Cambridge Sports Tours
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Cambridge: birthplace of the laws of football.
Tour Guide
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 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 v Oxford Varsity Football matches at Abbey Stadium, Cambridge
Sunday 13th March 2022. 1.30pm (Women) and 4.30pm (Men)
This match is the oldest game between the same two teams in the history of football, and whilst normally played at a neutral venue (since 1873) this year it will take place at Cambridge United's ground.
Prices between £8 and £10 (free for under 18s)
Oxford v Cambridge Varsity Rugby 150th Anniversary match
Saturday 2nd April 2022 at Twickenham
Cambridge Sports Tours will arrange spectator tickets for both women and men's matches, or an all-in hospitality option including lunch, drinks, and a talk by Nigel Fenner on the early history of rugby in Cambridge.
Prices start from £35 with reductions for children.
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
Football: an astounding local invention?
Sunday 11th September 2022. 2.30 - 4pm
Cambridge United Supporters Club, 530, Newmarket Road. CB5 8LN
Whilst University students are acknowledged as the creators of the modern-day laws of Association Football, the significant impact of the local game over many centuries has gone unheralded.
This talk (including a visit to Cambridge United's mini-museum) given by Nigel Fenner (Arsenal Youth and University Football Blue) is part of Open Cambridge 2022.
Free car parking available.
Price £3 / head suggested donation to cover room hire costs (payable at venue)
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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 day
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.
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.
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 £1 million for guided walking tours.
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.
Tours / Talks
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© Cambridge Sports Tours 2018 - updated 12 Oct 2021