Tour Guide
Experience. 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.
Recognition includes being a winner of a 'Local History Book Award 2024' with Cambridgeshire Association for Local History, and being featured in Susan Calman's 'Great British Cities - Cambridge' on Channel 5.
Nigel is a qualified teacher, 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.
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Safety. Nigel is DBS checked (criminal record check provided by the government) and can provide tailored risk assessments for school and other groups. Cambridge Sports Tours holds Public Liability Insurance for up to £1 million for guided walking tours.
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Sport. 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 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.
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Charity supported. Nigel supports Street Child United through a donation of £1 per paying walker. He also attended the SCU Cricket World Cup held in India in September 2023 as a volunteer.
Tours / Talks
Walking tours - summary for 2025
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Cambridge Sport: in Fenner's Hands (U3Ac course: 5 x 1.5 hour walks) - from 19 Feb.
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Cambridge’s Sporting Revolution with a global impact – and a Local tobacconist. Talk to Orwell Local History Society. 25 Feb.
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Sport: Romanticism with boots on. (1.5 hour walking tour) - Cambridge Festival. 9 March
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Sport: Romanticism with boots on. (1.5 hour walking tour) - Cambridge Festival. 11 March
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History of football and boxing. Talk to local Rotary Club. 3 April
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Cambridge Sport: in Fenner's Hands (U3Ac course: 5 x 1.5 hour walks) - from 23 April
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History of local football - walking tour - 1st May
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History of local football - Talk to Littleport History Society. 3 June
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Cambridge's sporting revolution. Talk to Caxton History Society. 9 Sept
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Women and sport (1 hour tour) - TBC
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As the year progresses watch out for more talks and walking tours added to the above list.
For further details on the above walking tours, scroll down this page.
SUMMARY:
2025 walking tours
Book your own sports walking tour / talk
Date and time to suit
Prices start at £125 for 1.5 hours walking tour - maximum size 20 people. Use contact form to request date, time and topic(s) - see tours / talks listed on this page for suggestions.
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Talks to Local History Societies - prices from £45 + travel.
Cambridge Sport: in Fenner's Hands - walking tour series
11-12.30pm Wed 19 Feb 2025, and weekly thereafter (for 5 sessions)
Cambridge was involved in shaping the British sporting revolution that went global in the second half of the 19th century, beyond just creating the modern-day laws of football and boxing, and sporting philosophies such as Muscular Christianity. This 5 session will walk across Cambridge visiting key sites to explore the individuals and sports that made up this revolution and the challenges they faced, such as the tensions between Town and Gown. Whilst Frank Fenner, a local tobacconist, and talented sportsman was initially able to bring Town and Gown together to play in the same teams, he later became a casualty of the revolution he helped to create.
The course is led by Nigel Fenner, following the chapters in his book Cambridge Sport: in Fenner’s Hands that are also structured as a walking tour. The course is administered by U3AC and spread over 5 x 1.5 hour sessions.
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This course will be repeated in Summer term
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To book a place contact U3AC
Sport: Romanticism with boots on - walking tour
Sunday 9th March / repeated on 11th March. 11 to 12.30pm
Through walking the hills of Somerset and the Lake District, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth developed a ‘real language of men’ that prompted FD Maurice and Charles Kingsley (also products of Cambridge) to create a sporting ethos taken up by the Public Schools and both Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
This walking tour starts on Midsummer Common to explore the earlier history of leisure at Cambridge’s Fairs (using Bunyan and Thackeray etc), before walking into Town to discover how Byron, Darwin and other Cambridge ‘greats’, also impacted on this sporting revolution.
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This event is part of the Cambridge Festival
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Numbers are restricted - so please book early - thanks.
To book for Sunday 9th March click here
To book for Tuesday 11th March click here
History of Cambridge Football – walking tour
Thursday 1st May - 1pm to 3pm
Many consider Cambridge as the birthplace of the modern-day laws of football, thanks to University students who played together on Parker’s Piece, across the middle of the 19th century. As extraordinary as this is, there is much more to explore:
* Cambridge and East Anglia as the ‘major stronghold for football in England’ in the 18th century,
* The impact on Real Madrid, AND Barcelona,
* Oliver Cromwell’s local football,
* A 16th century football fight between the Town and University, and
* The history of Cambridge’s best football teams today.
Meet at Lilywhite Way, Cambridge, CB4 1GB for a 2 mile tour finishing on Parker's Piece for an optional game of football
£10 per person (payable on the day – cash or card)
You must book in advance here
Tour led by Nigel Fenner and Neil Harvey (Local football historian).
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.