Pub crawls 2025–2026

CUTwC runs a series of pub crawls throughout (mostly) the first two terms of the academic year, intending to visit every public house in Cambridge during that time. This is an excellent way to learn you way around Cambridge, so long as you don’t mind asking “what pub’s it near?” when being given directions.

If you are not obviously an old fart, please bring ID with you, since pubs seem to be more enthusiastic about checking these days. Refusal often offends, and more importantly holds up the crawl.

See also the 2024-2025 crawl.

Previous years: 2023-2024 2022-2023 2021-2022 2019-2020 2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2016-2017 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013 2010-2011 1999-2000 1997-1998 1996-1997

For historical reference, there is a comparison of pubs open in 2022 compared with the 1996 crawl, the earliest recorded on this site.

River CamGrain & Hop StorePrince RegentPanton ArmsAlmaFort St GeorgeOld SpringMilton ArmsGolden HindShipCarlton ArmsClarendon ArmsElm TreeCricketersFree PressTram DepotDuke of CambridgeBlue MoonDobblersGeldartAlexandra ArmsCambridge BluePetersfieldCalverley’s TaproomKingston ArmsGrapesSir Isaac NewtonArchitectCastle InnPunterPickerelRegalCastle BarCambridge TapPint ShopBrewDogSmokeworks TapBath Ale HouseEagleRed BullGrantaMillMitreBaron of BeefBird or Worm?Corner HouseWrestlersEngineer’s HouseGreen DragonHaymakersRed LionRobin HoodQueen EdithRockEarl of DerbyCarpenters ArmsBoathouseTivoliPortland ArmsWatermanThirstyArtystAnchorGreen Man CambridgeHudson’s Ale HouseLord Byron InnGreen ManRed LionRupert BrookeBlue Ball InnBurleigh ArmsSt RadegundKing Street RunChampion of the ThamesKing Street Brew HouseHandsome PrinceTown and GownMaypoleByron’s BearBrookRoyal StandardEmpressDevonshire ArmsWhite SwanSmokeworksOld Ticket OfficeStation TavernSalisbury ArmsLive and Let LiveSix BellsRegent Street (Oct 19)RajbelashArbury (Nov 1)Nothing nearProspect Row (Nov 15)Curry QueenSturton Street (Nov 22)Curry QueenCastle Hill (Jan 31)Curry KingTown Centre (Feb 27)Curry KingLaundress Green (Mar 8)Curry KingAbbey (Mar 13)Nothing nearCherry HintonCurry QueenChesterton RoadCurry KingGrantchesterNothing NearKing StreetCurry KingMill RoadCurry QueenStation RoadCurry QueenKey to crawlsCurryGrantchester
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River CamGrain & Hop StorePrince RegentPanton ArmsAlmaFort St GeorgeOld SpringMilton ArmsGolden HindShipCarlton ArmsClarendon ArmsElm TreeCricketersFree PressTram DepotDuke of CambridgeBlue MoonDobblersGeldartAlexandra ArmsCambridge BluePetersfieldCalverley’s TaproomKingston ArmsGrapesSir Isaac NewtonArchitectCastle InnPunterPickerelRegalCastle BarCambridge TapPint ShopBrewDogSmokeworks TapBath Ale HouseEagleRed BullGrantaMillMitreBaron of BeefBird or Worm?Corner HouseWrestlersEngineer’s HouseGreen DragonHaymakersRed LionRobin HoodQueen EdithRockEarl of DerbyCarpenters ArmsBoathouseTivoliPortland ArmsWatermanThirstyArtystAnchorGreen Man CambridgeHudson’s Ale HouseLord Byron InnGreen ManRed LionRupert BrookeBlue Ball InnBurleigh ArmsSt RadegundKing Street RunChampion of the ThamesKing Street Brew HouseHandsome PrinceTown and GownMaypoleByron’s BearBrookRoyal StandardEmpressDevonshire ArmsWhite SwanSmokeworksOld Ticket OfficeStation TavernSalisbury ArmsLive and Let LiveSix BellsRegent Street (Oct 19)RajbelashArbury (Nov 1)Nothing nearProspect Row (Nov 15)Curry QueenSturton Street (Nov 22)Curry QueenCastle Hill (Jan 31)Curry KingTown Centre (Feb 27)Curry KingLaundress Green (Mar 8)Curry KingAbbey (Mar 13)Nothing nearCherry HintonCurry QueenChesterton RoadCurry KingGrantchesterNothing NearKing StreetCurry KingMill RoadCurry QueenStation RoadCurry QueenKey to crawlsCurryGrantchester
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Note: Route is provisional

The Abbey Crawl

Meeting in The Bird or Worm?

