Category: Cambridgeshire

The restaurant opened just over a year agoMuddy Stilettos announced the winners on Tuesday, June 16(Image: Matt Hague)It is no secret that Cambridgeshire is full of culinary delights and selecting a restaurant worthy of a special occasion can take some thought. Thankfully, the Muddy Stilettos Regional Awards 2026 may help to narrow down your search, as one charming restaurant in Cambridge has been named as the best in the region.The restaurant taking the crown as the ‘best’ across Suffolk and Cambridgeshire is Margaret’s on Chesterton Road. Sibling to Michelin-starred Restaurant 22, which was also shortlisted, Margaret’s is a modern British bistro which offers a “produce led shared and set menu that elevates locally sourced ingredients”, according to its website.The lifestyle magazine, which announced the winners on Tuesday, June 16, has run its regional awards for 13 years. They aim to celebrate and show appreciation to the multitude of local businesses across the UK.Each year the magazine asks its millions of readers to nominate their favourite local businesses in 28 counties nationwide across 21 categories. The shortlisted finalists were revealed in April 2026, with a highly anticipated wait until the winner was crowned.Margaret’s, which only opened in June 2025, offers a seasonal set menu and prides itself on using local ingredients from a range of suppliers. As the menu changes regularly, a sample menu is available to give potential customers an idea of the dining experience they’d be in for.The sample menu features a selection from Yorkshire pork loin served with Romano peppers and wild asparagus, to a Suffolk chicken supreme with spring vegetables & its own garden herbs.The highly-commended finalists in Cambridgeshire included Ancient Shepherds in Fen Ditton, Midsummer House in Cambridge, Restaurant 22 in Cambridge, The Teller’s Table in St Ives, and Vanderlyle in Cambridge.One previous guest at Margaret’s wrote: “Words are not enough to describe what a brilliant experience this was. First I’ll start with the obvious; the food was phenomenal. You can tell that the chefs really put thought into everything that they prepare.”The flavours were incredibly well balanced. The food came out hot which is such an importance to me.”Another commented: “We’ve always been a huge fan of Restaurant 22 and have been looking forward to trying since opening. Very pleased to say that the quality of food and level of service has been mirrored at Margaret’s.”Meanwhile, another previous diner said they were “absolutely blown away” by Margaret’s roast. The review added: “The beef cheek stuffed Yorkshire pudding and the Australian truffle cauli cheese were both proper highlights.”This is an elevated, delicious and seasonal experience – every single element was exquisite, with combinations I couldn’t even dream of. The staff were super attentive and so friendly.”

Cycle wands on Cambridge’s East Road have been flattened, sparking debate among readers who suggest emergency vehicles could be to blame for the damage to the controversial traffic schemeDavid Prince and Cambridgeshire Live readers06:00, 20 Jun 2026Flattened cycle wands on East Road in Cambridge(Image: Cait Findlay – CambridgeshireLive)Readers of Cambridgeshire Live have been sharing their thoughts after cycle wands on a busy Cambridge road were flattened. Images showed several of the wands on East Road were lying completely flat.Residents expressed varying opinions on what caused the damage and what action should be taken. Many attributed it to emergency vehicles, while others demanded the posts be removed entirely. Some argued the scheme was simply worsening traffic congestion.A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire County Council confirmed the authority was aware of the flattened cycle wands. They said officers will inspect the site to assess the damage and replace the wands.A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of the cycle wands on East Road which have been flattened. One of our officers will visit the area to review the damage and replace the wands as required.”One reader, Wachoooo suggests: “They’re flattened by emergency vehicles driving over them constantly, as it’s the fastest way to get through traffic.”Danieal writes: “Just remove them and put the road back to the way it was and was designed to be. We all know the barriers were only put in place to hold up traffic and create bottlenecks.”Calumen Nomen says: “Is that the end of the ‘trial’ then? When is it going to dawn on these people that we are never going to get back on buses and bikes – why should we? What’s their next plan – back to black and white tele for the plebs because it ‘saves carbon emissions’?”Banallbikes feels: “It’s proof that they are in the way of vehicles and serve no purpose, so they should be removed.”Over on our Facebook page, Szilák I comments: “It used to be 2 lanes and worked fine.”Sootys S says: “Cycle wands were put up to increase traffic queues, to justify introducing congestion charges, rather than for cycle safety.”Otto B writes: “Probably to let emergency vehicles through, cyclists and buses don’t use their lanes anyway.”Jonny S agrees: “Yes, flattened predominantly by Fire Engines because they have to use the cycle lane to bypass the massive backlog of traffic caused by making East Road a single lane. Because making a massive traffic choke point right next to the police and fire stations is clearly a great idea.”Should the trial of the cycle wand end now? Comment below or HERE to have your say.

