. The library will be open 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm.

Please note: Parker Library is located upstairs. Participants must be able to walk 25 steps of uneven stairs.

Do you want to see (possibly) the smallest scientific book ever? Erm, YES!

Explore the rare books of the Whipple Library, University of Cambridge including works by Darwin, Galileo, Newton and more.

There are still a few spaces left on Thursday 12 September so be quick and secure your spot: https://bit.ly/4deZ7MR

Did you attend any events this weekend? Share your thoughts and pictures with us - we'd love to share as many as we can!

In the meantime, we're all set to go again this week and here are just 5️⃣ events we think you should attend this week including events at the Whipple Museum of the History of Science, the Jesus Lane Quaker Meeting, Mill Road History and the Parker Library at Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge.

Find everything taking place on our website: https://bit.ly/3mqB7ze

🗺️ Get out this Saturday and follow our Open Cambridge trail!

Taking you from the Wren Library at Trinity College, Cambridge through to the Cambridge Access Surgery taking in Cambridge Buddhist Centre, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, Jesus Lane Quaker Meeting and others!

This 7 stop trail takes about 30 mins end to end (not including time at each location) and gives you the chance to explore new places in one go!

🤳 Share your pictures with us using and tagging us.

Map available here: https://bit.ly/3Th0Qd7

Which events are you attending this weekend?

If you need some inspiration, here are some drop-in events we think you should attend: https://bit.ly/3TjFI5U

Drop-in activities showcase Cambridge’s hidden treasures Open Cambridge is underway with a fantastic selection of drop-in events and activities for everyone to enjoy. Here are a few highlights.

In association with Cambridge Festival Town End Close Nature Reserve Open Evening
Friday 6 September, 6 - 8pm
CB3 0PG, access via St Vincent's Close and Woody Green
A chance to get to know Girton’s only nature reserve. Activities for all the family including:
Pond dipping
Bat monitoring
Moth trap demonstration
All welcome. Young children must be supervised. No dogs please.

🪦 Connect Cambridge past with Cambridge present and discover the beauty of Histon Road Cemetery during .

FHRC Friends of Histon Road Cemetery are inviting the public to drop by and discover some of the many stories the cemetery has to tell.

There will be displays about some of the people buried in the cemetery as well as memorial history and nature tours: https://bit.ly/3MxCxEh

How stunning does Westminster College, Cambridge look?! 😍 They will be opening their doors for Open Cambridge on Sunday 15 September.

Visitors will have the unique opportunity to explore the stunning Westminster Campus, including the newly inaugurated Woolf Building, home to the Woolf Institute.

Stroll through lovely lawns, take in the serene atmosphere of the chapel, and marvel at the fantastic library. Don’t miss the now-famous Assembly Room and the awe-inspiring Dining Hall, both highlights of the campus.

Whether you're a history enthusiast or simply curious about the college, you can embark on a self-guided tour with our informative leaflets, or join one of three exclusive guided tours led by our knowledgeable archivist (booking required).

📅 Sunday 15 September
⌚ 10am-4pm
📍 Westminster College, Madingley Road, CB3 0AA
🎫 Booking required for guided tours, everything else just drop by!

📷 1️⃣ Westminster College Library, 2️⃣ The Woolf Institute, 3️⃣ An external shot over the lawn at Westminster College, 4️⃣ A staircase and bookshelves in Westminster College

Are you free on Saturday 7 September? If so, why not spend the day walking around our beautiful city and popping along to some Open Cambridge events. 🤩

We’ve put together a trail taking you from the Wren Library to Cambridge Access Surgery on Newmarket Road. The walk itself takes around 30 minutes (not including time taken at each location) and is just over a mile on flat ground.

Stops include Trinity College Library, Cambridge, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, Cambridge Buddhist Centre, Jesus Lane Quaker Meeting, the Painted Church, Abbey House and Cambridge Access Surgery.

Follow the trail: https://bit.ly/3Th0Qd7

Super Saturday Open Cambridge trail Are you free on Saturday 7 September? If so, why not spend the day walking around our beautiful city and popping along to some Open Cambridge events.

Open Cambridge starts this Friday and there are plenty of things to see and do (it's all free and open to everyone!)

Check out a few of our highlights: https://bit.ly/3Tf4dRT ⬇️

🚺 Newnham College, Cambridge's exhibition telling the incredible story of Newnham College women’s war work, at Bletchley Park and beyond.

😍 Westminster College, Cambridge's open day and the chance to explore the stunning grounds, including the newly inaugurated Woolf Building and the gorgeous library.

💀 Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge's exhibition on the Candia Skull which has been described as the earliest fossilised human skull to reach an English collection.

🌻 An open day at Cambridge Access Surgery with open gardens and an exhibition of works created by local artists and members of the CAS community, with a focus on nature and wellbeing.

Open Cambridge kicks off on Friday with a programme of free and unique events for all One of the region's largest heritage festivals begins on Friday 6 September with over 70 events covering walks, talks, open spaces, exhibitions and community events. 

If you're looking for some nature during Open Cambridge, why not pop over to Wolfson College and follow their tree and poetry trails.

