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Institute of Continuing Education (ICE)

 

Weekend Excursions and Walking Tours Booking Information

You can buy tickets for excursions that take place during the dates of your courses (this includes excursions and walking tours that take place on the arrival or departure dates of your programme). You will need to arrange the time of your registration accordingly if you are going on an excursion or walking tour on your arrival day. If you are going on an excursion on your departure day, you will need to check out of your College and arrange your own luggage storage as the International Summer Programme office will be unable to look after any luggage.   

How do I book?

Places on excursions can be booked online in advance via your ICE account. Login to your ICE account and click on ‘excursions’ to make a booking. After you have booked and paid, you will receive a confirmation email. Please present this email when you arrive for your excursion and bring your student ID card. 

Please note: timings for each excursion may be subject to change and will be confirmed upon your arrival in Cambridge. 

Places are allocated on a strictly first-come, first-served basis. To avoid disappointment, we strongly recommend early booking, as all excursions and walking tours have a maximum capacity. 

You may only buy tickets for yourself. Partners or friends enrolled on the International Summer Programme should complete a separate booking. For insurance reasons, only registered participants of the International Summer Programme can purchase tickets. We regret that accompanying partners, friends or children may not participate.

Costs and Value Added Tax (VAT)

Unless otherwise indicated, the cost of the excursion will always include transport to and from the venue as well as entrance into particular venues, administration and VAT.
Please note: refreshments and/or lunches are not included in the excursion costs.

Refunds

All tickets are non-refundable. Once a ticket has been purchased it cannot be exchanged or refunded. As stated on the International Summer Programme website, you are advised to take out travel insurance to cover any unforeseen cancellations.

When you are in Cambridge if you wish to re-sell your ticket to another International Summer Programme student, it is your responsibility to make this arrangement. Please make sure you notify the International Summer Programme office at Lady Mitchell Hall of the purchaser’s details (name and College) so that the excursion register can be amended.

Transport

Travel for all excursions outside Cambridge is by coach. It is not always possible for the coach to drop groups directly outside the venue or in the centre of town due to access restrictions – especially at weekends. 

You may be required to walk a certain distance to the venue/to meet the guide. All coaches for weekend excursions depart from and return to Sidgwick Avenue, near the International Summer Programme office. Excursions will generally leave the venues at around 4.00pm. This allows enough time to return to Cambridge for your College evening meal (if resident) and will allow for possible weekend traffic delays. Please arrive in good time to meet your coach for departure to and from Cambridge. Coaches have to leave on time. Participants who are not on the coach at the advertised departure time will need to make their own way to the venue or back to Cambridge at their own expense. 

Lunch

Time will have been scheduled into the day for lunch, unless otherwise stated. You will need to either purchase lunch in advance of the excursion or buy lunch during the day. Some small towns/ restaurants/venues can be very busy and obtaining lunch can take time, especially in the summer.

Registers, risk assessments and insurance

Please remember to bring your student ID card and email confirmation to the excursion. A register will be taken as you board the coach. On the register (which will be handed over to you on the coach), there is a column for you to enter your mobile number. This is purely optional; however, we collect this information so that you can be contacted if there is an emergency. 

Before the excursion we will email you with information about the excursion and a risk assessment form. You are required to sign that you have read the risk assessment so please read it and sign the form with your name. You are required to report immediately to the CSA, any accident, or incident, which has a potential to cause injury.

Please contact the International Summer Programme team on intenq@ice.cam.ac.uk if you have any additional requirements. Whilst we endeavour to make every necessary arrangement to ensure your participation on the excursion, we may need to give careful consideration to the practical and transportation issues concerned. The University of Cambridge (whether directly or acting through the Institute of Continuing Education or the International Summer Programme) does not accept any responsibility for loss or damage to students’ property. You should arrange your own insurance for personal accident, travel or to cover loss or damage to your own property. The Institute of Continuing Education reserves the right to change or cancel any excursions should circumstances require.

Cambridge Student Assistants (CSAs)

Two CSAs will accompany you on the day to make sure the excursion runs smoothly. CSAs are not always familiar with the area or venue that you will be visiting, and they are not professional guides. 

Many venues do not provide guided tours for groups at weekends due to the number of visitors they have at those times of year. This is why you may only have the option of a self-guided or audio tour at some venues.

Please remember that there will often be other visitors at the venues and some places may get crowded at times. July is peak season and weekends are always the busiest times. Some of the excursions are open to the elements and it is therefore advisable to come prepared for rain or sun. The excursion will continue whatever the weather. We advise that you wear suitable clothing and footwear, taking into consideration the amount of walking on the excursions and the weather.

Feedback

After your Weekend Excursion or Walking Tour you will receive an email with a link to a Feedback Form, we kindly ask you to complete this. We reply on your feedback to help develop and improve our provision each year.

Privacy notices

The University of Cambridge will use the personal information you have provided for the purpose of processing your booking and administering your excursion. For further information please see http://www.ice.cam.ac.uk/info/privacy-policy and http://www.ice.cam.ac.uk/info/data-protection.