Cambridge Corners 

Hobson's Conduit and the Botanical Gardens

A 3 to 4 miles round trip that can be done on foot or by bike: I'd recommend cycling if you want to avoid returning by the same route.

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Start at the junction of Trumpington and Lensfield roads. Walk a few metres up Lensfield Road and turn right into Brookside. Notice the elegant, octagonal stone monument on your right just inside the fenced garden - go in and have a look. It was originally the Market fountain, known as Hobson's Conduit, but was moved to this site in 1856, after a fire in the Market. Thomas Hobson first brought water from Nine Wells (near Shelford village) through Hobson's Conduit into the city. I, as well as you dear reader, find it confusing that the monument and waterway have the same name.

The Market Square in 1840. Notice the domed Hobson's Conduit - yes, it's moved! Picture courtesy of Cambridgeshire Collection.

Follow the garden bordering the Conduit until you reach Bateman Street. Turn left and you will soon see an entrance on your right into the University Botanical Gardens. If you want to look round you'll have to lock up your bike first. There is an entrance fee although there is no charge on Wednesday morning: a highly convenient time, eh? The Botanics (as we locals say) are a wonderful mix of formal and informal cultivation. My favourites are the glass houses (the tropical one is amazingly humid), the environment around the small stream near the entrance and the lake near the Trumpington Road boundary. Refreshments can be had. When you've had enough make your way back to the same entrance.

Plant life old and young in the Botanics. Photos thanks to Garioch. Click for full image.

Turn right onto Bateman Street and then left along Trumpington Road with the Conduit on your left. Notice the fine (closed) gates to the Botanics. Cross straight over the bottom of Brooklands Avenue and into the allotment gardens though a metal gate (usually open). An alternative route here from the city centre is via the first half of the Coe Fen walk. Now turn left onto the path running alongside the Conduit. This borders the allotments, Empty Common and soon some woodland and scrub. At one point you pass through some beautiful mature beech trees - watch the roots! It's a really pleasant walk or ride. You'll need to cross the odd bridge and a tarmac drive into a sports field along the way. In winter the path can be muddy.

Eventually the path kinks around the point at which the Conduit goes into a tunnel underground. Follow the path straight on alongside a field with a rough hedge on your right. At the end of the field you meet Long Road. If you are on foot and want to avoid the traffic turn round and make your way back the way you came. If you want to see where the water for Hobson's Conduit comes from, join the Nine Wells walk from here by turning left along the narrow path between the field and a row of trees bordering Long Road: turn right under the artfully graffitied road bridge and continue on this broad track until a left turn at a crossroads takes you over a level crossing onto the Nine Wells path - head right to Nine Wells alongside the railway.

If you are on your bike turn right on the cycle path alongside Long Road. Turn right into Trumpington Road and cycle back, mostly on cycle paths, towards the city centre. Past the Botanics, turn right into Bateman Street and then left into Brookside. Enjoy some refreshment in the Cross Keys pub - it's near the end on the right, very close to your starting point. I'm sorry to say I was sick on the floor in here one New Year's Eve many years ago.