A zoo where a three-year-old boy was attacked by a crocodile on Thursday has reopened to the public.The boy was critically injured after ending up in the animal’s enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.Johnsons – which also has an on-site farm shop, steakhouse, and tea room – opened on Friday but its crocodile enclosure remained closed “out of respect for the family”.Rebecca, 33, who had planned a visit to the zoo with her three-year-old daughter on Friday, told the BBC they had been lots of times before and still felt safe there.A 30-year-old man from Norfolk who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder has been released on bail, Cambridgeshire Police said.Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, external, Instagram, external and X, external.

Video showed police activity at a zoo where a three-year-old boy was left with critical injuries after ending up in a crocodile enclosure. Cambridgeshire Police said it was called to Johnsons of Old Hurst, near Huntingdon, at 13:24 BST, and a man had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. The boy was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital with serious injuries and is in a critical but stable condition, the force said. A spokesperson for Johnsons of Old Hurst said its thoughts and prayers were with the boy and his family, and that its Tropical House would remain closed until further notice.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder18:34, 18 Jun 2026Updated 18:39, 18 Jun 2026Inside the reptile house(Image: CambridgeshireLive/Cait Findlay)Johnsons of Old Hurst has shared a statement after a 3 year old boy was ‘seriously injured’ on the afternoon of June 18.Officers were called to the zoo at 1.24pm on June 18 to reports of an incident involving a three-year-old boy, during which he ended up in the crocodile enclosure.The boy has been taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital with serious injuries and is critical but stable. Specially trained officers are at the hospital supporting the boy’s family.A 30-year-old man from Norfolk has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Johnsons has now confirmed that the Tropical House part of the site will be closed until further notice.It has added that the team’s “thoughts and prayers” are with the boy and his family. Johnsons shared: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today.”Out of respect to the family, our Tropical House will remain closed until further notice. If you have any questions about the incident, please direct enquiries to Cambridgeshire Police Constabulary. The rest of the site will remain open as normal.”

Fire fighters quickly controlled a fire at the Alpine Spas stand.

Fieldays’ record crowds came with a catch – getting in from the north felt less like a drive and more like joining a very patient convoy.
A few nose‑to‑tail mishaps added to the crawl, turning the approach into a full-length farm parade.
The Fieldays vehicle queue from the north was more than a kilometre long. Photo: Roy Pilott
The Fieldays vehicle queue from the north to the Tamahere turnoff was more than a kilometre long. Photo: Roy Pilott
Inside the gates, success brought its own drama. Cleaners barely turned their backs before toilet facilities descended into chaos, proving that crowds and cleanliness have a complicated relationship.
Cambridge News 18 June 2026
Long queues and maintenance issues were among the most frequent complaints, and improvements will include more facilities and upgrades to existing blocks.
“Toilets were a challenge,” Fieldays chief executive Richard Lindroos said.
“That’s a classic sign of success. We need to invest more in facilities and keep lifting standards.”
Traffic management also came under scrutiny. While some routes worked well, including shuttle services from Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Hamilton, others were slower to clear.
Safety systems were tested in a minor fire at an exhibitor site on closing day, which Lindroos said demonstrated the team’s preparedness with a quick and controlled response.
.. and while sales were excellent, it took a long time to spend a penny. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Fire fighters quickly controlled a fire at the Alpine Spas stand. Photo: Supplied

Homes England and The Hill Group are still to decide on a masterplan for the Cambridge East developmentCllr Lucy Nethsingha (right)(Image: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority)Cambridge is “already extremely well provided” amid calls for a new “lifelong learning” college on the Cambridge Airport site, the combined authority has said. Homes England and The Hill Group announced they had bought the land earlier this month with plans to build thousands of homes and a railway station.A regional training hub is one of the options that the developers are considering before they settle on a masterplan for the area. Antony Carpen, a resident who runs the Cambridge Town Owl blog, urged Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority to enter into discussions to “explore the possibility” of building a new lifelong learning college near the planned Cambridge East station.He said this “could help reverse the decline in enrolment in adult skills” and “provide the much-needed facilities that might enable adults looking to retrain in areas with chronic skills shortages to make the change”.A council report said that enrolment in adult skills and tailored learning had fallen in the last year by 6.2 per cent in total learners and 7.4 per cent for new starters. Peterborough accounted for over 40 per cent of learners and enrolments, “significantly exceeding its share of the adult population”.Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, chair of the skills committee, said the decline is not identified as “being always driven by a lack of physical premises or the availability of provision within communities”.Cambridge Airport(Image: Google Maps)She said: “We will always keep future infrastructure opportunities under review, including in relation to the Cambridge Airport site. The authority is focused on working with partners, including Homes England through the Strategic Place Partnership and the Cambridge Growth Company on the future skills needs of this area to enable inclusive growth.”She said the responsibility for education is shared between the Department for Education, local authorities and individual providers – not just the combined authority.The Liberal Democrat councillor said: “It’s about tracking provision but it’s also really important to be clear that take up of adult skills happens in a lot of different places which are not necessarily specific buildings.“Improving take up of adult skills is more about taking out mobile provision to find people where they are rather than building new sites. I would also say that if we were going to build new sites, Cambridge is already extremely well provided with education provision.”

