Balsham is medium-sized. Not as big and busy as neighbouring Linton, but with more facilities than sleepy West Wratting. A nice compromise.
At the time of writing this you’ll find a primary school, a post office, a coffee shop and a couple of pubs (one with accommodation) in the village. Linton (which has a co-op, secondary school etc) is about 3 miles or your nearest mega supermarkets etc are in Haverhill, which is 8 miles. By the village green stands a Bandstand called Prince’s Memorial, Wikipedia doesn’t say whether the tiny guitarist actually played there or if someone on the Parish Council was just a mega fan. There are football, cricket and bowls sides and all the other community things that make for the idyllic English village life. The fractious and thrilling local derby is Balsham vs Fulbourn.
There are football, cricket and bowls sides and all the other community things that make for the idyllic English village life
If you’re looking to get to Cambridge the A1307 gets you swiftly to the Addenbrooke’s campus (less than 10 miles) or Cherry Hinton via Fulbourn is 7 miles. If you’re heading further afield the Fourwentways junction of the A11 is about 3.5 miles and you can get onto the M11 southbound from there at junction 9 in 11 miles or so.
The countryside around the village is a little more pleasantly rolling than coming west back towards Cambridge. You can explore it back towards Fulbourn along the ancient raised pathway beside Fleam Dyke or just south of the village an old Roman Road gives a long walk past Balsham Wood or a great gravelly cycle ride that passes by Wandlebury Country Park and into Cambridge. The Icknield Way passes through the village, so if you’re really time-rich you can walk a very, very long way along this very, very old route. Just be careful out there, legend has it that the Shug Monkey stalks the ancient roads towards West Wratting.
