Cambridge to Ely — scenic route
Posted by Stuart Bell
From: Central Cambridge.
Distance: 19 miles.
Summary: Open country views, but wear something reflective!
Click here to fly over this route in Google Earth (find out more…)
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Given the flat land to the north of Cambridge, a leisurely visit to Ely is best done by bike. There are three obvious routes to Ely — this is the scenic route, along the back roads. The cycle through open countryside gives you fantastic views, but it’s strongly advisable to wear something reflective (and perhaps have your rear light switched on) so that drivers can see you some distance away on these long, straight roads.
In detail:
- Make your way up Castle Hill, towards the petrol station shortly after the county council’s “Shire Hall” headquarters. It’s amazing how many people seem to struggle on this first step, presumably because hills are so unusual in this area! Castle Hill is extremely short (only about 300 metres) and not actually that steep, but it can be hard work unless you change down a few gears and build up a bit of speed early on.
- Turn right just before the petrol station (position A on the map), and then immediately left into Histon Road. This road changes name a number of times, but is essentially the road that will take us most of the way to Ely.
- Histon Road takes you through the northernmost part of Cambridge (the Kings Hedges area), up to a large roundabout with the A14. Cyclists are diverted onto the pavement at this point, but you’re aiming to cross the roundabout, cycling past the Holiday Inn, towards the villages of Histon and Impington.
- Histon and Impington were both originally ancient, pre-Roman settlements. As Cambridge expanded markedly over the past century, so the population of the two villages has rocketed upwards as well, so that any boundary between the two is now fuzzy to say the least. Very broadly speaking however, you will pass Histon on your left and Impington on your right — though this distinction is a point of some contention amongst local residents.
- Continuing straight on after Histon & Impington, you will then pass through the large village of Cottenham. Again, continue ahead on the main road, passing the village green on your left-hand side, and later the All Saints church on the right.
- The road now changes name again, this time harking back to the toll that was formerly levied for vehicles travelling between Cottenham and more northern villages. The two long stretches of ‘Twenty Pence Road’ take you through five miles of open farmland, with rabbits hopping along beside you and views stretching way into the distance. Halfway along, you pass over the Old West River (the name for this southern stretch of the Great Ouse, before the confluence with the River Cam at Little Thetford), near the Twenty Pence Marina (position B).
- Eventually, you’ll start seeing signs of civilisation, reaching the outskirts of Wilburton, and then the T-junction at the top of Twenty Pence Road. Turn right here, and then shortly afterwards left into Station Road (presumably there used to be a rail station serving Wilburton? I haven’t seen any remnants — feel free to explain all in the comments if you know more…).
- Station Road again leads you out into the countryside; turn right at the top of this road, and then left at the top of the next, to head into Witchford. This village, on the southernmost outskirts of Ely, has a sign proudly proclaiming that it was awarded the Ely Standard’s ‘Best Kept Village’ award in 1995…
- An off-road cyclepath towards the right takes you through the village and beside the A142. From here, you want to follow the signs towards “Ely historic attractions”. The shared pedestrian/cycle path is in extremely good condition, and takes you on a slightly different route to the cars, finally coming out at a crossroads, opposite Barton Road (position C).
- As you cycle down Barton Road, you’ll see a sign saying that you’re entering the Ely Porta area. The Ely Porta was the gateway into the monastic settlement of Ely, and remains today as the King’s School’s library (seen below on the right-hand side, with the Cathedral in the background).
- Barton Road leads you to the Porta, and from here you can continue under the archway into the Cathedral grounds, or walk your bike down the road to the left into the city centre. Alternatively, if you’re still feeling energetic, you could try some of my suggested cycle rides around the villages bordering Ely itself.
April 24th, 2006 at 10:01 pm
Wilburton did indeed have a station. There used to be a line that diverged from the still-existing Ely-Cambridge line just south of Ely, heading west to St Ives via Stretham, Wilburton, Haddenham (which all had stations), and a few other places. If you’re feeling sad, see if you can find any evidence of the stations in those villages :-)
April 29th, 2006 at 12:06 am
This is good! Looking forward to trying one out with you - Anna’s keen too!
May 1st, 2006 at 11:01 pm
Ah, I know it so well - this is essentially my route to work each day, except that I take the main road down to Stretham and along to Wilburton, rather than enjoying the back lanes (although they are rather useful when a lorry decides to wrap itself round Stretham roundabout). 20p road is great for overtaking tractors, and you get a really good Fenland feel to the ride regardless of the season: winter is all frosty and bleak, summer is big, open skies of blue. And don’t forget to check out the tower of All Saints Church in Cottenham - a very distinct design to the corners.
May 28th, 2006 at 3:09 am
Nice site. I also make strolls and little trips riding on a bicycle, in southern Brazil.
May 29th, 2006 at 11:58 am
We have just completed this route with an introductory variation which includes the towpath along the Cam from Cambridge to Clayhithe. Since this was upgraded last year, this has been a very pleasant stretch of river to cycle along with views of all sorts of river activities. This is becoming a popular place to go for a stroll, so pay attention when you cycle along it, and be aware that occasionally parts of it may be closed to cyclists. From Clayhithe, a path heads westwards to Waterbeach and from there you are back on the roads, first to Landbeach and then on to Cottenham to join the route described here to Ely.