6 pubs to visit.

Directions:

Sunday 8th of March: The Laundress Green Crawl

Meeting in The Red Bull at around 6pm, after the Varsity Match.

7 pubs to visit.

75 pubs visited.

Attendees:
Abby Hallett Adam Sandhu Agnes Jardin Alice Horton Ameena Miah Andrew Garrard Dominic Seymour Elaine Tejici Emmy Charalambous Finley Walsh Gareth Hopkins Jack Buckley Jack Murphy Lily Trunzo Natasha Garratt Nick Su Patrick Barrie Sally Brouhard Tara Doherty Tom Buick Wiktor Krzemiński
Red Bull
Granta
Mill
Anchor
Town & Gown
Mitre
Baron of Beef

Directions:

Friday 27th of February: The Town Centre Crawl

Note: This crawl is nominally a re-run, since apparently nobody turned up for the original 20th of February date.

Meeting in The Regal at 7:30pm.

8 pubs visited.

Attendees:
Abby Hallett Alice Horton Elaine Tejici Emmy Charalambous Finley Walsh Helen Brookes Tom Sweeney
Regal
Castle Bar
Cambridge Tap
Pint Shop
BrewDog
Bath
Smokeworks
Eagle

Directions:

Saturday 31st of January: The Castle Hill Crawl

Meeting in The Grapes at 7pm.

6 pubs visited.

Attendees:
Abby Hallett Alice Horton Emmy Charalambous Finley Walsh Jody Holland Louie Taylor
Grapes
Sir Isaac Newton
Architect
Castle
Punter
Pickerel

Directions:

Saturday November 22nd: The Sturton Street Crawl

Meeting in The Dobblers Inn (after the National Handicapped Individual Pairs).

7 pubs visited.

Attendees:
Patrick Driscoll Jack Buckley Ed Brown Jack Murphy Finley Walsh Alice Horton Sam Clayton Katherine Drew Harley Jones Tim Hunt Nick Ingles Marc Mills Patrick Barrie Tim Hunt Paul Moss Marie Moss Molly Birch Toby Bruce Emmy Charalambous Abby Hallet Holly Smith Elaine Tejici Nate Riches
Dobblers
Geldart
Alexandra Arms
Cambridge Blue
Petersfield
Calverley’s Taproom
Kingston Arms

Directions:

Saturday November 15th: The Prospect Row Crawl

Meeting in The Clarendon Arms at 7pm.

7 pubs visited.

Attendees:
Abby Hallett Alice Horton Adam Sandhu Elaine Tejici Finley Walsh Holly Smith Jake Humbles Jody Holland Kashif Carter Mags Lesiak
Clarendon Arms
Cricketers
Elm Tree
Free Press
Tram Depot
Duke of Cambridge
Blue Moon

Directions:

Saturday November 1st: The Arbury Crawl

Meeting at The Fort St George by 7pm.

6 pubs visited.

Attendees:
Abby Hallett Alice Horton Emmy Charalambous Finley Walsh
Fort St George
Old Spring
Milton Arms
Golden Hind
Ship
Carlton Arms

Directions:

Sunday October 19th: The Regent Street Crawl

Meeting in The Grain & Hop Store at 8pm.

Four pubs visited.

Attendees:
Abby Hallett Alice Horton Emmy Charalambous Finley Walsh Jody Holland
Grain & Hop Store
Prince Regent
Panton Arms
Alma

Note: This is an abnormally short crawl to ease you into things. It has still managed to go wrong in the past. The length of other crawl varies substantially, in part because of pub closures; please don’t get over-confident after this one. Non adsumus nos oblectandi causa.

Directions:

Unscheduled future crawls

The Castle Hill Crawl

The Castle Hill Crawl

Meeting in The Grapes.

6 pubs to visit.

