Grantchester : Cambridge, 2017

Grantchester -  a place mostly known by the greater public as the small Cambridgeshire village that inexplicably allows a vicar to investigate murders... in the ITV crime drama, that is. After our visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum we felt like heading out of the city, so decided to visit Grantchester for lunch and to see the local church.

The Church of St Andrew and St Mary, Grantchester. Photo by H. Bailey.

Inside of the Church of St Andrew and St Mary, Grantchester. Photo by H. Bailey.

We had our lunch at The Orchard Tea Gardens where I had the most amazing tuna sandwich I've had in my life, and I've had a lot of tuna sandwiches. All of the food we had there was delicious, but if you're getting cake make sure you check with staff if you have allergies: the menu said that the cakes included allergens, but we didn't see anything specifically listing them and the cake my mum had definitely had nuts.

If you're in the Cambridge area and want a lunch somewhere I'd definitely recommend it - although it looks like it might get quite packed with university students in the summer months. You'd also be joining quite a glamorous guest list for a country village tea room. People from Virginia Woolf and Rupert Brooke to Alan Turing, Stephen Hawking and the Prince of Wales, have all visited the tea gardens. That's an impressive list. I wonder if they also had the tuna sandwich...

Entrance to the Church. Photo by H. Bailey.

Flowers detail. Copyright Much Ado About Travelling.

Stained Glass Window Detail. Photo by H. Bailey.

After we had had our lunch we went to the church, which is just through the orchard and up the road. I decided to walk there as we had left my wheelchair in the car - this was a bit of a mistake as it is quite literally UP the road: there was a bit of a hill and after a busy morning this was difficult for me and I had to spend the first few minutes in the church sat on one of the pews recovering. One of the trees we walked past in the orchard reminded us of ET, if you ever go see if you can spot it too!

There had obviously been a wedding at the church quite recently and so it was decked out with beautiful flowers. There were some nods to the TV show, including a massive poster which I may have nearly knocked over. The church has a variety of different additions, some dating from the 14th century, others from the 1870s and there is some lovely stained glass that's a bit less visually straining than that at King's College Chapel. It was really peaceful there, and there were also some beautiful monuments in the graveyard.

Floor detail featuring the Corpus Christi Pelican. Photo by H. Bailey.

Corpus Christi Pelican Monument in the Graveyard. Photo by H. Bailey.

Accessibility (1 = not very good, 5 = brilliant!)

Wheelchair access 2/5: This probably isn't the best place to take a wheelchair. The path through the orchard is a bit bumpy, as is that slope up to the church. There were also some steps down into the church.

Sensory Input 4/5: The Tea Gardens were pretty quiet when we were there, and there is plenty of outside seating if you, like me, find it easier to process noises outside. The church was empty when we visited and, unlike some of the more decadent buildings we went to during our Cambridge trip, wasn't overwhelming.

Food and Facilities 4/5: The Tea Gardens are your closest food/facilities to the church and they're only a few hundred metres away from each other.

Travel 3/5: Your best bet is probably to drive there and it is a 15-20 minute drive from Cambridge. There is also some public transport.

Overall 3.25/5: Our visit length was around two hours, with eighteen minutes of travel. 

CAMBRIDGE TRIP DAY ONE: ST ALBAN'S CATHEDRAL

CAMBRIDGE TRIP DAY TWO: KING'S COLLEGE CHAPEL

CAMBRIDGE TRIP DAY THREE PART 1: THE FITZWILLIAM MUSEUM 

 *I currently have moderate ME, meaning I use a wheelchair pushed by someone else, and a walking stick. Please take into account your own physical capabilities when planning a trip, if you need to start small then start small. Look into what you can see nearby for when you're ready. Although, when at my best, I may be able to post every 1-2 weeks, that does not mean I am well enough to travel that frequently! Many of my posts come from a backlog of trips taken over the past few years.