Cambridge Past, Present and Future to look after Grantchester Meadows for King’s College - and is gifted ownership of The Orchard Tea Garden

A deal has been struck to ensure Grantchester Meadows is improved for the benefit of nature, the environment and people so it can be enjoyed by future generations.

The 50 acres of meadows run alongside the banks of the River Cam between Cambridge and the village of Grantchester – and form one of the city’s most picturesque landscapes.

The new partnership between King’s College and conservation charity Cambridge Past, Present & Future (PPF) will ensure it remains “well-cared for and accessible”.

Karen Rothwell, Cambridge PPF chair, said: “We welcome the investment that King’s College is making in the meadows, and we are very pleased to be working in partnership with them.

“We will use our expertise to enhance the meadows’ conservation management and visitor experience and hope that, combined with effective engagement with local communities, we will help to improve the site's ecological value, maintain the public’s enjoyment and ensure the landscape is protected.”

The meadows are owned by King’s College and have historically been leased for grazing cattle. However, a rapidly growing population of residents and tourists over the past 20 years has put the meadows under increasing pressure.

The meadows have become treated more like one of the city’s parks and commons and there are competing interests between different uses of the meadows, including the ability to provide environmental benefits.

The charity will be responsible for the management of the meadows on a day-to-day basis. It already owns and manages other green spaces including Wandlebury Country Park, Coton Countryside Reserve and Barnwell Meadows.

Attracting thousands of visitors each year, the meadows have been enjoyed for over a century for walking, picnicking, punting, swimming and nature and the scenery.

The meadows were enjoyed by the Bloomsbury Group in the first half of the 20th century and also featured in the poem Watercolor Of Grantchester Meadows by Sylvia Plath and a 1969 song by Pink Floyd.

A King’s College spokesperson said: “We’re pleased to partner with Cambridge Past, Present & Future to ensure that Grantchester Meadows remains well-cared for and accessible to the Cambridge community and beyond.

“Their deep commitment to nature and working with local residents ensures that they will be effective stewards of one of the city’s treasured green spaces.”

Cambridge PPF recently became the owners of Grantchester Tea Garden, which was gifted to the charity by the former owner, Robert Callan, after his death. The charity also owns Skater’s Meadow at the opposite end of the meadows.

Lindsay Birkett, the owner of Orchard Tea Garden Ltd, which has the lease for operating the Orchard Tea Garden at Grantchester, said: “I feel that my role here is to ensure that the orchard continues to exist in its truest form so that people may long continue to bask in the sunlight with tea and homemade scones in a place that, like many Cambridge residents, I have frequented since I was a child.

“To ensure the longevity of our trees and our continued status as an orchard, we have enlisted the expertise of The Heritage Fruit Tree Company who are using our hand-drawn 1800s planting plan to help us replant some of the original apple tree varieties.”

Cambridge PPF has a historic connection to Grantchester Meadows. From its first foundation in 1928, the charity was concerned to protect the historic village of Grantchester and the countryside setting along the River Cam.

The charity purchased Skater’s Meadow at the northern end of the meadows and raised funds to pay King’s College to take out legal covenants on the college’s land alongside the river to protect it from possible development.

In the 1930s a ring road was proposed to be built through the meadows and the charity’s efforts forced it to be delayed. The Second World War then happened, and the road was never built.

The charity also supported the creation of a green belt for the city which gives better protection through the planning system for special places like Grantchester Meadows.

Allan Scott-Davies, Cambridge PPF estate manager, said there would not be any immediate changes but one of the charity’s park wardens would be present at busy times between Easter and September to talk with visitors, as well as organising some guided walks.

“We intend to work with the communities in Newnham and Grantchester, as well as user groups, to better understand some of the problems and to work with them to develop a longer-term plan for how the meadows could be improved for nature and the environment. Once we have that plan, we can start implementing the changes with the support of the people of Cambridge and King’s College,” he said.

Visit cambridgeppf.org/grantchester to find out more about the partnership.