The most famous legends in Cambridgeshire
Juliet's StoneHolywell · FamousEvery 17 March, they say, a heartbroken girl glides from the river to her stone in the bar floor. But who first told her story?- The Bursar's ReturnCambridge · FamousCambridge's oldest college prides itself on cool heads. Then the butlers, and the bursar, saw something by the bay window.
- The Dead DrummerAlconbury Weston · FamousA soldier killed a boy for seven pounds and ran away to sea. Years later, on a lonely plain, something made him confess.
- The Moonlit KnightStapleford · FamousAn Iron Age ring fort sits on the low chalk hills south of Cambridge. Call out the right words by moonlight, and something answers.
The Queen's PomegranatesPeterborough · FamousA Spanish princess became queen of England, then was pushed aside. Five centuries on, her tomb still gets gifts of fruit.- The Straw BearWhittlesey · FamousFen ploughmen once stitched a man into straw and led him door to door. The bear still dances, but his weekend ends in fire.
The Vanished GiantStapleford · FamousScholars once rode out to gawp at a giant carved into these hills. Then it vanished, and an archaeologist went digging.
The Witches of WarboysWarboys · FamousFive sisters in a squire's house fell into fits and named a neighbour. What happened next became England's most famous witch case of its age.
Witch on the TowerAldreth · FamousThe Conqueror could not cross the marsh to reach the rebels on Ely. So he tried magic, perched high above the reeds.
Customs you can still see
- The Queen's PomegranatesLate January commemoration and wreath laying (30 Jan 2026) · Peterborough
- The Straw BearMid-January weekend after Plough Monday (16-18 Jan 2026) · Whittlesey
- Rolling the StiltonSunday in May (24 May 2026) · Stilton
- The Mayor's PenniesEarly May bank holiday Monday · Reach
- The Midsummer ProclamationThursday around midsummer (proclamation), fair to following Sunday · Cambridge
- The Real Vanity FairEarly September (Stourbridge Medieval Fair re-enactment) · Cambridge
Ghosts 13
- Juliet's StoneHolywell · FreeEvery 17 March, they say, a heartbroken girl glides from the river to her stone in the bar floor. But who first told her story?
- The Bursar's ReturnCambridge · FreeCambridge's oldest college prides itself on cool heads. Then the butlers, and the bursar, saw something by the bay window.
- The Dead DrummerAlconbury Weston · FreeA soldier killed a boy for seven pounds and ran away to sea. Years later, on a lonely plain, something made him confess.
- The Moonlit KnightStapleford · FreeAn Iron Age ring fort sits on the low chalk hills south of Cambridge. Call out the right words by moonlight, and something answers.
- The Nun of HinchingbrookeHuntingdon · FreeUnder a mansion staircase, workmen found two skeletons. Ever since, a sister in black has been seen at the back of the house.
- The Open WindowCambridge · FreeCambridge's most famous pub is proud of its science and its RAF ceiling. Upstairs, a window has a darker job.
- The Plague MasterCambridge · Pay to get inWhen plague emptied Cambridge, one college Master refused to leave. Centuries later, a student saw a face in a locked window.
- The Queen on the StairsKimbolton · Pay to get inA discarded queen spent her final months locked in these rooms. Pupils still swap stories about who walks the stairs.
- The Remorseful FellowCambridge · FreeA guilty fellow is said to pace beside a college pool where his rival drowned. The trouble is, someone made him up.
- Lady Ursula's LamentMadingley · FreeA Tudor knight pulled down a church to build his grand house. His mother, it is said, still walks in protest.
- Skeleton in the CupboardCambridge · Pay to get inA Master's daughter fell for the wrong student. When her father came calling, the young man found a hiding place.
- The Grey NunCambridge (Barnwell) · PrivateA Cambridge house rose from the stones of a vanished priory. A professor's family swore someone in a nun's robes had never left.
- The Queen's NightSawston · PrivateA princess on the run spent one tense night here before taking England's throne. The house, some say, still remembers.
The Devil 3
- The Devil in MarchMarch · FreeMarch tried to build a church, and every night someone knocked it down. A cross went up to stop him, but listen closely.
- The Devil's DitchReach · FreeA Saxon earthwork slices across the chalk for seven miles. Villagers blamed one very angry wedding guest.
- Whirling SundayLeverington · FreeAn old woman baked cakes on a holy Sunday. A whirlwind came for her, and the village kept baking in her memory.
Witches 3
- The Witches of WarboysWarboys · FreeFive sisters in a squire's house fell into fits and named a neighbour. What happened next became England's most famous witch case of its age.
- The Paxton WitchGreat Paxton · FreeLong after the witch trials ended, a Fen-edge village still feared one woman. One spilled cart was enough.
- Ridden Like a MareLongstanton · FreeA Long Stanton woman told a judge she had spent a night as a horse. The judge had some awkward questions.
Beasts 2
Giants 1
Heroes and kings 1
Outlaws 1
Saints and holy places 3
- Saint in the FurrowSt Ives · FreeA ploughman struck stone and found a bishop in his field. The dead man had opinions about being called a cobbler.
- The Holy SpringHolywell · FreeA soft-water spring bubbles beneath a Fen-edge church. For centuries the sick came to bathe in it.
- Two Healing SpringsHail Weston · FreeOne spring was salt, one was sweet, and both were said to heal. A poet claimed they were once two nymphs.
Customs 6
- The Queen's PomegranatesPeterborough · FreeA Spanish princess became queen of England, then was pushed aside. Five centuries on, her tomb still gets gifts of fruit.
- The Straw BearWhittlesey · FreeFen ploughmen once stitched a man into straw and led him door to door. The bear still dances, but his weekend ends in fire.
- Rolling the StiltonStilton · FreeA Great North Road village sold a cheese so good it took the village's name. Now locals race cheeses down the street every May.
- The Mayor's PenniesReach · FreeA medieval king's charter still brings Cambridge's mayor to a tiny fen-edge village each spring. Bring your quickest hands.
- The Midsummer ProclamationCambridge · FreeA medieval king gave Barnwell's canons a midsummer fair. Over eight centuries later, the mayor still proclaims it.
- The Real Vanity FairCambridge · FreeA tiny chapel for lepers was granted a fair by King John. It grew into a giant that may have inspired a famous book.
Mysteries