The Knowhere Guide

Skateboarding Stuff in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire*

Cambridge, Cambridgeshire Skateboard Shops, Skateparks, Skate Ramps, Waxed Curbs, Rails, Where to Buy Decks, Parts, Shoes

Skateboarding Spots

• abbey trails. everywhere for street just use your imagination!
• The best spot in Cambridge is the most secret. Here goes. They call it booker. It lies through a narrow pathway which winds its way past a beautiful chalk pit, a territoral army base and crosses a railway before opening into a complex of beautiful ground and round the back a downhill manual pad/flatbank/gap and other manuals. Looks good on camera too. The windy path starts at the end of Mill Road, past the junction that goes to sainsbury's.
• Jesus green (litle skate park), coldhams common (nice 6ft mini ramp) also good trails for bmx, cheterton rec (nasty 10ft concrete half pipe), Parkers peice (little skate park) Most of the classic street spots like anglia poly, the L bank have been made anti skate
• There is some good stuff near the yellows which a lot of people ignore. Continuing along tennis court road from the yellows the next turn theres a hill, some ledges, a tiny set, and a skateable rising barrier. This is all next to the judge institute (CLIMBABLE) and following that round will lead to more skateable terrain. Also beneath the yellows there is an underground car park/storaage area with some good manny pads and ledges. To get in just go down the stairs behind the small concrete bench at the top of the yellows.
• One of the best spots is "David Rowthorns Fun Den" which is a really sick set of blocks off the madingley road (as if heading out of cambridge) Route One Rider David Rowthorn got alot of street cred by tearing the spot up in only a Dressing Gown.
• lion yard opening onto bridge street and the banks
• PETERBOROUGH AND LITTLEPORT CAMBS HAVE SKATEBOARD RAMPS THAT ARE POPULAR. TREVOR,EDDIE,BILLY,AND ALL SKATEBOARDERS FROM SOHAM,BURWELL AND NEWMARKET JOIN UP TO ENJOY THIS GREAT ACTIVITY. WHICH IS NOT VANDALISM LIKE THE PEOPLE HANGING AROUND BOARDSTIFF!!
• SKATE CHATEAU PARC(CASTLE PARK. THIS SPOT BLOOMS, TRUST. IF UR IN THE AREA C H E C K IT OUT!! ITS NEAR THE WHITE WALL, A SPOT WHICH GIVES ITS NAME TO DAVE HARDIE THE FIRST DUDE TO EVER NAIL IT.
• if you are in the grafton and you have 10 mins or so to spare the is a small ledge and quite a high curb just on the right of the exit from the grafton next to virgin megastore
• Theres a burly 6 set near clares college if your feeling fisty, but beware the security there's tough he stole and destroyed local ripper, Joe Fox Williams aka Tech dog last time we went. Other than that sick little spot with a fishmonger by its side if ur feelin hungry. all in all a great spot.
• Cambridge United Handrail. A small handrail behind Cambridge united football ground. short dodgey run up and small landing. BUt nice low rail.
• New one on Parker's Piece, near the swimming pool, not exactly enormous but seems pretty popular.
• One a da best spots in a la cambridge is The J.L set named after Joe Lewis the guy who ripped that place to shreds, He took it to the dogs baby!
• Yellows, L banks (R.I.P), Rob good luck wit da kid
• If your gonna skate cambridge then you have to be prepared to make do with very little. There is fun to be had though. Currys and MFI off Newmarket Road have nice manual pads, a few gaps and smooth ground (actually quite rare in Cambridge). Jesus Green skatepark is fun on a sunny day. The 'Scaries' off norfolk street are a renowned set in the scene and have very rough ground. Tennis court road is our equivalent of Love Park, no jokes.
• "scaries" big steps in norfolk street
• APU has just been renavated and its ledge city theres also a new spot on tenis court road. we now have two skate parks one on jesus green and one out side the swiming pool booth are small.
• SkatePark video-clips for St Ives and Bar Hill at http://www.tomrawlinson.com/SkatePark/Skateboard.htm
• Chesterton mini ramp - St Andrews park. End of queen elizebeth way bridge, near petrol station. Soon to be moved further into park due to erection of new homes overlooking ramp. Good ramp to learn on. Wooden, but beware of splinters. Coldems lane mini - bigger than chesterton and metal. harder to learn shit on, but has good flow once you get into it. Metal does hurt though. Mackays 'East Coast' loading bay ledge. Behind mackays (opposite Warner Brothers). Quite high metal ledge. Quite tricky to skate. Good challenge though. Tennis court road - sack it off. Ledge is past it's best. Was it ever any good? Yellows - dodgy run up, and suspect surface to land on. L-banks. Only set of five with black handrail left to skate. Won't go into old shit there was to skate. Benches have recently been destroyed. Set of eight, which are more like a sheer drop. Queens 7. Steps in Queens college by river. Walk down the backs near Anchor to see them. If gate is open get in while you can. Nice run up, shitty landing. Scary steps. Norfolk street. Opposite Blockbusters Est road. set of six? dodgy run up. Barhill ramps. Near Tesco Bar hill. Coton mini ramp. Small village, cool ramp in village green. Check it out. MFI. Was bucnh of ledges. Skate stopped. Good for fukcing around with flat land and low manuals. Sometimes homemade ledges taken up there. Donkey common skate park. Soon to be built skate park by parkside pool Jesus Green skate park. Soon to be bulit skate park. Should be the best thing built in Cambridge. Concrete with flat banks, quarter pipes, step up ledge, driveway/hip etc. Chillin by jesus green pool and green. Bring it on.
• theres good skate spot near l-banks,when you come out from the 8 set turn left go stright till you get to the main road then go right and thers a bunch of littel skate spots.thers big flat bank,a leage,set's and a round leage with pallets and littel kickers. and you never get kicked off
• The City pretends to be skater-friendly. Instead of giving us a decent park, it is building two shitty little ones (parkside by the pool - way too small) and Jesus green (miles from anywhere, and way too small).
• L -banks (sedgewick site)... nice 8 set and 4 set, and a 5 set rail... smooth benches too, and a 14 set handrail... ITS MASSIVE
• I am discusted. This town is no good for skating.. If those new parks will not come to life, I will move out. My bones are too old for skating shitty spots, where the law is heavy. I want out.
• hmmmmmm most of the skaters hang out outside the Parkside swimming pool, they bring up there own rails and fun boxes and sometimes a drop in, if your nice they might let you use there stuff
• pies rec near st andrews church chesterton is great; has a half pipe and walkways-can get a bit congested with mini skaters and bmx's tho-also beware of the violent townies that live nearby!
• The ramp outside Parkside Pool...ofcourse!
• park side smooth path with grind rails and boxes etc tennis court road long 4, long 5 with gap at top, med grind thing, ledges. sidwic site (aka l-banks) benches long 4 long 5 high 8. scarys unscary 6 set. court yard bridge street mellow banks, low ledges, steep bank, 4 set, top of car park behind has high boardslide concrete thing (v. long)
• like i said.....lion yard roof......
• castle hill office's (follow bridge street up to castle street then on the left u will see it) are cool. few step sets. a sloped wall smooth ground. large so u can find other places round corners and stuff. angry security men fun to anoy.
• APU
• A little known gem is "joe fox's spot" its called that after a guy called joe fox discovered it and did the 8 set there. it is behind the simoco building near the ramp on PIES RECK. it has a 3 set, a launch ramp and some beautiful flatland spots. SPREAD THE WORD.
• The newest and best half pipes anywhere in the Cambridge area is at Bar Hill which does mean you will have to get on a bus but is well worth it, there is about four or five various sized half pipes and it is real near the industrial estate for grinds and 24hour Tesco for food!
• If you're really bored check out station road/hills road corner opposite the Q club - manual ledge and some smooth carpark stuff. Stairs all over the show: norfolk street 5 and 6, Dinosaur 9 [look near smooth three] smooth three [at the end of tennis court opposite the plaza], tennis court four [tennis court road] some fives and threes in heidelburgh gardens, eights at the sidgewick site [AKA the 'el-banks'] and on hills road, near domino's pizza - watch out for the tree. EL BANKS has undercover long, smooth avenue with benches and stairs all over. The banks themselves are all locked up, but there's still a whole lot of fun to be had. TENNIS COURT ROAD is overrated, with only one [barely] grindable ledge and a set of four stairs. Minimal flat ground and savage security. out the back of the ledge theres more stuff, tho: just look around. APU is all buggered up as the bastard univ. took away the benches, added bins all over , and then filled the place with bike racks. Only go down there if you think pete'll have his grind boxes out. TOWN sucks. HOMERTON COLLEGE is chilled like vianetta but may be tediously limiting to anyone who wants a decent long session. THE LEYS SCHOOL is near the botannical gardens and features a miniscule set of five, lit, undercover flat, and a flatbank animal-chin would be proud of. Watch out for crazy site officer with stick, though. PARK STREET CAR PARK has a lovely ledge at the top which is guaranteed to eat through your deck after two weeks. bridge street, at the bottom of the car park, [between the car park and Bridge