Legs Eleven: England When It Sizzles: Cambridge.

This weeks post is all about my home city of Cambridge, here's Jess to fill you in on everything you need to know - and i mean everything, she's leaving nothing out!

Hello all, I’m Jess and from Cambridge. Here’s a little insight into why you should come here and all you need to know.

Kings College

First, yes, Cambridge is a University town and if you want to visit there are sometimes tours of the grounds at Kings etc but to be honest, they get a little mardy unless you visit in the peak summer season. The architecture of the colleges is beautiful as well as the churches and other general old school back streets of Cambridge.

So the main thing… SHOPPING! Here in Cambridge there are tons of places to go as it is spread over central Cambridge. First we have Cambridge town which has the Grand Arcade, the Parking is pricey so I would say use the Park and Ride bus into town. Grand Arcade has a range of shops, some a little pricey but some quite good. Highlights are John Lewis, which has everything, River Island, Topshop, Ted Baker, Thomas Sabo, upstairs is a nice Starbucks as well as some more expensive shops like Laura Ashley and Hobbs, where you can stand and admire the clothing that one day you'll be able to afford… (dreaming now!)

Grand Arcade

Merged into the Grand Arcade is Lion Yard that offers a massive New look, HMV, Pia Jewellery and Superdry. Then in main town there’s the things like Dorothy Perkins, a MASSSIVE new Cath Kidston, Zara, H&M, Gap as well as Office and a New shoe shop opening soon called Size?.

Also Town offers a couple of boutique stores such as Lilac Rose which sells beautiful clothes and jewellery at reasonable prices. On top of this there’s CallyCo which sells funky fabrics, for all you creative people! Also over in the Grafton Centre is Jemporium Vintage. A lovely little vintage store that sells genuine vintage dresses etc at reasonable prices as well as accessories such as bags and scarves. They have a great Facebook page too that you can check out to see some of the clothes!

The Grafton offers the good ol’ student gem of Primark, put where the old John Lewis was, so you can imagine the size of it, and it gives you everything! Also on the same street is little charity shops that, I have in my time, bought some gems of vinyl’s, clothes and even a fur coat last winter that cost me a fraction of the price of one in say Topshop. Talking of Topshop, there is a new Topshop opening in The Grafton Centre, Yes Cambridge will have two! There is also an Oasis, Debenhams, another massive New Look and H&M.

Well after a good shopping trip comes a snack or meal. My favourite place is Sticky Beaks, an independent shop that is great for foodies like me! All their stuff is made by them in their shop, which I love, and the food is divine. Many vegetarian options and lovely cakes will make you end up staying there for an afternoon! Its also rather peaceful as it's on a back street, set on the edge of town. Other places to eat are Costa Coffee, 2nd View Cafe in Waterstones and Starbucks, but if you want something bigger, then there's Nandos, Zizzi, Pizza Express, Prezzo, Bella Italia and The Gormet Burger Kitchen.

Sticky Beaks / Source

Just a 20 minute walk from town is the Cambridge Leisure Complex where you can catch a film at Cineworld, go Bowling or play pool and eat. There's another a Nandos, Pizza Hut, Frankies & Bennys, Chiquito and another Bella Italia as well as Subway and Tesco Express. There is also a Travelodge if you fancy an overnight stay.

So coming overnight...? NIGHTLIFE: Here in Cambridge, to be honest, we're kinda limited, but that's just because I’m going to Norwich for University and the Nightlife is insane there! So basically, to start either go to a pub, The Avery or The Emperor are rather good, The Emperor even offers a smoking area outside that’s decked out seaside style (imagine white and blue stripes, anchors and sand) or The Regal, which is where most people congregate before make their way to the bars and clubs.

The Regal

Clubs: Lola Lo has just opened, and from what i've heard is rather awesome! Another good place is Fez which offers indie/mash up/dub step stuff as well as Fat Poppadaddys on a Monday meaning cheap drinks! Don’t go to Ballare unless you want to get fat middle aged men dancing up you. Ewww. Then there’s Vodka Revs which offers toss the boss (flipping a coin, saying head or tails, if your right you get double the drink you’ve bought) and Plastique on a Thursday. This is the place to be on a Thursday to be honest as everyone goes there, so get in the queue early, and offers fresh music, great people to chat to and a in house photographer who uploads all the pics the next day to their Facebook page! Other bars include La Raza and Ta Bouche which are okay, but kinda pricey; more up market, mid 20’s kinda scene.