Directions:

  • Note: The Travellers Rest is no more, so you have an excuse not to have a healthy walk down Huntingdon Road almost as far as the city limits, or “home” as it may be known to Girtonians. Absolved from this demand, merely head out of town up Castle Hill, likely passing several of the pubs you will later visit, until you get to the large traffic light junction with Histon Road/Victoria Road. Turn right towards Victoria Road, then left onto Histon Road, then left into the Grapes, and roughly straight ahead to the bar to buy beer.
  • Turn right out of the Grapes and return to the traffic light cluster where Huntingon Road hits Castle Hill; cross to the southeast to head down the hill. The Newton is on the left. Bonus marks for taking the short cut through the car park instead.
  • Leaving the Newton, turn left to head down Castle Hill, and cross the road. The Architect is on the right.
  • Leave the Architect and cross the road, continuing to the right to head southeast down Castle Hill. The Castle is on the left, just after the actual castle. You could reasonably switch the order of the Architect and Castle, but this is slightly more linear.
  • From the Castle, cross back over the road and head southwest down the side of the Architect along the pedestrianised Whyman’s Lane. Turn left onto St Peter’s Street Way, then right onto Pound Hill, heading southish. Follow Pound Hill as it curves southeast; the Punter is on the left at the corner of the junction with Northampton Street.
  • Head left out of the Punter and east along Northampton Street. Cross the road at your convenience, and when you get to the traffic lights at the bottom of Castle Street, turn right to head southeast onto Magdalene Street. The Pickerel is on the right, shortly before the bridge over the Cam.
  • You are now conveniently close to the Curry King, so it seems churlish not to partake. Turn right out of the Pickerel and head southeast, crossing at your convenience. After a mini roundabout, you’ll see the Baron of Beef and the Mitre on your left; head between them, and you’ll find the Curry King. Continuing along Bridge Street and possibly veering right at St Johns Street will get you to most people’s definition of an obvious bit of Cambridge and hopefully a way home.
The Cherry Hinton Crawl

The Cherry Hinton Crawl

Meeting in The Red Lion (20 Mill End Road, Cherry Hinton — not Grantchester).

5 pubs to visit.

  • The Red Lion photo link photo link (20 Mill End Road)
  • The Robin Hood photo link photo link (1 Fulbourne Road, crossroads with Queen Edith’s Way, Cherry Hinton Road and Cherry Hinton High Street)
  • The Queen Edith photo link (Wulfstan Way)
  • The Rock photo link (200 Cherry Hinton Road, by the junction with Blinco Grove)
  • The Earl of Derby photo link (129 Hills Road, between Brooklands Avenue and the bridge over the railway)

Directions:

  • You can get to the Red Lion by taking Regent Street out of town south onto Hills Road, going past the station, turning left at the junction with Cherry Hinton Road, continuing to the crossroads with Fulbourn Road and Queen Edith Way, taking the left onto Cherry Hinton High Street, then taking the left again onto Mill End Road — in which case much of this crawl will look familiar when you do it backwards. You can also get there by going down Mill Road to the big Sainsbury’s on Brooks Road/Barnwell Road/Coldham’s Lane, take Coldham’s Lane southeast to Cherry Hinton High Street (mourning the Rosemary Branch), turn right to head southwest down the High Street (mourning the Five Bells), turn right onto Mill End Road (mourning the Unicorn), and entering a pub that’s still there. You could also get a taxi, although make sure you’re not taken to the Red Lion in Grantchester, because that’s another crawl.
  • Turn left out of the Red Lion and head to the High Street, mourning the Unicorn if you haven’t already done so. Turn right to head south and cross the road. The Robin Hood (formerly with Little John but they seem to have broken up) is on the left just before Fulbourn Road crossroads.
  • Leave the Robin Hood and head to the opposite corner of the crossroads. Head southwest onto Queen Edith’s Way and keep wandering until you find Wulfstan Way on your right. Head north, and you’ll find The Queen Edith on the right. Last time I went there it was much nicer than it used to be.
  • Turn right out of The Queen Edith (once you’re back at the road) and head north along Wulfstan Way until you reach the end, which is Cherry Hinton Road, then turn left. Cross the roundabout; on your right you may in the distance see the Dumpling Tree, formerly the Med, formerly the Master Mariner, but currently not a pub despite what it says on the sign (I asked). After a long walk, The Rock is on the corner of the crossroads with Blinco Grove, and I don’t think answers to “Dwayne” (nor does it contain Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery). If you get to Rock Road you’ve ironically gone much too far.
  • Turn left out of the Rock to head west along Cherry Hinton Road, crossing at your convenience (which may be some traffic lights). When you reach the junction with Hills Road, turn right to head north, crossing the railway bridge and passing the Junction (unless you prefer ten pin bowling to crawling). If it’s gone horribly wrong there’s a Travelodge. Anyhoo, once the road returns to ground level you should find the Earl of Derby on your right, near the traffic lights for Brooklands Avenue. If you work out what “Cambridge power signal box of excellence” is, do let me know.
  • If you’re just retuning to Cambridge, head north along Hills Road. For a curry, you really want to reach Mill Road, which the brave could do via Warren Close and the less brave can do by going down Hills Road to Station Road and turning right. Either way, take Tenison Road north off Station Road and keep going until you get to Mill Road (a T-junction). Turn right, head towards the railway bridge, don’t accidentally cross it, and the Curry Queen will be on your right and hopefully open. If not, at least you’re opposite the White Swan.
The Chesterton Road Crawl

