Latest news with #RiverCam
BBC News
6 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Cambridge swan left blind in one eye by ball bearing shooting
A swan has been blinded in one eye after it was shot in the head with a 10mm (0.4in) steel ball bearing in a "disgusting" attack. The male bird was rescued on Monday by Gordon Porter from the Godmanchester-based Waterfowl Sanctuary, after it was spotted on the River Cam near Cambridge. The ball bearing is so deeply imbedded in the bird's skull that Mr Porter thinks surgery to remove it "may cause more damage". He said: "The poor swan fortunately is doing very well and will live his life at the sanctuary now that he has lost an eye." The bird was initially spotted at Baits Bite Lock, just north of Cambridge, on Sunday. Mr Porter said: "I did comment, 'I don't like that eye', but it was too far away to see if it was just swollen - or injured."The next day, he realised the swan, which is part of a family, had been seriously harmed in a catapult attack. "This family of swans will have approached [the attacker] for food, and they will have shot them at close range - it's disgusting," he raise their young as co-parents, so the the rescue centre brought the entire family back to its 5.5 acre (2.2 hectare) Godmanchester base, near Huntingdon. "He can't be returned to the river - he'll crash into something flying and he can't get out of the way from rowers," said Mr Porter."He'll have daily eye dressing changes with pain relief and considerations are being made for him to receive surgery at the weekend."The rest of the family will be able to wander freely beyond the rescue centre once they are ready. Mr Porter added the catapult used to attack the swan was different from the ones used by anglers to launch grain or maggots into the water. "This sort of catapult is designed to shoot ball bearings with accuracy," he said. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Telegraph
20-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Cows given ‘virtual fence' collars to stop them falling in river
Cows have been given special collars which use virtual fence technology to stop them falling into a river. Livestock that graze on commons in central Cambridge have been given GPS collars which create a virtual boundary. The technology is solar-powered and controlled by an app, and the cattle are trained to turn around when they hear an audio warning. The warning sound starts at a low pitch and gradually gets higher as the animal moves through the boundary zone, with a mild electric pulse delivered if the whole scale has been played. Animals then learn to recognise the warning sound and turn around to avoid the electric pulse. Cambridge city council said an average of two to four cows fall into the River Cam during a grazing season. Last year, a farmer voiced fears that the centuries-old tradition of cows on the city's commons could be under threat if a council budget for out-of-hours rescue was cut. But the authority has given reassurance that it will 'continue to fund grazing' and has 'improved animal welfare with a technology that keeps the cows from falling into the river'. Cattle back on the commons Martin Smart, executive councillor for open space and city services for Cambridge city council, said: 'The council recognises the symbolic importance of the cows grazing on the commons. 'This is a special and unique feature of the city that is much loved by residents and visitors alike. 'Last year, the council carried out a public consultation on a range of options to make savings to ensure the council's financial sustainability. 'The consultation included proposed changes to a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week rescue service for cows, as between two to four cows fall into the river during the grazing season. 'In response to residents confirming their support for cows grazing on the commons, the council committed to continue to fund grazing and improved animal welfare with a technology that keeps the cows from falling into the river.' Cattle were back on Cambridge's commons this week. In a statement on its website in November, after reports that the tradition of grazing could be under threat, the city council said it had 'no plans to stop grazing'. It said the authority funds a '24-hour pinder service to recover cattle, mostly after falling in the river'. 'This service, which costs around £10,000 of the annual budget, deals with two to four incidents annually, but often the fire and rescue service assist,' the statement said. 'To help design out the problem and costs, the council has introduced a geo (virtual) fence system that keeps cattle away from the river bank, off the footpaths and within defined grazing areas. 'It enables the graziers to check the whereabouts of their livestock via a mobile phone app.' Cambridge's famous urban cattle graze the commons from around April to October, in a tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages.
