A great place for a day-out or a short stay when passing along the A14 in Cambridgeshire.

Godmanchester can be reached by car or public transport. Travelling by train use the services to Huntingdon railway station which is about 2miles from Godmanchester. In good weather it is a pleasant walk from the station and over West Side Common to the Old Bridge Hotel and on to Godmanchester. The rail station has bus connections to Godmanchester morning and evenings weekdays, or you can walk to Huntingdon bus station. Information on bus services can be found on the Cambridgeshire County Council web site, see below for information on bus, rail and air transport

Godmanchester is easy to find by road, just take the A1198 turning from the A14 (Junction 24) signed for Royston and Godmanchester, then follow the signs for Godmanchester. There are two car parks in central Godmanchester plus public parking along The Causeway and I hope the map below will help you or simply us the map from the Multimap image here.

View Godmanchester in a larger map

 

The first carpark is located at School Hill (you'll need a theodolite to see if the ground rises though!) adjacent to The Chinese Bridge and this is the site for the Public Toilets which includes a RADAR disabled access toilet.

Entrance is just off "The Causeway" as shown on map left. From A14, having entered the 30mph limit passing under the A14, follow ahead, passing The White Hart on your right heading towards Huntingdon. At the mini-roundabout turn left at the junction for The Offords and immediate right at the bollard into the car park in The Causeway.

 

Note that if you have a large pushchair or wheelchair, access to the river and recreation area is easier from the second car park as described below, but the toilets are on the road side of the mill stream.

The second carpark is only some 300 metres further along Post Street (i.e. turning right at the mnim-roundabout and heading towards Huntingdon) just prior to the pelican crossing, on the left hand side. It is the site of a now demolished mill.

There is access to the Recreation areas from both Car Parks. Within the "Rec" between the two carparks are play facilities for toddlers and beyond the sluice gates there is a range of equipment for older children and the football pitch. A stroll around the "Rec" is lovely, with Willow trees overhanging the mill race, and a footpath along the river to the lock gates and access to Portholme - see the article for more history on Portholme. Access to the latter is not suited to pushchairs and is inaccessible to wheelchairs, but otherwise Godmanchester is all level ground and is easy to get about whether with young children or if you have a little difficulty in walking. You can easily visit the area and see the historic built heritage that we are so lucky to retain here. Typical of the built heritage are the timber framed Tudor buildings from the 17th Century.

Take a tour around Godmanchester's C17th buildings

You can find information about the history of St Mary's Parish Church at the website plus details of services and notices etc. There are several places to eat in town, such as the three Pubs serving food (The White Hart, The Exhibition and The Black Bull), plus Ali's Tandoori restaurant, The Chinese Bridge Restaurant and Riverside Fish & Chips Restaurant . Let them know you found their details on Stuart Bond's website.

You can of course picnic alongside the River Great Ouse and there are several shops to buy snacks and sandwiches etc. If you want to take home some excellent meat, walk back along The Causeway with the river on your right and follow ahead to London Road just prior to left-hand bend. Call in to Thomas Family Butchers, tell Tim & Sharon that Stuart & Clare Bond sent you for great quality & value; excellent for us meat lovers.

Updated 3 July 2005

Bus Services for Godmanchester

Bus Service Details are provided on the Cambridgshire County Council site.
For Godmanchester services specifically then click here...

Train Services - Huntingdon Rail Station is the closest, and is about 2 miles from most of Godmanchester and has a taxi service.Alternatively, you can walk to the Bus station (less than 10mins) and then continue by bus here. In good weather, head out of the carpark under the A14 road bridge and follow the footpath across the common to Huntingdon ring road. Keep right and you'll soon come to the River Great Ouse. It will take about 30mins to get to the southern edge of Godmanchester.

National Rail Enquiries Departure boards, timetables and contacts for the Train Operating Companies
QJump for tickets

Airport Information

The main airports accessible from Godmanchester are listed below with typical journey times to the terminal outside rush hour (depending on traffic)
London Stansted Airport - approx 1 hour
Stansted Airport Guide
Official BAA Stansted Airport site

London Luton Airport - approx 1.25 hours
Official Airport site

Norwich International Aiport - approx 1.25 hours
Official Airport site

Birmingham International Aiport - approx 1.25 hours
Official Airport Site

Accommodation

Accommodation in the area, from camping and caravan sites, bed & breakfast (B&B), Guest Houses, cottages to hotels, and links to housing etc. can be found via the Huntingdonshire Website.
A few local sites for accommodation include:

• Koinonia, Godmanchester 1 Barringer Court, 21 London Street, Godmanchester, PE29 2HU Tel 01480 456912
• Pointers Guest House Wistow (no credit cards taken)
• The Old Bridge Hotel, Huntingdon just over the River Great Ouse from Godmanchester
• Marriot Hotel, on the A14 at Huntingdon

  There two caravan / camp sites in Godmanchester:

• Park Lane, Godmanchester (01480 453740) only a very short walk from the recreation ground see information here
• Huntingdon Boathaven & Caravan Park - Tel:01480 411977 adjacent the A14 bridge on road into Huntingdon. Again a relatively short walk back to the Recreation Ground.

Please enjoy your visit and let us know what you think of the Town.

Nearby attractions

There are many attractions in the area including the following and others are listed on the Things to Do & Places to Go page, with other listing on the links page:

Wood Green Animal Shelter is located on the A1198 towards Royston. It is approximately in the position marked as "A1198 to Royston" on the map above.

Paxton Pits Nature Reserve is nearby on the road to St Neots see the links page for website.

Duxford Imperial War Museum is located about 25 miles southeast along the A14 to Junction 10 on the M11.

Nene Valley Railway, preservation railway, is about 20 miles north on the A1 at Wansford.

The principal centres in the area are of course Cambridge, Peterborough, Huntingdon, St Neots, St Ives and Ely.

Details about other events, places to visit, eat & drink and accommodation in the Huntingdonshire area can be obtained from the Huntingdon Tourist Information Centre in the Library Foyer, Princes Street, Huntingdon. Tel 01480 388 588 (or +44 1480 388 588 from outside UK), TIC@huntsdc.gov.uk and their new Website www.huntsleisure.org