Cambridge Sports Tours
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Cambridge: birthplace of the laws of football.
Tour Guide
Tours
Oxford v Cambridge Varsity Rugby 150th Anniversary match
Saturday 2nd April 2022 at Twickenham
Cambridge Sports Tours will arrange travel by coach (Cambridge to London, return) and tickets (for both women and men's matches). An all-in hospitality option also includes lunch, drinks, and a talk by Nigel Fenner on the early history of rugby in Cambridge
Prices start from £65 with reductions for children.
Parker’s Piece and four Cambridge sporting greats - walking tour
Saturday 5th March 2022. 10am start on Parker's Piece to 11.30am
The first non-European international sports star, and four of Cambridge's greatest sporting greats can thank Parker's Piece for launching their careers - as well as the modern-day laws of football.
Price £8 / head payable on the day
Cambridge's role in the sporting revolution that went global - walking tour
Saturday 23rd April 2022. 10am to 12noon start at Trinity College
Britain is recognised as the home of a sporting revolution in the 19th century that went global, with Cambridge playing a significant role, from ‘the drawing up of rules to the development of sporting philosophies'. (Tour includes a refreshments stop.)
Price £8 / head payable on the day
Theatre, literature and sports - walking tour
Saturday 11th June 2022. 10am start on Maids Causeway, top of Midsummer Common to 11.30am
William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, and Footlights Theatre Company all had links to sport, and yet 'the Town' in particular suffered from the 'non-permission of local theatres' and other leisure pursuits, including at the largest Fair in Europe.
Price £8 / head payable on the day
Boxing, and Town versus Gown tensions - walking tour
Sunday 10th July 2022. Start 10am Magdalene Bridge to 11.30am
Cambridge has close links to the Queensberry Rules of boxing, and Muscular Christianity ( - the originator had illegal boxing lessons when a student), both having a profound impact on the development of sport in Victorian England. Others with a boxing link include Lord Byron and Isaac Newton, in a town where tensions between Town and Gown often led to fighting and riots on the street, including a 'famous' battle in the early 19th Century.
Price £8 / head payable on the day
Frank Fenner: hero or villain? - walking tour
Saturday 13th August 2022. Start 10am Emmanuel Road to 11.30am
“Fenner’s” is well known in Cambridge, even amongst those who know little about cricket, but being named after the University Cricket Ground is currently Frank Fenner’s only legacy. When he died in the late 19th century no obituary was published in local papers. Why?
Price £8 / head payable on the day
History of rowing and 'have a go - row'
Saturday 10th September 2022. Venue, date and timings to be confirmed
Fancy a row - in a safe and purpose-built indoor rowing tank? And find out about the history of rowing in Cambridge including the Annual Varsity Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge, Town rowing and 'the bumps'? (Restrictions on minimum and maximum numbers).
Price £15 / head payable in advance
Women and sport - walking tour
Sunday 9th October 2022. Venue, date and timings to be confirmed
Despite nearly half of the first 16 Colleges in Cambridge being founded by women it took hundreds of years before women students had parity with men. Find out which sport made the greatest contribution to the physical liberation of women, and who was mostly responsible. Find out too about the almost non-existent opportunities for local women in the 19th century.
Price £8 / head payable on the daty
Your Tour Guide
Nigel Fenner established Cambridge Sports Tours in 2017 and since then has provided tours and sporting experiences to corporate businesses, language schools, schools and the general public. He is also a regular speaker to local history societies, the Museum of Cambridge, the Society of Tour Guides and the Open Cambridge Festival.
Safety.
Nigel is DBS checked (criminal record check provided by the government) and can provide tailored risk assessments for school groups including up to date precautions for the coronavirus. Nigel has been double-vaccinated plus the booster jab against the coronavirus.
Cambridge Sports Tours holds Public Liability Insurance for up to £5 million for guided walking tours and sports coaching, where this is required.
Sporting achievements.
Nigel Fenner was a student at the University of Cambridge where he played football against Oxford University at Wembley stadium, so securing his 'Blue'. Nigel also played for Arsenal Youth.
He has also played and coached a range of other sports for example winning his oar when rowing for Downing College, playing rugby fly half to Gareth Edwards and as fitness trainer to Ian Botham and Somerset County Cricket Club. Cycling is his current passion, including cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats.
Local man - qualified teacher.
Nigel is also related to Francis P. Fenner, who as a local tobacconist and talented cricketer, created Fenner's Cricket Ground in the mid 19th Century.
Nigel is a qualified teacher, and sports scientist, who has lived and worked locally for over 40 years mostly for local charities - with young offenders, people with disabilities, and more recently with young people excluded from mainstream education.
Endorsements.
"This is a talk given by a local treasure and amusing eccentric."
"Nigel has a great wealth of knowledge....I really enjoyed his anecdotes and stories, as well as his very informal and engaging style."
"Nigel is an excellent guide......He introduces a new way of looking at Cambridge – from a sports history point of view, looking at Town and Gown through his many sporting stories and excellent knowledge of the historical background."
"Nigel is great company...."
"Throughout the tour Nigel was very engaging and encouraged a lot of questions, and friendly banter, from his audience."
"Nigel has a very inclusive and friendly approach and took the trouble to find out what everyone was interested in and wanted to find out about."
"He is also a considerate host, checking on our welfare and needs, on what was a very cold day."
Contact
If you would like to book a walking tour or just want more information please fill out the form below and SEND it - thank you.
© Cambridge Sports Tours 2018 - updated 12 Oct 2021