The Sun
12-05-2025
- The Sun
The cheapest and best way to see one of UK's most popular holiday destinations & the pitfalls tourists make each summer
WHEN it comes to UK holiday destinations - Cambridge consistently features in the top five, thanks to its historical buildings and world-class university. It's especially popular in summertime, when scores of tourists flock to the city's river to take in the sights. 6 6 George Geach has worked as a 'punting chauffeur' in the city for the last three years, taking tourists on trips along on the River Cam in his boat. He says it's hands down the best, and most affordable, way of seeing Cambridge - thanks to the unique position the river has through the university colleges. Around 200 punts are manned by chauffeurs on the 4.5 mile stretch of the river. A punting tour in Cambridge costs just £15 per person and each boat holds up to 12 people. The tour lasts 45 minutes, where a chauffer pushes a flat-bottomed boat along the water with a 16ft pole. In total, guests pass seven University of Cambridge colleges, venture under nine bridges, including saac Newton's Mathematical bridge, and see Jesus Green Lock, built in 1836. Even in the winter when the weather is more depressing, he enjoys "people taking it as more of a romantic experience", where they wrap up and drink mulled wine. George said: "The land either side of the river is owned by the University so it is an affordable, concise way to see everything in one go. "Otherwise you'd have to pay to see the colleges individually - where here you can sit on the boat with a river tour guide and chauffeur." He added: "It's better than being in Oxford. If you look at other places - you don't really see as much as you see when you go punting in Cambridge." Futuristic electric boat that can FLY on water unveiled as luxury 'river limo' that quietly glides over bumpy waves However, with 900,000 people taking a ride each year, the 23-year-old has seen his fair share of obscure experiences. George said: "One guy on a boat was quite drunk and very peckish. "He saw another boat with a pizza and he dived in the river and swam over to the other boat. "He stole their pizza and swam back to his boat - and got attacked mid-swim by swans who wanted a bite themselves." George has also experienced a number of stag and hen-dos, where jumping into the River Cam is a usual part of the tour. He shared: "They cause lots of drama - all sorts of screaming and shouting and jumping in." Then there is the risk of falling in the water... 6 George explained: "I always tell people that the boats are really safe and there's no way you can fall in. "The only person who could fall in, is the guy at the back. "However we have had people falling in the river after their girlfriend has pushed them in whilst taking photos of King's College. And the company has also had some proposals go wrong. "We've had failed proposal tours where tour guides are told that there will be a proposal mid tour only for the answer to be a big fat no," George added. Some visitors, who feel extra confident are also keen to have a go at punting for themselves. George commented: "We have self-hire antics where people renting a boat out for themselves for the first time. 6 6 "They go round in circles, smash into bridges - causing general havoc. "They then blame the tour guides for not being skilled enough pushers to get out their way when they are blocking the entire river. "A collision in unavoidable." There was also one time during the May Ball fireworks at St John's, when around 50 boats are parked up to watch the fireworks, when some guests desperately needed the loo. George shared: "One boat load of people were parked up underneath a weeping willow and charged people £5 a pop to have a wee under the cover of the singular tree within the vicinity." Despite all the weird and wonderful experiences, George still loves what he does. Cambridge's counterpart Oxford is also has punting tours, as do some other UK locations including London on the River Thames, Canterbury on the River Stour and Stratford-upon-Avon on the River Avon. One man, who lives on a canal boat, says it is the best way to experience the UK. 6
Telegraph
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
How a controversial cycle lane is tearing apart one of the UK's prettiest villages
The only discernible flicker of drama on a sunny Thursday morning in the tranquil Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester is when a gust sweeps a charming steel bucket off the lid of a wheelie bin (a tasteful royal-blue wheelie, at that). The crash startles those outside The Blue Ball Inn overlooking the idyllic Grantchester Meadows, where the Bloomsbury set once lolled by the River Cam. But sleepy serenity is quickly restored. Or so it seems. This is, after all, the medieval village and conservation area that hosts filming for the eponymous ITV detective drama, Grantchester (formerly starring James Norton), in which sleuthing vicars might appear cosy as toast, but tension never prickles too far behind its picket fences. And so it appears in the real-life village, too – its quaint thatched cottages masking a long-running drama of their own. A drama that, last week, peaked (some might argue farcically so) in the theatre of London's Royal Courts of Justice, where villagers found