Walking is often overlooked as a way of getting fit, despite being a free and easy way to boost physical and mental wellbeing.
Walking at a brisk pace can improve the health of your heart and lungs. It lowers your risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, improves mental health – anxiety, depression and low self-esteem – and also does wonders for weight management.
A brisk 10-minute daily walk counts towards your recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise according to the NHS. Visit this page to find out effortless ways to make walking a daily habit. You can also download a free app to help you stick to a routine.
If you are staying at The Fellows House, why not try this self-guided walk around central Cambridge? We are also sharing a link to download the new Science and Mathematics Audio Tours, free of charge, courtesy of Cambridge University Press.
Self-guided walk to central Cambridge with Dinky delights]
This self-guided tour will take you from The Fellows House to the historic centre of Cambridge – great for sightseeing and shopping. This exclusive tour includes street art by the mysterious artists behind the Dinky Doors. You can use Google Maps and the Dinky Doors’ Map if you need further directions.
Stop 1: Ride & Park Dinky Door – Jesus Green. Go down the footbridge and go behind the corner (Lido pool’s direction, not the ice cream kiosk). You will find a glow-in-the-dark portal that will magically transport you to “Ye Olde” Knight Rider, the door in Wandlebury Country Park. ‘Muggles’ will have to reach Wandlebury County Park by car or bus (1,13 and 13A). This door is number 8 in the official Dinky Doors’ Map.
Cross the park, walk through the quaint Portugal Street and emerge in Bridge Street. Walk towards Trinity Street.
Stop 2: Love from Above – All Saints Passage. Dr D. Mon has a heavenly admirer called Angie. The door is at the end of the alleyway opposite St John’s College near the little park with iron railings. Look carefully or you will miss it.
Walk down Trinity Street. Sights and amenities include St John’s College, Trinity College and the popular Heffers Bookshop. On Saturdays there is a craft market in the little park by the door.
Turn left into Green Street.
Stop 3: Rocket Rocket – a green way to travel in space on a quest to find the mysterious Supreme Leader. Amenities comprise independent shops including a hat store and two local gin shops.
Walk down Green Street into Sidney Street. You will face Sidney Sussex College with its beautiful wisteria intertwined in black iron railings. Other amenities include retail shops, a supermarket, a chemist, a second-hand Oxfam bookshop and the Waterstones bookshop. Walk past the supermarket and chemist into the pedestrianised Sussex Street.
Stop 4: Wonder Emporium – quirky objects are sold here; ring the bell for attention. Sidney Sussex has more independent shops, from leather goods to beautiful, framed mirrors.
Walk back into Sidney Street towards Market Street to reach Market Square. There is a market every day of the week, with different stalls and street food offerings.
Stop 5: Teleport-o-Matic. Look among the red phone boxes and find another magic portal – be transported on a budget – only 3p for 3 yards. Perhaps a nod to Star Trek?
Stop 6: Mage’s Pages. This charming and interactive Dinky delight asks these philosophical questions: “Where do books come from? You don’t think people write them, do you?”. The door is on the side of the Cambridge University Press Bookshop, claiming to be the oldest bookshop site in the UK.
Science & Maths Audio Tours from Cambridge University Press
The Cambridge Audio Tour was launched for this year’s Cambridge Festival (March 2022) and it was written by experts to be accessible to everyone. You can download it on your smartphone and walk around the streets of Cambridge while hearing about Cambridge’s finest minds, including Charles Darwin.