Future Cambridge; Eddington and West Cambridge

This is Walk 11 from the Cambridge Hidden Walks book and is called Future Cambridge; Eddington and West Cambridge.  These are both modern University developments 2 miles north-west of the city centre, and border countryside that provides community amenity; whereas Eddington is a residential area, West Cambridge Campus is a development of university buildings, mainly for science-related faculties.

From Madingley Road park and ride, I cross Madingley Road and walk south via West Cambridge Campus passing the tent-like Schlumberger Building first before walking along a footpath before doubling towards the Dept of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology and then walking around West Cambridge Lake.  I then walk down Charles Babbage Road for a short while to reach the Cavendish Laboratories site.  Then it's up past the Dept of Computer Science and Technology and the Whittle Laboratory; next, it's back across Madingley Road to walk up past the Univeristy Obervatory Buildings and the walk across towards Eddington.

Eddington is centred around Market Square and designed with a high level of sustainibility; an energy centre provides a district heating system, while a sustainable urban drainage system channels rainwater via bioswales to the artificial Brook Leys Lake between the site and the M11 motorway - the water is pumped back into homes for washing through a non-potable network.

I walk through the development and then down to walk around Brook Leys Lake to see the Fata Morgana Teahouse installation, designed by the German artists Wolfgang Winter and Berthold Hörbelt; except for the roof, almost the entire two-storey pavilion - including built-in benches - was made from undulating stainless steel welded grating, and depending on light conditions, its polished surfaces can appear shiny or see-through.  There are good views of Eddington from here.

Then it is a short walk back to the park and ride; it has been a very interesting 5.5-mile walk through "Future Cambridge."Read more