Stag Weekend or Hen Weekend in Cambridge

Looking for something special for a Stag or Hen Weekend in Cambridge? Crocodile Events has a superb list of fun events. Click the events button for a huge choice of events or click the photographs for Hen and Stag events.

Cambridge is known primarily for its internationally renown University, although the immediate area has supported various settlements since before the Roman Empire. At various points through history, the area has been under control of the Romans, Saxons and Vikings, in turn (and a brief return of the Saxons after the Viking period ended).

By Norman times, the city's name had evolved from Grantebrycge (in Anglo-Saxon times) to Cantebrigge. The university was formed in 1209 by students fleeing hostility in Oxford, and the city's claim to fame would soon attach to this institution rather than its namesake bridge.

Although the University grew substantially in the succeeding centuries, and the city of Cambridge grew with it, Cambridge was not actually granted its official city charter until 1951. While it boasted a world-renown University, with architecturally and historically celebrated chapels (perhaps best known is King's College Chapel, which took nearly 70 years to build), Cambridge did not have a cathedral, the traditional pre-requisite for legal city status. However, the lack of official city status did not slow Cambridge's development as a centre of scholarship and culture. Visitors today can enjoy a premier selection of museums, libraries and other attractions typical of historic Universities.

Today, in addition to the great University, Cambridge is at the centre of an area known as Silicon Fen, after the large number of high-tech companies and company incubators taking up residence in the new science parks and commercial developments in the area. Cambridge also hosts a number of fairs and festivals during the spring and summer, including the Cambridge Midsummer Fair, one of the oldest fairs in the UK with history as one of the largest medieval fairs in all of Europe.

The Cambridge Folk Festival is one of the largest folk music events in the UK, and the first Saturday in June sees the arrival of the free Strawberry Fair on Midsummer Common. Specialty festivals in Cambridge include the Cambridge Beer Festival in May and the annual Cambridge Fringe Festival.

While tourism is not one of the major focuses of the Cambridge economy outside festival season, accommodations are always available and the multitude of indoor attractions in and around the University make Cambridge an especially good holiday destination during the winter months. During the major festivals, it's advisable to book accommodations well in advance, unless you are planning on camping or traveling via caravan.