How to get here

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The Cavendish Laboratory is off Madingley Road, on JJ Thomson Avenue to the west of the city. The TCM group is in the Mott Building, but you must visit Reception when you arrive and contact the person you are visiting. The main Reception is in the Bragg building whose entrance is indicated by the red marker.

Foot / bicycle

From central Cambridge the Cavendish is readily approached via Burrell's Walk, Adams Road and the Coton footpath, which run due west from Garret Hostel Lane. This route avoids major roads, but brings one in to the back of the Cavendish site, which can make finding the main Reception slightly difficult. Fortunately there are always people around from whom directions can be sought.

By train — Cambridge Station

The timetable for Cambridge–London trains can be found here. Trains run from both King's Cross and Liverpool Street stations in London, with fast trains taking under an hour. If coming from the North it is possible to get trains directly from Peterborough (and beyond), and thus avoid London. Cambridge station is about 3 miles from the Cavendish; if no bus is available (see By Bus) it is best to take a taxi.

Bus

The University's West Cambridge site is served by the U bus operated by Whippet, and citi 4 operated by Stagecoach. From the railway station, take the U bus in the Madingley Road Park & Ride direction from stop 8 (timetable here), getting off at the Maxwell Centre adjacent to Reception. From the centre, take the Citi 4 bus, getting off at the stop just past J J Thomson Avenue on Madingley Road (see scalable map and abbreviated timetable).

Car

Please first ensure that you book one of the very limited number of visitors' parking spaces via your host.

Please be aware that J13 of the M11 has no access to/from the North, and that Storey's Way has a 6' 6" width restriction, and is thus unsuitable for large vehicles.

Coming from the South, you will probably come up the M11. Leave at junction 13, turn right along the A1303. The turning to the Cavendish, JJ Thomson Avenue, is on the right after about two thirds of a mile, immediately after the speed limit drops from 40mph to 30mph.

Coming from the West, you will probably come on the A428 from Bedford. Take the A1303 as you approach Cambridge, and you will be on the Madingley Road, with the Cavendish on the right off JJ Thomson Avenue before you enter the city.

Coming from the North, you should come on the A14 (formerly A604). Take the exit for Cambridge, and you enter along the Huntingdon Road. Turn right along Storey's Way, then right when you reach Madingley Road, to find the Cavendish on the left on JJ Thomson Avenue. (Please note that Storey's Way has a 6' 6" width restriction -- larger vehicles will need to continue along Huntingdon Road to the (double) set of traffic lights, and turn right there, following the major road down to the bottom of the hill then turning right, again at traffic lights, onto Madingley Road.)

Some, when approaching from the North, prefer to continue to Junction 12 of the M11, and use it to rejoin the M11 travelling north, and then leave again at J13 and proceed as though they had come from the South.

See the road map for more details.

Air

Cambridge Airport services flights from Amsterdam, Dublin, Jersey and Verona.

London is served by a number of airports, namely Stansted, Luton, Heathrow, Gatwick and London City. All except London City are served by National Express buses, for which timetables may be found here.  In the case of London City airport, take the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) to London Stratford, and from there a National Express bus to Cambridge.

Bus travel to Cambridge from Gatwick, and from Heathrow (particularly terminals 4 and 5), involves very lengthy journeys, and alternative methods may be preferable, while from Luton taking the bus is the only realistic option. From the bus station (you should get off at the Cambridge City Centre bus stop) it is about a 35 minute walk to the Cavendish (via Burrell's Walk and the Coton footpath), or you can take a taxi, or the citi 4 bus (see bus information above).

The alternative to the bus from Heathrow is to take the Underground to King's Cross, and from there a train to Cambridge (the Heathrow Express is expensive, and ends up in Paddington rather than King's Cross), while Stansted has direct trains to Cambridge. From Gatwick take a train to King's Cross, and from there a train to Cambridge. Information on getting to the laboratory from the railway station can be found in the section By bus.