themselves a long way from their daffodils, battling a threat they claim puts their beautiful home at risk: a cycleway. On March 25, a three-day judicial review opened at the High Court, hinged around Grantchester Parish Council's objection to the construction of a greenway – a route for cyclists, walkers and horse riders – through the heart of its village, linking nearby Haslingfield to Cambridge. The case was brought against Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) – the committee behind the Haslingfield Greenway, made up of representatives from Cambridgeshire County Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge City Council – not because the parishioners (who raised £55,000 for their days in court) object to greenways, but because they insist the section through Grantchester will destroy its unique aesthetic and character. Crucially, they also allege that, in a 2022 meeting with councillor Bridget Smith (then a GCP executive board member), they were 'promised' it would be re-routed if villagers overwhelmingly objected – which they did in a subsequent public consultation by 73 per cent. It's a 'promise' that the GCP insists was never made. The court case essentially boiled down to a 'they said, we said' row around whether the alleged 'promise' not to 'impose' the greenway on the village had been 'clear and unambiguous'. If found so, the parish council's legal team say the decision to build a greenway 'through Grantchester' should be subject to a quashing order. Either way, it's safe to say that recollections from that meeting vary. In fact, Judge Mrs Justice Lieven struggled to contain her exasperation at times. 'This is just verging on insanity,' she uttered on day one, after an intense cross-examination more befitting of a criminal trial than a judicial review. 'There is an incredibly narrow issue of fact as far as I can see here,' she said. 'It will merit very few questions.' How wrong she was. Summing up concluded on March 27, after an intense 30 pages of cross-examination by Mr Charles Streeten, who was representing the GCP – and Mrs Justice Lieven reserved judgement. She hasn't given a timescale for making her decision, but the parish council's legal team think it might be months. In the village on Thursday, as summing up was closing, villagers expressed dismay at the escalation. 'If I was the judge at the end of the first morning I'd have said, 'Why is this in court?'' says Ray Steward, 75, while perched in The Rupert Brooke pub (named after the former Grantchester-dwelling poet). Indeed, on the face of it, a greenway seems positive. A spokesperson for the GCP explains: 'The 12 greenways in Cambridge would introduce more than 150km [93 miles] of new, improved and safer routes for people to get around the local area.' Certainly some visitors (mostly non-Grantchester residents) support this view. Take cyclist Steven, 70, who stops outside the cafe, for example. He can't talk for long, he'll get chilly; helmet on, shades down, he says: 'I think it would be useful. The other option is going up the A10, and through the busier parts there you have to be careful – some bits there's cycle paths and some, it's non-existent. It would be safer [to have a cycle path], I think. A lot of people come to this village anyway – I don't think it would bring that many more.' But the problem is not visitor numbers, Steward insists. After all, the history, beauty and now TV fame of the village is already attracting more people than ever to Grantchester and, on a midweek morning, there's a smattering of day trippers tightening their backpacks here. 'We are on series 10 [of the show] – it's not going to make any difference,' he laughs. His wife Judy, 75, adds: 'It's always going to be popular; we are not worried about suddenly another 600 cyclists arriving.' They argue that there won't be many more visitors, rendering the cost and impact of implementing the greenway needless. Estimates predict a 25 per cent rise in visitors, but, in real terms, the villagers say this doesn't equate to big numbers. For one Grantchester section, Burnt Close, for example, cycle usage per 24 hours would potentially go from 26 journeys to 33 – just seven more. Although on another key stretch, the Broadway, a narrow road bordering the Meadows, the uplift is estimated to rise from 148 to 185. Instead, the key concerns for most are safety and appearance; the rural idyll eroded by signage and markings, road humps, lighting: 'Yellow paint all over the place.' Peter Scrase, 82, has lived in the village for 55 years – first in the vicarage that appears on TV ('They put up fake wisteria when they film'), now in another rectory (Grantchester has three). He describes the narrowness of the roads, especially the Broadway, where parked cars hem Charterhouse Terrace – 1870s cottages with charming front gardens dotted with hyacinths. 'If you are getting out of a car and you have a cyclist coming, you could have a very nasty accident,' he says. Even on this quiet morning, cars regularly back up eight-strong to allow others to pass, and the double decker number 18 to St Neots stands off with traffic as it navigates double bends. Scrase doesn't believe a greenway will reduce cars. 'That traffic is nothing to do with Haslingfield,' he says. 