A ‘Staycation’ Weekend in Cambridge.

Starting a relationship during a pandemic has been unusual, to say the least. Nothing has been ‘normal’ – from our early days of dating towards the end of last summer, when there were curfews and tiers and sneaky stolen kisses on the tube escalator, to having to wait eight months to meet parents and friends due to the November – April lockdown. One thing we’ve really struggled with though, has been the inability to go on holiday or just have a break away from London life. We escaped to Devon to visit my parents as soon as the rules allowed, but spending a few days with my entire family is slightly different to having proper quality-time just the two of us. So a recently we finally escaped the city and tied in a trip to Cambridge with a visit to Peterborough to see my best friend and her boyfriend who moved up there last year.

We left London early on the Saturday morning, checked into the Clayton Hotel Cambridge by 10am, and enjoyed a day exploring what is arguably one of Britain’s prettiest cities, before driving up to Peterborough in the evening for dinner at Emma and Morris’s new house. The following morning we rose early to have breakfast at the famous Fitzbillies, before driving back to London in time for my boyfriend’s American football game in the afternoon. So, let me tell you more about what we did in Cambridge…

I first stayed at a Clayton Hotel in London, and while it was a press stay, I was so impressed that we were genuine paying guests this time around in Cambridge. What I love most is that Clayton hotels are trendy, new, clean, friendly, and most of all, very well priced for what you get! The brand also has a special place in my heart as the London hotel is where I finally started writing the book I’d been meaning to start for years – I’m now over half way through, so I just need to finish it now. Anyway, our room at the Cambridge hotel was ‘Covid cleaned and sealed’, and just like the London hotel it had everything we could possibly need, including a beautiful marble bathroom!

 

After checking in we dropped our bags and headed out to explore, stopping off at the nearby Norfolk St Bakery for coffee and the most delicious homemade sausage rolls. It was only a 20-minute or so walk from the hotel up to the main city centre, and we loved the cute streets and historic buildings everywhere.

 

We ambled along, stopping in at Waterstones for a book browse (I came away with The Ratline, a book I’d wanted to read for ages but had told myself to wait until I’d read a couple of other books I already had at home first. So far it’s very, very good and I highly recommend it – click here to get a free Audible trial and download the audiobook version for free!) before finally getting to the Riverbar Steakhouse and Grill, which had come highly recommended.

 

We had a lovely seat overlooking the river, and although it was a bit of a grey day, it was a lot of fun watching the punts go by! I wasn’t drinking alcohol as I was driving us to Peterborough later, so I had a strawberry lemonade, and then I chose the tuna while my boyfriend enjoyed a juicy steak. We also shared a scotch egg as we can’t resist them, but sadly it wasn’t as good as the one we had at Barge East recently.

 

After a very enjoyable lunch we made our way to King’s College Chapel through the most idyllic gardens and grounds. We crossed the cutest bridge and loved seeing more of the punts!

 

For King’s College Chapel you have to book tickets in advance, and then you just show them on your phone (or printed out) at the entrance. The chapel was absolutely breathtaking, and it was magical seeing it in person after so many years of watching Carols from King’s on television every Christmas!

 

My favourite part, however, was the wildflower meadow at the front of the chapel.

Just look at this meadow! It was so beautiful I couldn’t stop taking photos of it!

 

 

 

We walked slowly back through the city and towards the hotel as it was almost time to drive up to Emma and Morris’s! Peterborough is only about 45mins away from Cambridge, so it was a nice, easy drive. We had the loveliest evening catching up over dinner and it just made me so happy to be reunited at last!

The following morning we woke up early and went to Fitzbillies on Trumpington Street (the original one!) for breakfast. Apparently it’s a Cambridge institution and we really did have the best breakfast there! It was quite funny though, as I bumped into an old London friend as we walked in haha. Anyway, we both chose pancakes, I went for the caramelised banana while the bf had the bacon and chelsea bun syrup pancakes. The pancakes were super fluffy, absolutely delicious, and filled us up nicely before the journey back to London! We also bought a chelsea bun for the road as we heard that they’re pretty legendary, and I’m definitely glad we got one!

 

 

We really did have the loveliest little mini-break in Cambridge, it was nice to go somewhere new and have some quality time together, and I’d recommend it to anyone looking to escape their home environment for a bit. It was very busy, but all of the cafes and restaurants seemed very covid-safe and the hotel was excellent!

Now, the all-important question – is a staycation a holiday in your home town, or a holiday anywhere in your home country?

Catherine Lux

Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of SEO at Havas Media Group by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.

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