Cambridge is infamous for its abysmal night life, but as for pubs, it favours rather better. Here are a few that spring to mind:

The Cambridge Blue:

A very nice pub indeed, but located as it is on Gwydir Street it's hard to encourage people to go there as it is a long way from anywhere else (well, it's near good curry on Mill Road, but that too is a long way from anywhere else).

The Cambridge Blue is a free house, and as such has an unusual and varied selection of ales from local breweries (some quite good). The pub also serves Hoegaarden and Kettle chips which is a Good Thing.
Oh yes, and it has a complete ban on smoking and mobile telephony. A Good Thing too.

The Mill:

Probably the best pub in the area (it's situated at the end of Mill lane). Quite small, and certainly expensive, but a superbly preserved traditional English pub.
The place really comes into its own in May Week, when you can get a drink there and take it out on to Laundress Green and lie around in the sun getting pissed (not angry).

The Anchor:

A quite large pub situated on Silver Street opposite Queens'. It has two floors and two bars, and opens out on to a terrace on the Mill pond (nice in summer, but causes the lower level of the pub to get flooded when the level of the Cam rises high enough). On the whole a nice place, well decorated, but quite expensive.

Owned by Whitbred.

The Eagle:

The Eagle in on Bene't Street, a short distance from The Bath House. A pleasant pub, which appeals more to old people and tourists than to students. It has two bars, one of which is the vaguely famous air force bar whose ceiling is covered with the signatures of American service men who were in the area during World War II. It also has a no smoking room, which is a reilef, but is quite small.

Owned by Greene King and Corpus Christi.

The Bath House:

The Bath House, which used to be the Bath Ale House is located on Ben'et Street. The change of name occured when the pub was renovated, and became a pub of death. Before renovation, it was a dingy but homely place for a quick drink, situated ideally to catch everyone coming out from lectures in the arts school. It was here that Ernest Rutherford and his colleagues came to drink immediately after they had first split the atom.

These days, it's a brightly coloured thronging with teenagers drinking alchopops.

It's a Hogshead pub.

The Regal:

Situated on Regent Street, it was recently opened following the conversion of the old ABC cinema (at a cost of £3m). It is the largest pub in the United Kingdom, and gets quite rowdy at times. Because of this, they ID everyone who enters on Friday and Saturday nights, which takes the piss.

The Regal is a Wetherspoon's pub and consequentially sells dirt cheap drinks. It sits below the Arts Picture House, and is a good place to go for a quick bite to eat before or after a film.

Not a pub of death, but looks like one.


After they shut, a trip to one of the vans is in order.

If you wan to find any of these places, have a look at http://www.cammap.com/ 'the world's most interactive online map' (hmmm).

Here are a few pubs in the Mill Road region of Cambridge:

The Kingston Arms

Situated on Kingston Road, on the left just before the rail bridge. This is an incredible pub, with a very friendly atmosphere and a sign outside saying 'No lager'. They usually have a large selection of real ales, but without the attendant beards. Nice beer garden in the summer, and very good meals as well.

The Salisbury Arms

Found on Tenison Road, which joins Station Road to Mill Road. This is a very large, open pub, with random bicycles hanging from the ceiling and a good indie juekbox. The beer is reliably good, making this a nice place to go on the way to a night at the Q Club.

The Live and Let Live

Within 30 seconds of the Salisbury, this small pub is on Mawson Road, and well worth a visit. Amazing beer, a truly local feel, and incredibly friendly. They also have a pub cat. They also serve some pretty nice food, and only allow smoking once people have finished eating it. They sometimes do tie-ins with beer festivals or have live music.

The Empress

On the far side of the Mill Road bridge, on Thoday Street, this is another big pub with great beer and a nice atmosphere. Often packed at the weekends, although this is hardly suprising. They also have pool and darts, featuring a board so well used that about three inches of the wall have been eroded behind the backboard...

Pubs actually on Mill Road

Personally, I'm not a fan of these, as they always seem to be crowded and only serve expensive lager. However, just after the end of the road (not that you'd notice the name change) is the Brook, which has a much more local feel and usually does a nice pint.

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