'At 7am, it's [people] trying to avoid the M11 junction.' Scrase stresses this is an 'important conservation area, a unique village… a breathing space for people,' before adding: 'The greenway will be unsightly.' The Blue Ball Inn's landlord, Toby Joseph, 65, agrees. 'It's total madness. The road is not adequate to cope with a cycle route,' he says. Even as a business-owner he sees little advantage: 'We are blessed by cyclists from Cambridge, but this would cater for something like 10 cyclists a day from Haslingfield. 'There are days when sometimes the village is a little full. I don't object at all, but this cycleway isn't to bring tourists and visitors, it's to enable people to commute from Haslingfield and they can do that perfectly adequately today.' The latter argument is the one made by the parish council, which claims other routes already exist and favours improving the pathway through the Meadows. In fact, plenty of cyclists pedal it today under circling red kites. Philip Driver, 65, from nearby Great Shelford, has walked to Grantchester for lunch. He is an 'avid cyclist' and agrees 'that would do the job'. But sitting in The Orchard Tea Garden with her newborn, Dr Emily Gomersall, 34, who lives in Haslingfield, disagrees. She cycles to Cambridge with her children, and her husband commutes by bike. Currently they go over 'bumpy' farmland with a permit, then join the roads in Grantchester anyway. She says the greenway would be safer and more direct. 'I think there are other longer options, but it's already quite a long cycle, and I think it needs to be as short as it can be to encourage people to use it,' she says. The route currently takes her husband 25 minutes, and she believes seven or eight minutes could be shaved. But where cyclists' wheels will turn now rests some 60 miles away in Mrs Justice Lieven's hands. 'We now await the judge's decision and will comment further once legal proceedings have concluded,' said the GCP. The parish council declined to comment at this stage. Mrs Justice Lieven herself might need a relaxing cycle through the Grantchester Meadows after this case concludes.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How a controversial cycle lane is tearing apart one of the UK's prettiest villages
The only discernible flicker of drama on a sunny Thursday morning in the tranquil Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester is when a gust sweeps a charming steel bucket off the lid of a wheelie bin (a tasteful royal-blue wheelie, at that). The crash startles those outside The Blue Ball Inn overlooking the idyllic Grantchester Meadows, where the Bloomsbury set once lolled by the River Cam. But sleepy serenity is quickly restored. Or so it seems. This is, after all, the medieval village and conservation area that hosts filming for the eponymous ITV detective drama, Grantchester (formerly starring James Norton), in which sleuthing vicars might appear cosy as toast, but tension never prickles too far behind its picket fences. And so it appears in the real-life village, too – its quaint thatched cottages masking a long-running drama of their own. A drama that, last week, peaked (some might argue farcically so) in the theatre of London's Royal Courts of Justice, where villagers found themselves a long way from their daffodils, battling a threat they claim puts their beautiful home at risk: a cycleway. On March 25, a three-day judicial review opened at the High Court, hinged around Grantchester Parish Council's objection to the construction of a greenway – a route for cyclists, walkers and horse riders – through the heart of its village, linking nearby Haslingfield to Cambridge. The case was brought against Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) – the committee behind the Haslingfield Greenway, made up of representatives from Cambridgeshire County Council, South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge City Council – not because the parishioners (who raised £55,000 for their days in court) object to greenways, but because they insist the section through Grantchester will destroy its unique aesthetic and character. Crucially, they also allege that, in a 2022 meeting with councillor Bridget Smith (then a GCP executive board member), they were 'promised' it would be re-routed if villagers overwhelmingly objected – which they did in a subsequent public consultation by 73 per cent. It's a 'promise' that the GCP insists was never made. The court case essentially boiled down to a 'they said, we said' row around whether the alleged 'promise' not to 'impose' the greenway on the village had been 'clear and unambiguous'. If found so, the parish council's legal team say the decision to build a greenway 'through Grantchester' should be subject to a quashing order. Either way, it's safe to say that recollections from that meeting vary. In fact, Judge Mrs Justice Lieven struggled to contain her exasperation at times. 'This is just verging on insanity,' she uttered on day one, after an intense cross-examination more befitting of a criminal trial than a judicial review. 'There is an incredibly narrow issue of fact as far as I can see here,' she said. 'It will merit very few questions.' How wrong she was. Summing up concluded on March 27, after an intense 30 pages of cross-examination by Mr Charles Streeten, who was representing the GCP – and Mrs Justice Lieven reserved judgement. She hasn't given a timescale for making her decision, but the parish council's legal team think it might be months. In the village on Thursday, as summing up was closing, villagers expressed dismay at the escalation. 