The Best Way To Spend a Day in Cambridge

Afternoon All!!

Last week, as a little farewell to Hannah, our gorgeous angel who has been working with us over summer before going back to university, we decided to go to Cambridge and experiment with the best way to spend a day there!

We found that the best way to get to Cambridge, without anyone having to worry about drinking too much, as at Mandy’s Heaven, we try to make that as little of a problem as possible… we decided to train it. That way, everybody could chill without having the pressure of driving, except to the train station, in which I ensured, was John ;)

For a compulsory little tipple on the way, to get us into the party mood we took our beloved Prosecco on the journey. Just 1 bottle in a cool bag so we could all have a large (plastic) flute of Prosecco on the way. The plastic flutes to come in very handy later on in the day… I’ll get to that later.

Once having arrived in Cambridge, we thought to give ourselves the ‘classic pub’ experience (unfortunately, no, that did not include hours on karaoke with an old, very drunken regular slumped on a bar stool),  and despite not being pub limited in Brent Pelham, the experience was just as great. To do this we ventured over a river bridge to The Pickerel Inn, in which we sat down, with our drinks, surrounded by gorgeous dark, rustic wood, reminiscent of the ‘Classic English Pub Scene’. We also did some people watching, which in a place like Cambridge, is unmissable. The different styles surrounding the area, is both beautiful and sometimes shocking ;)

To then add a Spanish touch to our trip, we took a very long walk through all the little crevices of Cambridge to a beautiful Tapas Restaurant (only kidding, it was literally on the other side of the river…). Anyway, we needed to line our stomachs and this was perfect! Not only were there 5 of us for the deal where you had discounted tapas if you ordered 5 dishes, but it was ALL DAY HAPPY HOUR! What could possibly make a group of peopole happier than all day happy hour, right? 2 pitchers of cocktails for the price of 1! Although our Mango infused cocktail was nothing too jazzy, but for the price and the fact that we were each able to have 3 cocktails out of it, it tasted lovely!

Having just spent the last 2 hours in happy hour, we wanted to then add a classy touch to our trip, by taking the team to John and I’s favourite place in Cambridge, this being the Varsity Spa Hotel Rooftop Terrace. Here, you are able to chill sky high, with the most stunning views overlooking Cambridge and all the colleges. It was beautiful, all enjoyed more – so by the fact that the cocktails were fabulous! Most of us had Blushing Russians which went down a treat! They even provided us with blankets when it got a little bit nippy, which were perfect for us, and especially Ellie, who seems to be cold even when it’s hot (in our log cabin, Ellie has needed the heater on, even on summer days, turning it, of course, into a sauna.  

Now…. You’re probably wondering why I’ve been talking about a day out in Cambridge this whole time and not once mentioned punting? Of course, how could we go to Cambridge without going punting? So, after having had our cocktails and feeling a tiny bit tipsy we made our way to the punts. We managed to get a deal in which to punt costed £11 each on our own punt, which I believe is a very, very good deal.

It really was such a good experience, we had a man do the punting for us, who told us some incredible facts about the places we passed, such as one area being the kissing scene from The Theory of Everything. Also, with a little bit of dutch courage, we all had a go, some of us definitely being better than others (John, unexpectedly being the underdog of the group) All of this was enjoyed in weather that seemed to brighten up for us.

Luckily, the half way turning point was by the The Anchor Pub, so we quickly stopped and grabbed a bottle of Prosecco from there to enjoy on the way back, in our flutes that as I said earlier, came in handy again, of which we shared with the man who took us punting as well as nibbling on the red velvet and angel cakes we bought with us.

Into the evening we decided to have our meal in The Chop House and we definitely weren’t disappointed, with a selection of steaks and fish for us all, finished by some beautiful chocolate desserts, we were all undoubtedly full to the brim, although that wasn’t to stop us from quickly visiting a cocktail bar, selling the sweetest cocktails in the world, before getting a taxi home. (Of which was a compromise as Jay, our son, insisted on a night in the Lola Lo’s Club).

TOP TIP: When getting a taxi from Cambridge, always fix a fare, compared with leaving it on the meter, as it saved us a bundle.

We then we able to come home and nestle our heads on the pillow sent to sleep, of which may have been aided slightly by the Prosecco and cocktails….

It’s such a shame the fairies couldn’t join us as they were working too hard at the bottom of the garden. Because of this we had to hide the photos and videos from them as we didn't want to make them too jealous, although i cant help but share them with you! ;) 

Hope you all have a lovely week and weekend.

Lots of Love

Mandy xxxx