CTC Cambridge

Thursday 20 August 2026 

Julian writes: Last year, we had a successful ride from Cambridge to King's Lynn, returning by train. This year we thought we would do the ride in reverse (see route below) - for variety (spice of life and all that), and because in the highly unlikely event of problems with the train, we would be stranded in Cambridge, not Kings Lynn. Hah!

Four of us had signed up for the ride. The leader checked the status of the trains before leaving home. Our outward train was cancelled (no staff)! But trains returning from Kings Lynn later in the day looked fine. After some hasty emails, texts and circulation of a new route, we met at the station - to ride to Kings Lynn instead.

The conditions as far as Ely were perfect and we made good time. As we left Littleport, the heavens opened and we took shelter from a heavy, but brief storm. The rest of the ride to Downham Market was dramatic; we had a tail wind, the sun shone and we stayed dry, but we could see and hear storms all around us. When the next downpour came our way, we were already at our lunch stop (The Whalebone in Downham Market). We had missed the rain again. How lucky were we?

Not so lucky. Over lunch we checked the trains again. The train we wanted to use for our return journey was cancelled (no staff). Undeterred, we set off for Kings Lynn. Now the storms were closing in and the rain caught us from time to time. Surprisingly we made it to the station in time for the departure before the cancelled train. But this train had turned into a bus that wouldn't carry cycles. We learned that most trains from Kings Lynn were disrupted, sadly, because of a person under a train at Potters Bar. We didn't know how long we would have to wait, but it would be at least an hour.

We decided to sit it out in a café on South Quay. Yet again, we got to the café just in time and avoided being soaked. We waited, constantly checking progress of trains to Kings Lynn that might become our journey home. During the wait there was a surprising level of enthusiasm for more train-assisted rides – what!? Will we never learn? And one of the texts that I had sent that morning, with the revised route was finally received after more than seven hours. It would have been faster to hand- deliver by cycle courier.

We returned to the station, only to find the ticket office closed. A sign said it would re-open at 16:45. This proved to be more of a suggestion, rather than a firm commitment. But it did open eventually, we caught the train (again in pouring rain) and arrived in Cambridge only 30 minutes later than we had originally planned. As we walked out of the station, we were surrounded by queues of people being herded on to taxis and buses. Signal problems were disrupting services to Stansted and Liverpool Street……..

NB. Don't take this the wrong way. I am a supporter of train travel and of combining train and cycle journeys. Our next train-assisted ride is already in the works. Julian

Our route was this one, but in the opposite direction: