General Visitor Information
Please see the Visiting FAQs for details about visiting at the moment and social distancing.
During the national lockdown, please follow government guidance: If you need to travel you should stay local – meaning avoiding travelling outside of your village, town or the part of a city where you live – and look to reduce the number of journeys you make overall. Please see here for details.
The Glasshouse Range
The Glasshouse Range will be closed from 3 November 2020 until further notice.
Dogs in the Garden
Please note that only registered guide and assistance dogs are permitted to visit the Garden.
Toilets
The toilets beside the Glasshouse Range are open. A queuing system is in place, as well as hand sanitiser for use prior to entering, which is one person or household group at a time. Surfaces are cleaned regularly by our staff and visitors are required to wear a face covering in the toilets. There is also a disabled toilet beside the Brookside Gate. Visitors are required to wear a face mask inside the toilets.
Left luggage and storage facilities
There are no luggage lockers at the Garden and we are unable to store items at the ticket offices. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Bad Weather
For information about closing the Garden due to high winds, please click here.
Photography
For commercial, professional or portrait photography you must ask for permission in advance, see download below. If you have any questions, telephone +44 (0) 1223 336265 or email us. Please note that our Plant Records database can not supply phenological information at this time. Therefore we are unable to advise you if specific plants are flowering before you arrive.
How to get to the Garden
Walking
The Garden is a 15-minute walk from the City Centre with entrances on Trumpington Road (Brookside Gate) and Hills Road (Station Road Gate).
Bicycle
Bike racks are available in our bike park near the Brookside Gate and inside our Station Road Gate. Please note – no bicycles or foot-scooters may be used in the Garden.
Train
The main Cambridge Railway Station (CBG) is a 5-minute walk from our Station Road Gate. See National Rail Enquiries for more information.
Bus
Please visit the Stagecoach and Whippet websites for the latest updates of bus routes and bus stops. For information about the Cambridge University Universal bus please visit the Universal bus website.
Car / Park & Ride
There is no parking at the Botanic Garden, we recommend the Park & Ride services. The Trumpington Park and Ride bus stops outside our Brookside gate, on Trumpington Road.
There is limited pay and display parking on Trumpington Road and Bateman Street. Alternatively, see Cambridge City Council’s parking map.
Coach
There is a coach drop off bay (15 minutes maximum waiting) a 2 minute walk away from the Brookside Gate. The Council ask coaches not to use the nearby bus stop for bus drops. Madingley Road Park & Ride site offers a coach park on a first come first served basis at £10 for the day. Please contact Cambridgeshire County Council if you have any questions by email or call 01223 845561. You can also download the Visit Cambridge coach parking leaflet below.
For more information
Please contact the Reception desk here. Monday-Friday office hours (9am-1pm / 2-4.30pm).
Guidelines for visiting the Garden
Cambridge University Botanic Garden is an active research facility and a living museum with a collection of over 8,000 plant and tree specimens. This is also a working garden with machinery in use.
Please be aware of some simple rules for your visit:
- Children must stay with an adult at all times
- Please keep to the paths and lawns
- Do not climb the trees
- Please do not pick any part of a growing plant
- No bicycles, foot-scooters, ball games or drones may be used in the Garden
- Please see our full Rules of Admission for full details.