street] has some mellow banks, laughable set of four and nasty ledges, but makes for a chilled smooth run on a rainy day. CHESTERTON RAMP is way too small, made of weetabix smells like someone puked lard on it and needs resurfacing - generally sucks. COLDHAMS LANE--from the ashes of the old wooden three-footer rises the greatest, smoothest, freakiest pair of transitions Cambridge has ever seen. The solemn steel beast is 5.5' high, with black grip paint, sunk in coping, one freaky fuck-up of a rollin and a 6' tombstone extension. this one looks like a monster, but its not really a giant: its on stilts to help it dry ultra-fast after those unpredictable showers. Near Greens health and fitness, right near a steaming cowpat field. ALSO CHECK OUT: loads of places down the backstreets of hills road and all over the City but NEVER go to 's-gap' unless you have a like of skating sub-standard, knobbly, frustrating obstacles with no sense of session or any chance of runs incorporating. QUEENS COLLEGE is worth a look too, if you're on your way back from the el banks
• i come from sawston, so we all skateboard,etc down sindalls industrial site its pretty cool, we have rails, a home made fun box ,some girders and some little ramps..and its really smooth.we used 2 skate down Sawston college but the caretakers are gay so we get chucked off! albanks is wicked aswell and so is princess diana memorial,no disrespect for princess diana.....
• Eversden bmx dirt jumps in the making. Ready to ride mid-september. Situated about 8 miles from the centre of cambridge, just of the A603. The track is on the village recreation ground.
• tennis court road-only if you can grind or pull phatt air. Anglia polytechnic-lots of little planters for grinding, loads of open space for practising flip tricks or freestyling Courtyard at the top of bridge street (by the wine place)- quite high ledges, good sloped walls for wall rides, lots of different levels etc perfect (can get boring, cramped, lots of passer througher people! + if you get caught by the filth you get reported or busted!) pavillion on parkers peace- cool steps for ollieing off and grinding. lots of open space + not too many people! padestrian subway on grafton center roundabout. low ledges perfect for stalls and grinds, good walls for ollieing off - lots of baby skateboarders trying to show off! (they have no fear!!!) court yard above lion yard- steps, ledges, open space, big drops -too many kiddy skaters loads of other places- there are loads of places in cambridge that are skateable, just look out for the bad paving (death to the unprepared)
• the CRC grounds down kings hedges road are pretty phat, loads of nice ledges and a like, lots of nice surfaces. it has just been re-done so it is really well made and stuff. lot's of cained 6th formers pootering around prime for being beaten if you fell that way inclined. also a good sixth form college if you are that age, good enough to travel the country definately!
• Altogether Cambridge is not that good 4 sk8ing but there r some alright spots. There is Tennis Court road with a low ledge and smooth ground in one place and a big long set of 4 with a 5 above in another place. The new Parkside swimming pool has a good spot round the back with ledges and a rail.
• THE TOP OF THE BRIDGE STREET CAR PARK A SICK FAT LOW LEDGE, PERFECT FOR BOARD OR NOSE SLIDES
• Bio-chem labs on Tennis Court Road [First left on Lensfield road].Tasty smooth steps with a big span ,and a big enough roll up for in-liners,you'll be able to grab some nasty air.Dont atempt the steps if your a pathetic skateborder,youll only make the steps if you give your deck some major pop.p.s skatepark opening at round-a-bout up road from Grafton center inc vert,quart pipes and good street course.
• Yeah, but not many. The industrial area's pretty rad, and theres a rail and a mini in the football ground. I like it but many complain. Bowes Lyon House in Stevenage is not far away however.
• There is now a university site situated on west road called the albanks I think,it has a large pair of banks, undercover benches and steps with rails,there is also two smal skate parks in the pipelines apparently.l
• Anglia Poly has some really good benches right out the front which are well worth trying out. I have just learnt to grind there, and waxed up a few of the benches.
• If you want somewhere to skate you are going to have to go out of the centre some way as there is not enough modern architecture to satisfy a skater.
• Sidgwick site (some nice banks near the history faculty), pretty good 5' mini-ramp in Chesterton as well (it's in a park near a church near the river and a Philips factory) Resurfaced in summer of 95 and is gorgeously smooth, with a reasonable amount of mellow skaters, BMX boys and inliners sessioning away...

