| Better than Oxford? OutUK’s own little fresher Adrian Gillan strips ‘em down for a boy-bender binge to examine if Cambridge really makes the gay grade as new term starts. The ultimate university challenge: marks out of ten for looks, brains and sheer thrill of the chase! | |
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From abused code-breaker Alan Turing to Messrs Philby, Burgess and Maclean - those
naughty commie spies who gave cock a new ring - Cambridge has always had its fair
quota of queers with IQs. And - horny hotbed of bookish boys in glasses in classes - this renowned town of loosely fitting gowns boasts balls as well as brains worth the study. |
From the cover of Cambridge - More Than A Guide.Published by Jarrold and available from Amazon |
Altogether less bustling and crammed together than arty, spire-filled Oxford,
science-based Cambridge is certainly more spread out and intellectually aloof -
classy yet highly stimulating. Many of these earnest brain-bred boffins - whose
butter wouldn’t melt, newly left home - are clearly gagging for a good punt around
The Backs, the grassy strip behind the big colleges just west of centre!
GAY PUBSStart your gay gander at the recently-renovated, bright and modern and ever-so-friendly Fleur de Lys pub on Humberstone Road, a short walk to the north east of town. | |
| Staff are friendly and vivacious and you can divide your time between the trendy café frontage and the more boozy, dancy-and-showy space around the rear - jive ‘til late Friday and Saturday and Karaoke’s king on a Sunday, with food served by day throughout the week. |
The garden at the Fleur de Lys.
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Then stagger five minutes due south down Elizabeth Way to a fine old pair on Newmarket
Road. Bulging Bird in Hand - whose management used to run the now defunct Town & Gown -
is continually crammed with preening young cuties, lured in by all-day grub and
the latest tunes to get them jigging. Just over the roundabout, kid on the block
Rose & Crown now newly vies for queer attentions too, with its own corner hub -
chat in the salon side or strut it beneath flashing lights beyond the bar. Note:
The Five Bells pub, which used to be a few doors down on Newmarket Road, is now
queer history.
Luring every homo-student well way from their books with R&B, Unique is the gay night every Tuesday at little Life on Hobson’s Passage off Sidney Street in the heart of town. But it’s the newly refurbished 1000-capacity Dot Cotton Club at The Junction on Clifton Road just below the railway station to the south of centre every last Saturday of the month that really drags in the gay and gay-friendly squires from across East Anglia with its top acts, large dance hall and upper bar. OUTDOOR LIFENeed some fresh air? Outdoor cruising doesn’t just mean punting at Cambridge. Jesus Green, the big park behind Jesus College, has to be one of the greatest spots in Europe for daytime, term-time talent-spotting - probably safest to look but not touch! Come night though, there is active cruising throughout the greenery, especially by “The Hedge” behind the public outdoor pool.If you still need a breather, stroll south along The Backs to a wild park known as Lammas Land. With this on your left as you head out of town along Newham Road - just as this road swings to the right - there is a long drive which runs sharp left down to a car park. As you enter the car park from the main gate, a wooden-planked path runs from the rear right-hand corner into a nature reserve. Follow this for a few metres and you will see a clearing and thinly wooded area on your left - a very popular cruising spot with plenty of cover nearby, busy at lunchtimes and after class. As darkness falls, action shifts across the small footbridge just outside the car park - amongst the trees dead ahead and to the right. MORE INFOThere are excellent travel links to Cambridge and you can book hotels online through our hotel partners Bookings. To compare the gay grade at randy rival Oxford check out Adrian Gillan's OutGoing.
THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK | |
