leisure – New in Cambridge

Now here’s another great analogue summer holiday pursuit ….. Camcycle, which works for better and safer cycling for all ages and abilities in and around Cambridge, has created a new clue-based treasure hunt to encourage us all to get on our bikes, explore our beautiful city and discover, or rediscover, the fun of cycling.

CamcycleQuest Cambridge — Image credit: Camcycle

Starting and finishing at Reality Checkpoint, the famous lamp post on Parker’s Piece, the treasure hunt route takes you in a loop around the city, cycling on quiet roads, through snickets and passageways and along traffic free paths. The entire quest will take about a day to cycle but it can also be cycled in sections.

This is a great way to explore areas of Cambridge that you may not be familiar with, from Chesterton in the east to Eddington in the west. Don’t forget to take photos and post your progress on social media using the hashtag #CamcycleQuest.

Taking part in CamcycleQuest couldn’t be simpler. Firstly, pick up a guide from outlets around town (see the website below for details) or from the Camcycle stall outside the John Lewis cafe on Thursday 8 August. Gather your friends/family/colleagues and follow the route, adding up the answers to all the clues with the CamcycleQuest logo as you go, to come up with a final special CamcycleQuest number. You can submit this number via the website or at the Camcycle Cargo Carnival on 21 September. Correct answers will be entered into a prize draw ….. prizes include a £900 cargo bike e-conversion from Electric Bike Sales and cycling accessories.

For further details or to order a copy of the CamcycleQuest guide online, head to http://www.cambridgefestivalofcycling.org/camcyclequest

http://www.camcycle.org.uk

Jesus Green Lido is open again for a new season. One of the longest outdoor pools in the country, it’s been going since 1923 and still has a reassuringly old school feel with its wooden changing cubicles and its attended Basket Room for safe storage of your possessions as you swim. It’s surrounded by trees so it’s sheltered and private with shade on sunny days and plenty of grassy space for sunbathing and picnics.

Jesus Green Lido Cambridge — Image credit: GLL

I met with Charlotte Anderson-Chapman and Callum Lewis of GLL, which manages the Lido for Cambridge City Council, to get some facts and figures. The Lido, which runs alongside the River Cam, is 91 metres long, 14 metres wide and its depth varies from 1.2 – 2.5 metres. It takes 7 weeks to get the pool ready for opening day … it’s emptied and cleaned and every 4 years it has a full coat of paint with 65 tins of specialist paint rollered on by hand! It then takes 4 days and nights to pump enough water in to refill the Lido.

The Lido is unheated so the water temperature can be bracing but it’s quite acceptable to wear a wetsuit if, like me, you’re not the hardy type! There’s a dedicated lane for speedy swimmers and while triathletes and open water swimmers train here, it’s a great place for a leisurely dip in the open air on a hot day. In fact, there’s quite a community that grows around the Lido each year. The Friends of Jesus Green Pool is an informal group of regular swimmers who help to set up in the grounds, act as a voice for pool users and arrange several social events each year.

Facilities include showers and lockers in the changing rooms, a sauna and there is full disabled access with a poolside hoist. The cafe sells hot and cold drinks, snacks and ice cream. Memberships and season tickets are available or you can just turn up with your bathing kit on a sunny day and pay for a single swim.

https://www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/cambridge/jesusgreenlido

Off Chesterton Road, Cambridge, CB4 3AX

Category: leisure

CamcycleQuest: A cycling treasure hunt around Cambridge

Jesus Green Lido Cambridge