May 29th, 2006 at 4:23 pm
That variant sounds a great idea, Espen — thanks for that suggestion! I assume that it’s not currently possible to cycle to Ely from Clayhithe along the east bank of the river (at least without having to lug bikes over stiles etc), but I’ve not yet double-checked that…
June 5th, 2006 at 5:19 pm
i have crazily tried cycling from Cambridge to Ely following the river all the way along the public footpath (east bank) last weekend. definitely not recommended, lots of stiles to clear and extremely bumpy, bushes everywhere as you near Ely - only suitable if you are on foot.
June 5th, 2006 at 5:24 pm
Ahhh, that saves me time trying it out — thanks very much for that! I didn’t actually realise that it was possible to go any further than Upware — in any case, it looks like it’s best to hold back on that cunning plan for the time being!
August 28th, 2006 at 8:04 am
Thanks for that information about the riverside route. We’ve lived in Cambridge for 25 years, and were just thinking about trying it today - you’ve saved us a lot of grief!
February 4th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Thanks for this route! The description is really clear and with that it was easy to cycle from Cambridge to Ely (and back)!
April 20th, 2007 at 10:54 am
I foolishly tried to cycle from Cambridge to Ely along the river, without really knowing where Ely is !!! From Upware I essentially followed the wrong river and ended up in Burwell. But I believe there is a National Cycle way from Wicken up to Ely somewhere.
April 23rd, 2007 at 12:41 pm
A bunch of us did this at the weekend just gone. Great ride! Thanks a lot.
June 15th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
I’ve tried to cycle from Cambridge to Ely along the river a couple of times and got totally lost in farmland past Waterbeach along the way! It just seems to go on forever and those public byway signs (when you’re lucky enough to see them) don’t actually tell you which direction you should go in. You also have to do a lot of bike-lifting over stiles. I eventually cycled inland through very remote paddocks and farmland for what seemed like AGES and ended up at Swaffham Prior. Obviously you can then cycle along the road to Ely but by then I was pretty tired of the exercise! I would definitely recommend a good OS map on such excursions!
July 29th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
I have cycled from Cambridge to Ely a lot following the river bank and it is made a lot easier if you swap from side to side of the river at every opportunity, except at the “Old Bridge”
Best time it took about 2.5 hours, it is probably best suited to a mountain biker though because the styles dont bother you (and the tutting pedestrians, whoops)
August 4th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Nice route, good instructions, and stylish website. I’ll have to try a few more of your rides. Keep up the good work :-)
August 6th, 2007 at 9:29 am
Thanks for all these comments! If you’re planning to try cycling along the towpath though, be aware that it’s currently closed off just south of Ely, because of the derailed freight train…
December 10th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Tried to cycle from Ely to Cambridge along the river on Saturday 8th Dec 2007 and failed. Started at Ely around 2:30pm, the diversion around the bridge was quite well signposted but had to walk through the golf course and along most of the private fields (wish I’d just taken the road). Finally got to the river bank an hour later (hello sunset) to be greeted with 35km/h headwind and light rain. Muddy underfoot or soggy grass made this standing up all the way and bloody tough. The stiles were a welcome break! Pretty desolate and took me until 5:15 to reach waterbeach, whereby I hopped on a train to Cambridge and collapsed. This ride beat me. I would not recommend - there is more fun to be had elsewhere. I had printed the 2 pdf maps off the local govt website and they were golden, although all you really need to know is keep the river on your left. Good luck!
May 29th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Wonderful!!! Don’t give up by the way;), especially on 20 Pence Road… Don’t ask people by the way, everybody wanted to discourage me, telling it was too far. It’s not, actually! It is really worth going to Ely by bike. Even if you are a woman, cycling alone… Good luck!
May 29th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
and…it takes about 2:30 hours from Grafton (Cambridge) to Ely and 2 hours cycling back. I’m not a super sportswoman;)
June 15th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Thanks for the route - did it today and really enjoyed it. Just after the B1049 changes name from Glebe Way to Cottenham Road as you’re leaving Histon, make sure you check out the house on the left: its garden is full of fantastic life-size hand-made sculptures, which I can only describe as looking a bit like Mayan art. There’s a notice inviting people to wander around them - it’s well worth stopping to do so.
July 6th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
A far more scenic route (and a lot less traffic) from Ely to Cambridge is my thrice weekly commute:
Though I’ve been silly & plotted the route in reverse (Cambridge to Ely)
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Cambridge-Ely-low-traffic
Basically from Ely follow NCN 11 (south of A142) along East side of river bank heading South –> Barway (approx half mile of unsurfaced track). Follow unclassified road (still NCN11) through Padney, to A1123. Right on A1123 for approx. 500yds, then left towards Upware, along a fantastically quiet & straight single lane fen road (with passing places). Follow to Swaffham Prior, then pick up cycle path to Swaffham Bulbeck, follow NCN 51 to Bottisham. At Bottisham pick up cycle path along old Newmarket Road. Under A14 at Quy tunnel, then choice off road to Fen Ditton, or head along Newmarket Road into Cambridge. Just over 25 miles.