The poetry trail includes words written by college staff and students, while the tree trail showcases the unique selection of trees in the college gardens.

Open 10am-4pm throughout the festival, pick up your copy of the trails at the Porter's Lodge and enjoy!

Have you ever been to visit the Lawrence Room at Girton College?

One of the hidden gems of Cambridge, the Lawrence Room museum is set among the quiet lawns and trees of Girton College, where Roman and Anglo-Saxon grave goods discovered on the college site itself sit alongside artefacts from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece donated by college members over the years.

📅 Saturday 14 September
⌚ 2pm-4pm
📍 Lawrence Room, Girton College, Huntingdon Road, CB3 0JG
🎫 No booking required

Cambridge Quakers (Jesus Lane Quaker Meeting) are looking forward to welcoming you to see inside their meeting house and garden for .

There will be refreshments, activities for children and a space to relax, as well as a number of talks and workshops taking place throughout the day.

Take a look at everything they have on offer on our website: https://bit.ly/3ODVSnH

Pop along to the Ancient India & Iran Trust during Open Cambridge to see an exhibition giving visitors the opportunity to view materials from the Trust's collections.

The books, coins and manuscripts on display will explore the transmission of ideas through language, arts and commerce across 2000 years of South and Central Asian History.

📅 Saturday 7 September
⌚ 2pm-4pm
📍 Ancient India and Iran Trust, 23 Brooklands Avenue, CB2 8BG
🎫 No booking required, just drop in

📷 Sleeping Rustam carried off by the demon Akvan, Shahnameh. Pers. 2.01. BD

A new exhibition at Wolfson College is showcasing a selection of remarkable artworks by three female contemporary artists, Sandra Scott, Nadia Koo and Selena Scott.

They have made their home in Cambridge while continuing to be informed and inspired by their Caribbean heritage.

Their work is presented through the lens of their lived experiences, life-long travels and multi-cultural backgrounds as well as personal histories and memories.

📅 6/7/8/13/14/15 September
⌚ 10am-5pm
📍 Wolfson College, Barton Road, CB3 9BB
🎫 No need to book, just drop by: https://bit.ly/3SQXAoR

Life Within Landscapes: Caribbean - Cambridge Art, Now | Open Cambridge The exhibition presents a selection of remarkable artworks by three female contemporary artists, Sandra Scott, Nadia Koo and Selena Scott. They have made their home in Cambridge while continuing to be informed and inspired by their Caribbean heritage.

🏏 Take a walk with local historian Nigel Fenner through the streets of Cambridge and visit 10 playgrounds whose history include 16th century football/hooliganism, 12th century wrestling, 19th century golf, medieval archery and 19th century cricket.

On your journey explore the origins of play.

Finish up on a play ground where a player who used it is now buried.

Book your space now: https://bit.ly/4cABhL1

💀 Described as the earliest fossilised human skull to reach an English collection, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge is home to the Candia Skull which was found in Crete and given to the College by a Rotherhithe sea captain in 1627.

Pop into the college library to see this special exhibition during .

📅 6/7 September
⌚ 10am-4pm
📍 Sidney Sussex College, Richard Powell Library, Sidney Street, CB2 3HU
🎫 No booking required, just drop by: https://bit.ly/4dnjDM1

Have you ever been inside one of Cambridge's hidden treasures?

All Saints' Church aka The Painted Church remains one of the finest examples of Victorian Gothic in the country, both for its exceptional hand painted walls and for the spectacular stained glass.

Open on both weekends of Open Cambridge, on the 7/8 September visitors will be able to take a lasting look at the vibrant painted walls designed by Bodley together with the works of William Morris, Ford Madox Brown and Edward Burne-Jones amongst other artists involved in the project.

On 14/15 September, Watts & Co. will showcase some of their exquisite vestments and embroideries on the 14/15 September. Watts was co-founded by GF Bodley and the company was born out of a desire to complete the circle of Gothic Revival design and aesthetics in the decoration and furnishing of churches.

📅 7/8/14/15 September
⌚ 10am-4pm
📍 All Saints' Church, Jesus Lane, CB5 8BP
🎫 Drop in, no booking required

📷 A typical Watts & Co. chasuble

Experience a hands-on music workshop with "Baque Trovão"!

Participants will learn the basics of the percussive elements of Maracatu, a fun and powerful Afro-Brazilian cultural tradition nearly 400 years old in Recife-Brazil. You will also witness the performance of our vibrant music and community.

Baque Trovão is a not-for-profit musical community that celebrates the vibrant cultural heritage of Afro-Brazilian traditions.

Established less than a year ago in Cambridge, the community aims to promote social interaction and culture, embrace diversity, and bring fun to the local communities through captivating percussive rhythm and dance in our performances and parades.

📅 Saturday 7 September
⌚ 2pm-5pm
📍 Cambridge Joint Ex-Services & Royal Mail Social Club, Barnwell Drive, CB5 8RD
🎫 No booking required however the workshop will be run on a first-come, first-serve basis and limited by the number of available instruments.