We have every intention of leaving it up to shop windows and the diligent mailing campaigns beloved of local retailers to cultivate your consumerist impulses. Furthermore, you will already have been provided with a basic list of Cambridge shops as part of the college information pack. If, however, upon your arrival you happen to be in desperate need of a particularly obscure item, feel free to ask any of the MCR’s sage old hands. If they’re worth their salt, they will be able to tell you where you may acquire your gilded mousetrap or your great highland bagpipe (the answer is likely to be, “there is a shop on Mill Road…”). In the meantime, the sole two items we recommend purchasing with some urgency once you’re here are (1) a gown and (2) a bicycle.
Your gown
You will need this for matriculation (and graduation!) and various other occasions, such as formal halls. It is possible to rent MA gowns (the appropriate gown for graduate students) from the MCR. These cost £30 for the first year and £10 for each subsequent year (charged to your college account). You’ll also need to pay a deposit of £60. The Vice-President organises sessions during Freshers’ Fortnight for gown (and locker) rentals. It is also possible to rent gowns from the Graduate Union Shop.
For those of you staying for a three-year degree, you may want to invest in your own MA gown. You can attempt to buy one directly from another student (check the MCR Bulletin Board), or go to any of the retailers you will find listed in the college information pack. Ask in the shop about the possibility of buying a secondhand gown; many shops sell them both new and used. And if you’re a real keener, the definitive guide to academical dress can be found in Chapter II of the University Ordinances. Thrilling stuff.
Bicycle
Yes, you really will need a bicycle in Cambridge. Make sure you have working lights (it’s the law) and remember that you must follow the UK highway code (which includes not cycling on the pavement, or “sidewalk” for those of you from across the pond) when on a bike. Rather inconveniently for Cambridge, you are also forbidden to cycle down a one-way street unless otherwise marked.
Proud new owners of bicycles must register them with college. This involves completing a form obtained at the Porters’ Lodge and writing one’s college account number—if you don’t know yours, ask in the accounts office—on the bicycle in permanent marker, also available at the Porters’ Lodge. Unregistered bicycles found on college property run the risk of being “culled”.
Purchasing a bicycle
We recommend Station Cycles, which has two branches. One, located directly at the railway station, offers the best selection. The centrally-located branch at the bicycle park below the Grand Arcade has a more limited supply, but is easily accessible. Both offer new bicycles at reasonable prices, often with student discounts. You can also try the centrally-located Ben Hayward, who offer a friendly and quick service, although due to their prime location, they are not particularly cheap. The small, independent Cambridge Cycle Centre hidden down Botolph Lane provides a quick turnaround at a fair price, and their knowledgeable mechanics are usually helpful and polite—also recommended. All of these shops also offer accessories and repair services.
The Bikeman has a stall at Market Square, and is often the first place new students will go to look for a used bicycle. Some might call the Bikeman a bike bandit, peddling at extortionate prices rusty objects illicitly dug up from a bicycle graveyard probably located somewhere outside Milton Keynes. We would obviously refrain from making such libellous statements.
Police auctions for stolen or abandoned bicycles are no longer running in Cambridge. Online auctions are run by Bumblebee, the UK Police Property Disposal service. We do not recommend purchasing bicycles sight unseen here, as they may well no longer be roadworthy. Further afield at the Cambridge Retail Park, you will also find Halfords, a nationwide chain shop selling a wide range of bicycles. You may also order from them online.
Groceries
Happily, most supermarket chains in the UK offer online grocery shopping with (in some cases free) delivery straight to your door or the Porters’ Lodge—but make sure you’re home when your groceries arrive so you can sign for them.