4 of Five Days in February: 40 mile loop – Cambridge to Hilton

This is the 4th of 5 videos I hope to produce about a long weekend away cycling with my brother in February 2026. We booked 2 nights at Lea Valley Youth Hostel but we have now returned by bike and train to my brother’s house at Cambridge where I am staying for 2 further nights.

I was sleepily sipping my 2nd cup of coffee when my brother announced “On cycle.travel I’ve just planned us a 40 mile loop ride out to Hilton where there is a turf maze.” He sent me the route – it looked good and since the strong wind was from the NW it would blow us back at the end. 

We got our bikes out and my heart sank! On the back tyre there was an unmistakeable bright green drop of “Slime” puncture sealant – the only place that should be is INSIDE the inner tube. The tyre was still hard though, and close inspection revealed a tiny flake of glass or flint in the tread which I praised out with a penknife – the tyre stayed hard so the Slime was doing its job. I had patched the 2 tubes previously punctured on this trip, but I don’t trust patches – especially on slime-filled tubes – so our first stop had to be Halfords to buy 2 new ones. Hopefully that might be enough for any emergencies today!

Cambridge shows what can be achieved if the authorities embrace cycling. From earlier antipathy towards the “nuisance” of cyclists in the city centre, the council has embraced cycling and often works WITH the cycling campaign group “Camcycle” to install cycle infrastructure which makes it safe and efficient to get around by bicycle. The result is better health, better air and less gridlock in the cramped and busy city. With 30% of commutes by bicycle it is only half as good as some Dutch cities – but far ahead of the rest of the UK.

Our route is quite self explanatory. We began by heading SW to Grantchester then W through a string of villages which must have very high house prices! The main thing that spoiled them was the B road that we were riding on, but I guess that in that area of so many trunk roads a B road counts as a minor road!

Hilton was the only village we dallied in. Its large green, its church surrounded by mature trees and the big houses set back amongst the trees made it a very pleasant place, but a ford added to the fun and the turf maze was the icing on the cake. It was so windy that my drone could barely hold station above it (it was flying almost on its side) which is why there is a grey blur at the side of the vertical shot of the maze!

The route back was quieter. I was shocked to see that the A14, which has been open for several years, still doesn’t appear on the 1:50,000 scale OS map, at least on the app, even though it does appear on other scales. 

My brother had done a good job with the planning, but he took us on a few extra twists and turns on even quieter roads. The gravel pits at Fen Drayton looked nice when the sun shone, but it was beginning to give up its battle with the clouds by the end and it was turning cool.

At Swavesey there was a moment’s dismay when we thought we were too late for the cafe but just 4 minutes before closing they were very friendly and produced delicious baguettes with brie and cranberry jelly which we ate outside at a picnic bench. 

Then it was a long downwind leg back along the busway path to Cambridge. I think that the busway path is a huge asset to Cambridge, providing a convenient route out to the countryside as well as a transport link. It is often busy at weekends showing the desperate need people have to get out into nature and open space.

The Chisholm Trail is a link between Cambridge North and Cambridge central station. Its most visible feature is a new bridge over the River Cam, which together with a new walkway under the railway bridge created a nice riverside route back into the city to end our ride.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little video. It was just an “ordinary” bike ride, but I was quite impressed with the variety on the route which made it very enjoyable. It was also (fanfare) my first ride this year in shorts, with temperatures of up to 16°C!