The Chesterton Road Crawl

Meeting in The Carpenters Arms.

5-6 pubs plus one not-a-pub to visit.

  • The Carpenters Arms photo link (182 Victoria Road, by French’s Road)
  • The Boathouse photo link (Chesterton Road by Mitcham’s Corner, opposite Croft Holme Lane)
  • The Tivoli photo link (16 Chesterton Road, by the Boathouse)
  • The Portland Arms photo link (129 Chesterton Road, near where Milton Road meets Mitcham’s Corner)
  • The Waterman photo link (32 Chesterton Road, junction with Victoria Avenue)
  • Thirsty Cambridge (46 Chesterton Road, near the eastern bifurcation of the Mitcham’s Corner gyratory) — debatably not-a-pub
  • The Artyst (56 Chesterton Road, on the corner of Trafalgar Road) — if open

Directions:

  • The Carpenters we-don’t-need-no-stinkin’-apostrophe-except-in-this-bit Arms is on the north side of Victoria Road, more or less as North as it goes which describing a graceful inverted version of the Nike logo. Aim for the Histon Road Cemetary and pick the south east corner, since the north west corner is the Tandoori Palace, and if we wanted to have convenient access to a curry house we’d be doing this crawl in the more conventional order (blame the Alcademy). If you can’t find Victoria Road, head up Castle Hill, then keep turning right when you get to the big set of traffic lights. If you find the Grapes, you’ve missed.
  • Turn left to head east along Victoria Road, ance once you reach the one-way system of Mitcham’s Corner, veer right to head south. (Note: The Portland Arms is more directly ahead, but is a longer walk; crawl attendees who don’t read instructions have been known to bifurcate here before.) Cross the road and veer slightly east to find the Boathouse on the south side of the road.
  • One of the most complicated sets of directions on any crawl, leave the Boathouse (from the north end) and turn right. The Tivoli is on the right. Apparently these days it contains a golf course. Bear in mind you’s not ending up near a curry house if you want to partake (but they also do food, if that doesn’s bother you).
  • From the Tivoli, turn right to head east and cross Mitcham’s Corner at the pinch point by Lloyd’s Bank. The Portland Arms is at the southern tip of what is technically the A1134.
  • From the Portland Arms, head east and cross Mitcham’s Corner again, this time at the other end of the bit of green space. Watch out, there’s a cyclepath about. The Waterman is on the south side of the road at the corner of Victoria Avenue. At one point this was the Jolly Waterman, at least in name, although it may have been affected by the web site maintainer’s mood while writing this.
  • You’re now out of pubs, but that doesn’t mean you’re out of beer. Turn right out of the Waterman and cross Victoria Avenue to continue heading east along Chesterton Road, alongside yet more of the one way system. “Thirsty Cambridge’ is on the right. It describes itself as “our independent bar & bottle shop”, but it does appear to offer the ability to sit there and have a pint, and in this day and age, who are we to complain? Well, me, obviously.
  • There are reports that The Artyst may exist at last, and CAMRA might think it’s a pub despite web site claims to the contrary. If you would like to confirm this, leave Thirsty and head further along Chesterton Road. Note that we are on Chesterton Road but have not actually reached Chesterton — to go to Chesterton you want the Abbey Crawl.
  • Ah, curry. There seem to be take-away options on Milton Road near Mitcham’s Corner, but typically one might want to sit down after such a strenuous evening of drinking. Retracing the crawl route up Victoria Road to either Meghna (on Victoria Road, where the Blackamoore’s Head used to be, I believe) or to the aforementioned Tandoori Palace might work, but both close at 10pm so you’ll have to get a shift on. Continuing to Castle Street and heading down the hill will give you the option of the Maharajah (on the corner of St Peter’s Street), which claims to be open until 10:30pm and sometimes actually is. Alternatively, especially if walking up a hill seems like a bad idea, one could, from the end of the crawl, simply turn left and walk along Chesterton Road to the zebra crossing near the Job Centre, then use the bridge to cross the Cam, where one might find the Jesus Green public toilets if caught short (and observe that they closed at 8pm). Take the footpath between the avenue of trees (not by the toilet, that was misleading) so you have the tennis courts on your right. At the end you’ll hit Portugal Street, along which one can continue past the Maypole, noting how inconvenient it is that you can’t take a short cut through the Park Street car park. Once you’ve got all the way to Bridge Street, turn left and head through the passage that divides the Baron of Beef from the Mitre to find the Curry King, which purports to be open until midnight, although given the length of the walk you might want to phone ahead to confirm this. If the back route scares you, it’s not that much farther to keep walking along Chesterton Road westwards until you reach the crossroads with Bridge Street and head south from there. You may bemoan that the trek to sweet sweet lassi is somewhat shorter if the crawl is run in the traditional order.
The Grantchester Crawl

The Grantchester Crawl

Meeting in The Anchor.

Four pubs in Cambridge, with four bonus pubs in Grantchester outside the city limits, to visit.

Directions:

  • The Anchor is on Silver Street, just east of the Silver Street Bridge. It was missed from the Laundress Green crawl due to awkward opening hours, and this is the least painful substitution, although that’s not saying much. It does at least afford a place to meet that is vaguely central.
  • Leave the Anchor and head east along Silver Street. Turn right onto Trumpington Street. Walk approximately two miles. The Green man is on the east side of Trumpington High Street, which is on the left as you head out of Cambridge. This is quite a long way, so either start early or consider vehicular assistanace.
  • Turn left out of the Green Man, south along the High Street. Hudson’s Ale House (formerly The Duchess of Cambridge, Hudson’s Ale House and the Tally Ho) is on the left, a little way down.
  • From the Duchess Hudson’s, cross the High Street and turn right, the head left into Church Lane. The Lord Byron is on the right.
  • Prepare for a long walk to celebrate finishing the crawl of genuine Cambridge pubs. Turn right out of the Lord Byron, southwest down Church Lane, then west on Grantchester Road. Stay on Grantchester Road as it winds and turns into Mill Way, then Grantchester High Street. As the road splits, “Vera The Green Man” is on the right — the Green Man was a long-standing pub that’s been closed for a few years but seems to have reopened as a somewhat posh establishment, but if they let you in, go for it. Don’t mention the time Pete Keevash got kicked out for emptying vineger sachets into the condiments saucer.
  • From the Green Man (or after passing it if they think you’re too scruffy), follow round to the right. The Red Lion is very nearby on the left.
  • Turn right out of the Red Lion and return to the High Street, then turn right. Follow the High Street round to the right as it turns north into Broadway. The Rupert Brooke is on the right.
  • Turn right out of the Rupert Brooke north along Broadway. The Blue Ball Inn is on the left.
  • To head back to town, turn left out of the Blue Ball, north along Broadway. Broadway becomes Grantchester Road; veer right at Selwyn Road and left onto King’s Road to cut a corner before hitting Barton Road (this is famously a long walk and typically an opportunity for singing rude songs). Veer right on Barton Road, follow around to the left for Newnham Road, cross the roundabout and turn right at Silver Street to get back to the town centre. Alternatively, it is possible to walk back from Grantchester alongside the river, if one prefers stepping in cow pats and cattle grids in the dark to being run over. There is no obvious curry opportunity, but there’s no way go get back in time for one either — the only option is a taxi from the Blue Ball.
The King Street Crawl

The King Street Crawl

Meeting at The Burleigh Arms.

9, or maybe 8, pubs to visit.

