Beer Gardens in Cambridge: Where to Sit Outside

What a Cambridge beer garden actually gives you

Cambridge gardens are less about sunbathing than about surviving the forecast. The useful ones offer three things: cover overhead, heaters for the shoulder seasons, and enough space that a group can sit together rather than hovering. Both gardens here tick all three, which is why they are worth naming rather than listing every pub with a few picnic benches.

The other practical distinction is location. A central garden means you can walk from a day in town, but you also compete for tables on any dry afternoon. A countryside garden flips that: more room, less bustle, but you need to plan the journey out and back. Decide which of those two trades you want before you pick, and if you want the fuller picture of the city's pubs, start with our best pubs in Cambridge.

The Maypole Freehouse, Portugal Place: the city-centre garden

The Maypole sits at 20a Portugal Place, between Bridge Street and Jesus Green, and has been family-run since 1982 with the Castiglione family in charge. Its garden is the standout feature for anyone planning to sit outside: a large outdoor covered and heated area decorated with murals by a local artist. That cover is what makes it usable on a drizzly Cambridge afternoon rather than only in high summer.

Inside, the pub splits into a lounge bar at the entrance, an upstairs bar used largely for dining and private hire, and a saloon bar reached through a secret door in the back. If your group is half-outside and half-indoors, the lounge bar makes the natural base. The space is a traditional pub with a continental feel, which suits a long session better than a quick round.

The beer side is the reason ale drinkers seek it out. The Maypole keeps a large, ever-changing range of real ales and craft beers drawn mostly from small independent breweries, and it has collected multiple CAMRA awards, including the CAMRA Pub of the Year 2018 title. Because the board rotates, ask what is on before committing to a pint you had in mind.

Food here is homemade Italian from the pub's own kitchen rather than a separate restaurant operation, so the menu leans towards pizza and cooking that shares a table with beer. For a garden session with a proper meal in the middle, that combination is hard to beat in the centre. The pub takes table bookings, which is worth doing if you want a specific slot.

Bridge, Waterbeach: the countryside option

Bridge is on Clayhythe Road in Waterbeach, a village a short trip north-east of Cambridge, and its garden is the countryside counterpoint to the Maypole's courtyard. The pub describes a garden with covered seating spots and heaters, so a grey day does not end the plan, plus ambient lighting for evenings. It is the sort of place to settle into for an afternoon rather than drop in for one pint.

Dogs are welcome in the garden, with water bowls and doggy treats available at the bar, which makes it the easier choice if the walk is part of the outing. Ordering can be done through the pub's app, useful when you are outside and would rather not keep going back to the bar. For a group spread across several tables, that saves a lot of toing and froing.

The menu runs to pub classics, seasonal specials and a Sunday roast, which the pub presents as best eaten outside. If a roast in the garden appeals, go earlier rather than later, since roasts are usually the first thing to run short on a busy Sunday. Pair it with a look through our Sunday Roast in Cambridge guide before you commit the day to it.

The trade-off is the journey. Waterbeach is not a walk from the colleges, so build the trip into the plan rather than treating Bridge as a drop-in after a day in the centre. Check train times and the last service back before you settle in, and check the pub's opening hours for the day you plan to go.

Choosing between them: centre or countryside

Pick the Maypole if the garden is part of a day in Cambridge rather than the whole point of it. You get a covered, heated courtyard, Italian cooking, a changing ale board and a short walk back to the centre, at the cost of more competition for outdoor tables when the weather is kind. Booking a table ahead is the obvious fix for a group.

Pick Bridge if you want space, a slower pace and room for the dog, and you are happy to make Waterbeach the destination. You get covered seating, heaters, pub classics and a Sunday roast, at the cost of a train or drive each way and a less spontaneous finish. Groups with children or dogs tend to find the countryside version easier to manage.

If neither quite fits, the wider pub scene covers the rest of the ground, including the older rooms better suited to a winter pint than a garden one. Our guide to the oldest pub in Cambridge is the place to start when the weather rules out sitting outside entirely.

Rainy-day plan: which garden still works

Both gardens are built for bad weather, but they fail in different ways. The Maypole's covered, heated area keeps you dry and warm but fills first when it rains, since it is the obvious central refuge. Arriving early or booking is more useful than hoping a table frees up later.

Bridge has more room to absorb a wet afternoon, but getting there and back is the weak point: a soaking walk between station and pub takes the shine off. Check the forecast before you travel, and if the garden is full or the weather turns, you will need to decide on the spot whether to wait it out or head back.

Which garden should you book?

Book the Maypole when the garden is one part of a Cambridge day and you want Italian food, a rotating ale board and a walkable route home. Head to Bridge at Waterbeach when the garden is the outing itself and you want space, dogs welcome and a Sunday roast in the open air. Either way, check each pub's opening hours for the day you plan to travel before setting out.