Skateboard Shops

• billys!!! burleigh street near grafton center
• Hoax, there's another one right near hoax but my mind's gone blank
• billys by the grafton center in cambridge is a good shop for stuff for bmx and skate. if you want a better shop for bmx go on www.winstanleysbmx.co.uk
• Chris Chudliegh sells some decent stuff due to his newfound celebrity status, he stars in Decks Trucks Rock and Roll, the best cambridge skate video ever. no really.
• hoax on bridge street is ok but route one is better. its just before hoax nextdoor to halfords if you are coming from the bus station in drummer steet and then there is billys on burliegh street. it has the nicest staff of them but route one has the best selection and they might even put your board together if ur nice!!!
• BILLYS 15 BURLEIGH STREET CAMBRIDGE (opposite the new robert sayle's, nr Grafton Centre)...THEY STOCK LOADS OF COMPLETE SKATEBOARDS, DECKS, TRUCKS, BEARINGS AND SKATE RELATED CLOTHING. ALSO STOCK A LARGE RANGE OF SKATES, INCLUDING QUADS. visit www.billys.co.uk
• Billys
• Hoax, Route one(all in town) ask around
• ROUTE ONE FOREVER! RIDE ROUTE ONE
• billys burleigh st
• R.I.P VERTical. Old skate shop on Kings street run by Jim, Mozza, Skuff and Dave. Phat independent shop which shut last year. Supported the scene and sold cool shit including Supreme being clothing, as well as skateboards and hardware. Now Black wax records. Brought out shop video called Trev, which included sick parts from Dan Leech, Paul Skinner, Baker, Joe Lewis and Milo Bragg, plus plenty of other locals and friends. Billys - relocated on Burleigh street form Mill rd recently. Been around a while, but sells rollerblades! Dying breed. Two seasons - skate, surf, snowboard shop - Mitchems corner. Good selection of stock. Bit of a department store though. Route one. Chain store. Think buch of rollerbladers work there. Nuff said. Hoax skate store. East Anglias main skate store. By Round church. Good selection of stock. Shoes, boards, and plenty clothes. Staff have strong connections with skatescene, probably best bet for skate products in Cambridge with knowledgable staff. Pretty sick local team including Joe Lewis, Dan Higginson, Blakey, Ed Clark, Jambo, Gnarly Charlie, Harry potter and Alan Chadwick. Check it out.
• billys, mill road, over the bridge, but is moving to the grafton centre soon
• HOAX is a great skating its just past cult on the left and they are really helpful. The staff all no what they are talkin abou which is realy helpful.
• HOAX! New skating shop in cambridge, really good for cheap clothes and wide range of decks and trucks and other cool skating type stuff
• Outside the Polytechnic on East Road. Good place, just off grange road, possibly Sidgewick.
• hoax 66 bridge street two seasons 34 chesterton road billys 307 mill road free spirit next to woolworths
• Billys...hard 2 find.......
• there might be there might be 10 i don't know... hang round outside the APU and ask the heavy skaters that wreck the area - they will know....
• vertical is a very small but hardcore skate shop selling some nice decks etc. try to stay away from the shop Free Spirit, it sells stuff at ridiculous prices and is very very commercial.
• There has recently been a burst in Skate shops in Cambridge, there is and always has been Vertical, down King Street. There is also now Free Spirit down Market Street and there is also Two Seasons on Mitchhams Corner.
• Billys on mill road have powell blanks. nuff said
• two seasons near staples is a wicked skateboard shop. so is vert which is down king street,the people that work there are really mellowed out and are cool skater dudes.
• VERTicle-kings street Two seasons- mitchams (staples) corner
• Billys on Mill Road - yep Cambridge actually does have this
• VETICAL ON KINGS STREET
• None - ride to Hitchin and check out Custom Riders.
• Sumit 64 is now called Two seasons,and stocks far more skateboarding stuff,boards,shoes,etc.
• Summit 64 (64 Mill Road) is pimarily a snowboard equipment/clothing shop but has a better selection of inline skates than Billy's - Rollerblade and a wide selection of K2 including the fatty. While Billy's has more traditional fat pads Summit 64 has got in some very future-techno gloves and pads, they're not so good for spares though.
• Billy's in Mill Road has loads of BMXs and skateboards and a few pairs of inlines - more Roces are coming in. They also sell BMX and skate clothes and mountain bike spares.

The Knowhere Guide started out as a list of places to skateboard in the UK. It is a compilation of (unedited) information and views supplied by users like yourself. It is not a conventional tourist guide!

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Last updated: 2008-05-09