Directions:

  • The Burleigh Arms is on Newmarket Road, although this is quite confusing because most of Newmarket Road is on the east side of the big roundabout; the Burleigh is in fact on the western bit that turns into Maids Causeway. Further east there used to be the Bird (formerly in Hand) and, partially up Elizabeth Way, the Fleur de Lys, both now departed (and in the case of the Bird possibly currently Navadhanya, although that looks closed too). The Burleigh Arms on the north side, just after Christ Church, which was at one point a little ironic given ecclesiastical policies on inclusion.
  • Turn right out of the Burleigh and continue west along Maid’s Causeway, crossing the road at your convenience. The Zebra and the Ancient Druids used to be found on the left, but sadly neither are still pubs. Boo. At the roundabout, keep to the left and cross Short Street, taking King Street just after the Methodist Church. The St Radegund (occasionally spelt Rhadegund and possibly being unbeatified, depending on where you look), which was refurbished but then ran out of money, is on the right. Historically it’s tiny. Apparently Radegund is the patron saint of Jesus College, which is nice. Traditionally this is where one would start the King Street Run of consecutive drinks in consecutive pubs in a hurry, which explains the next pub name. As of December 2025 there are reports that the Rad(egund) is open again; you may have to find out whether that’s true.
  • Whether or not the Rad is visited, the next pub is on the south side of King Street; the King Street Run should be obvious.
  • Turn left out of the King Street Run, and left again into the Champion of the Thames (after a very short walk).
  • Turn left from the Champion of the Thames and continue west along King Street. You will be passing New Court of Christ’s on the left, at which you might want to doff a cap to the founding location of CUTwC. You should also cross the road, because the King Street Brew House (formerly the Cambridge Brew House) is on the right, just before Malcolm Street.
  • Leave the Brew House. Excitingly there’s a new pub, the Handsome Prince, opposite Malcolm Street, and taking over the part of the site of the old Cambridge Arms which has not already been claimed by d’Arry’s restaurant; it should be conveniently more or less in front of you.
  • Leave the Handsome Prince. What happens next depends on your opinion of the Town and Gown, which definitely describes itself as a pub (although also “a Mac’s pub since 1999” despite only opening in 2020). It being hard to get a drink doesn’t feel to me like an excuse not to attend, but I’m old and set in my ways (but you might want to send a runner). It has been skipped as a “bar” in the past, and was left off the Laundress Green crawl this year.
    If you are visiting the Town and Gown:
    • Turn left out of the Handsome Prince, follow Hobson Street south, then turn right to head southwest along Sussex Street. At the end (the junction with Sidney Street), cross over (ish — you need to kink right a bit) and continue southwest along Market Passage. The Town and Gown is on the right.
    • Leave the T&G, hopefully having had a drink, and turn left to return northeast along Market Passage. This time turn left to head northwest up Sidney Street. Pass the junction with Jesus Lane, and when you get to the crossroads with St Johns Street on your left, turn right to go down Round Church Street (which has a round church on the corner; sometimes Cambridge was named by the antecedents of the Australians who came up with the “Great Sandy Desert”). Veer left at the end to head north up Park Street, then left before the barriers into the Maypole.
    If you are not visiting the Town and Gown:
    • Leave the Handsome Prince and go straight ahead, north up Malcolm Street, then left onto Jesus Lane at the end. Turn right at the traffic lights (having crossed the road) to follow Park Street northwest. Eventually you’ll reach some road furniture which should stop a car passing, and you too, because the Maypole will be on your left.
  • Exciting news! We have another new pub. Your best bet is to leave The Maypole (sorry) the way you came in and turn left, then head north through the road furniture onto New Park Street, which is a continuation of Park Street but looks older. Veer right to head northeast onto Portugal Street (although any turn will do) then left onto Park Parade, rather than continuing along the pedestrian avenue. If you’re doing it right, the tennis courts should be on you right, and Byron’s Bear should be ahead of you.
  • Curry is a little more complex now we don’t stop at the Maypole. Turn right from the southeast entrance of Byron’s Bear to head southwest along what I assume is still Park Parade. If that doesn’t work, go down the bit of Park Parade that’s by the tennis courts, then turn right onto St John’s Road instead. At a junction you should be able to head southwest onto Thompsons Lane, which is probably nothing to do with Doccy T. You’ll get to a roundabout on Bridge Street, whence you can head southeast into town or, more usefully, turn left into Blackmoor Head Yard between the Mitre and the Baron of Beef; the Curry King, which given the name of the crawl you obviously want, is on the right. If for some reason you don’t want curry, continuing down Bridge Street will bring you to civilisation if you don’t feel you’re already in it.
The Mill Road Crawl

The Mill Road Crawl

Meeting in The Brook at 7pm.

5 pubs to visit.