'If I was the judge at the end of the first morning I'd have said, 'Why is this in court?'' says Ray Steward, 75, while perched in The Rupert Brooke pub (named after the former Grantchester-dwelling poet). Indeed, on the face of it, a greenway seems positive. A spokesperson for the GCP explains: 'The 12 greenways in Cambridge would introduce more than 150km [93 miles] of new, improved and safer routes for people to get around the local area.' Certainly some visitors (mostly non-Grantchester residents) support this view. Take cyclist Steven, 70, who stops outside the cafe, for example. He can't talk for long, he'll get chilly; helmet on, shades down, he says: 'I think it would be useful. The other option is going up the A10, and through the busier parts there you have to be careful – some bits there's cycle paths and some, it's non-existent. It would be safer [to have a cycle path], I think. A lot of people come to this village anyway – I don't think it would bring that many more.' But the problem is not visitor numbers, Steward insists. After all, the history, beauty and now TV fame of the village is already attracting more people than ever to Grantchester and, on a midweek morning, there's a smattering of day trippers tightening their backpacks here. 'We are on series 10 [of the show] – it's not going to make any difference,' he laughs. His wife Judy, 75, adds: 'It's always going to be popular; we are not worried about suddenly another 600 cyclists arriving.' They argue that there won't be many more visitors, rendering the cost and impact of implementing the greenway needless. Estimates predict a 25 per cent rise in visitors, but, in real terms, the villagers say this doesn't equate to big numbers. For one Grantchester section, Burnt Close, for example, cycle usage per 24 hours would potentially go from 26 journeys to 33 – just seven more. Although on another key stretch, the Broadway, a narrow road bordering the Meadows, the uplift is estimated to rise from 148 to 185. Instead, the key concerns for most are safety and appearance; the rural idyll eroded by signage and markings, road humps, lighting: 'Yellow paint all over the place.' Peter Scrase, 82, has lived in the village for 55 years – first in the vicarage that appears on TV ('They put up fake wisteria when they film'), now in another rectory (Grantchester has three). He describes the narrowness of the roads, especially the Broadway, where parked cars hem Charterhouse Terrace – 1870s cottages with charming front gardens dotted with hyacinths. 'If you are getting out of a car and you have a cyclist coming, you could have a very nasty accident,' he says. Even on this quiet morning, cars regularly back up eight-strong to allow others to pass, and the double decker number 18 to St Neots stands off with traffic as it navigates double bends. Scrase doesn't believe a greenway will reduce cars. 'That traffic is nothing to do with Haslingfield,' he says. 'At 7am, it's [people] trying to avoid the M11 junction.' Scrase stresses this is an 'important conservation area, a unique village… a breathing space for people,' before adding: 'The greenway will be unsightly.' The Blue Ball Inn's landlord, Toby Joseph, 65, agrees. 'It's total madness. The road is not adequate to cope with a cycle route,' he says. Even as a business-owner he sees little advantage: 'We are blessed by cyclists from Cambridge, but this would cater for something like 10 cyclists a day from Haslingfield. 'There are days when sometimes the village is a little full. I don't object at all, but this cycleway isn't to bring tourists and visitors, it's to enable people to commute from Haslingfield and they can do that perfectly adequately today.' The latter argument is the one made by the parish council, which claims other routes already exist and favours improving the pathway through the Meadows. In fact, plenty of cyclists pedal it today under circling red kites. Philip Driver, 65, from nearby Great Shelford, has walked to Grantchester for lunch. He is an 'avid cyclist' and agrees 'that would do the job'. But sitting in The Orchard Tea Garden with her newborn, Dr Emily Gomersall, 34, who lives in Haslingfield, disagrees. She cycles to Cambridge with her children, and her husband commutes by bike. Currently they go over 'bumpy' farmland with a permit, then join the roads in Grantchester anyway. She says the greenway would be safer and more direct. 'I think there are other longer options, but it's already quite a long cycle, and I think it needs to be as short as it can be to encourage people to use it,' she says. The route currently takes her husband 25 minutes, and she believes seven or eight minutes could be shaved. But where cyclists' wheels will turn now rests some 60 miles away in Mrs Justice Lieven's hands. 'We now await the judge's decision and will comment further once legal proceedings have concluded,' said the GCP. The parish council declined to comment at this stage. Mrs Justice Lieven herself might need a relaxing cycle through the Grantchester Meadows after this case concludes. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