Directions:

  • The Brook is on the south west corner of the junction between Brookfields Avenue (the continuation of Mill Road) and Perne Road. Essentially head down Mill Road out of town until you can’t go any further, then head into the nearest pub rather than going to Sainsbury’s. You can start by bemoaning that the Mill Road pub crawl used to need to be split into the Yon, Hither and Mid versions because there used to be a lot more pubs, not that all of them were very nice.
  • Stay on the south side of Mill Road and head west towards town. Do not deviate, for We Aren’t Here To Enjoy Ourselves. The (now Royal again) Standard (a resurrected traditional pub) is on the left. Actually, now we can deviate and Enjoy Ourselves, because there’s extra time allowed for ordering Greek food.
  • From the Standard, walk straight north along Belgrave Road, then take the first left onto St Philip’s Road. After passing a couple of roads, the Empress is on the right, on the corner of Thoday Street.
  • Head south down Thoday Street until you hit Mill Road, then turn right. You may note the Earl of Beaconsfield on your right shortly before the bridge over the railway; it appears to be closed, but if it’s not, go in. Otherwise, cross both the bridge and the road, probably not both at once unless you like getting run over depending on whether Mill Road is open to traffic today. The first left after the bridge is Devonshire Road, which is A Clue to the fact that the Devonshire Arms is down it (on the right, a little away from Mill Road; if you hit a bend you’ve gone too far).
  • Return north to Mill Road; on the opposite side of the road, on the west junction with Kingston Street, is the White Swan. You know what to do.
  • If you have an interest in curry, and who wouldn’t, you will notice that the Curry Queen is almost opposite the White Swan, which is what we call convenient. Turn left from the Queen, or (if you must) right from the Swan to head northeast along Mill Road and you should be able to find Parker’s Piece, Reality Checkpoint, and the rest of Cambridge, or the police station if you’re really lost.
The Station Road Crawl

The Station Road Crawl

Meeting in Smokeworks (Station Road).

6 pubs to visit.

Directions:

  • The “SLINGERS Smokeworks Station Road” is, oddly enough, on Station Road, which is the road that leads to the (train) station. If you’re heading out of town southeast along Hills Road, turn left at the first significant lights once you’ve got past the Lensfield Road crossroads and the Thing On The Corner That Goes Dong (The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and the English Martyrs; the assumption presumably being that people can cope with long church names). Anyway. The Smokeworks is very near the corner with Hills Road, and hopefully you know what to do, although you may wish to save a brief frisson at the rumoured return of the Flying Pig. Don’t confuse this Smokeworks with the one on Free School Lane, or you’ll have a long walk.
  • Turn left out of the Smokeworks and head towards the station (the clue is in the name). As you head down there, you’ll pass the Clayton Hotel, which you‘ll not recognise as the alternative venue where the Club Dinner didn’t happen in 2023. Just before buying a ticket, turn left, pass the M&S (not that one), and the Old Ticket Office is on the right, in the station building.
  • Turn right out of the Old Ticket Office. See that pub? That’s the Station Tavern.
  • Turn right out of the Station Tavern onto Station Square (north), then head left on Great Northern Road (west), passing Sainsbury’s. Veer right onto Tennison Road, then keep heading vaguely north (there’s a slight wiggle) until you find the Salisbury Arms on your left, at the corner with Wilkin Street. If you hit Mill Road (or even Felton Street) you’ve gone too far.
  • Turn left out of the Salisbury and head (slightly north-)west along Felton Street. Turn right at the first junction (Mawson Road), and you’ll find the Live and Let Live on the left just before the crossroads with Cross Street. You may or may not be able to use a card to pay for drinks.
  • Turn left out of the Live to continue north(ish) along Mawson Road. Turn left onto Mill Street (not Mill Road — or Mill Lane) and the Six Bells is on the corner of the T-junction with Covent Garden.
  • You want a curry, obviously. Turn right out of the Bells onto Covent Garden heading north, and the next junction you find that’s not Mill Street is Mill Road. There you can turn right to head southeast out of town, and the Curry Queen should be waiting for you on your right, opposite the White Swan and shortly before the railway bridge. Most of Cambridge can be reached by going the other way (northwest) along Mill Road, which will bring you to the corner of Parker’s Piece. If you’re still lost, you’re also near the police station, and can ask — but remember you can’t trust a special like an old time copper if you can’t find your way home.