Matthew James Hayward died of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome after being admitted to Peterborough City HospitalHMP Peterborough(Image: Google)An inquest will be held into the sudden death of a 28-year-old prisoner whose post-mortem report did not reveal “any abnormalities whatsoever”. Matthew James Hayward died of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome in Peterborough City Hospital on August 28 of last year.Simon Milburn, area coroner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said the inquest would seek to answer if “any cardiac issues should have been identified and acted upon” and “could Mr Hayward’s death have been prevented”. Speaking at a pre-inquest hearing on Monday, June 15, he said the given cause of death may make answering this “not that straightforward”.Mr Milburn asked for a cardiologist with expertise in sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) to give evidence at the full inquest to “tell us whether this was something that should or could have been prevented”. He said the inquest will look into Matthew’s admission to the hospital in August as well as his time inside HMP Peterborough.Dr Paramjit Samrai, representing North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, said the post-mortem had not revealed “any abnormalities whatsoever”.He said: “I think the problem with this particular case is the pathologist struggled to come up with a cause of death as sudden arrhythmia is based on exclusion. Something caused the cardiac arrest on that date and he needs to look at the circumstances that have caused that.”He said that “getting the right specialists will be really important”. He suggested an intensivist or general physician rather than a cardiologist, adding: “I don’t think it’s been caused by a cardiac problem from what I’ve seen.”Dr Samrai said that Matthew had been “vomiting” and “not eating” before his death and said: “We’ve got a young man here who should be fit and well, but something has happened. It really does need someone who understands all the systems of the body.”A date for the inquest has not yet been confirmed.

The Cambridgeshire Pension Fund is in discussions about its strategy after it emerged it has invested in a United Arab Emirates (UAE) oil terminal that was struck by Iranian missiles.Local government pension schemes across the UK, including Cambridgeshire, have invested almost £3bn in funds holding assets hit, stranded or put in the direct line of fire in the ongoing war in the Middle East, according to research by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.New Shire Hall, home of the county councilSchemes put money into infrastructure funds that seek out assets to invest in that provide long-term and supposedly stable returns – but the risk of holding these assets is often transferred from oil and gas companies to public sector workers and retirees.Through the IFM Global Infrastructure Fund, the Cambridgeshire Pension Fund invested in the VTTI Fujairah oil terminal. It was stuck by a barrage of Iranian missiles in May which caused a huge fire. As the UAE’s key oil export route bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, Fujairah has come under repeated attacks since the start of the war.A fund spokesperson said: “The Cambridgeshire Pension Fund recognises that climate risk, including the risk associated with stranded assets, has the potential to temporarily alter the value of the fund. Fossil fuel exposures are managed with a climate risk management lens.“The fund does not have a divestment policy for any sector or region, aligned with government’s latest investment strategy guidance for the local government pensions sector. Nonetheless, the fund may invest through managers that have limited or nil fossil fuel exposures. This approach has led to the fund reducing its carbon footprint by circa 35.8 per cent over the period June 2021 to June 2024, effectively managing climate risk and leading to the fund being on track to achieve net zero by 2050 or earlier. “The fund does invest through the IFM Global Infrastructure Fund. Like all managers, IFM are aware of the fund’s risk management approach and have discretion to manage their portfolio within a broad set of constraints.“The Cambridgeshire Fund is in discussion with IFM regarding its holdings in VTTI Fujairah, but these are not material, representing circa 0.01 per cent of Cambridgeshire Fund assets.” Financial analyst Guy Prince, head of energy supply at thinktank Carbon Tracker, said: “It raises the question about whether long-term pension savings should depend on politically unstable regions and an uncertain future energy demand.“Fossil fuels are financially risky now and their resilience is hugely in question. Pension funds really have to consider whether these assets remain appropriate for long-term, stable returns.”

Princess of Wales wowed the crowds at the Trooping of the Colour event at the weekend – and needs an energy-packed diet to stay healthyKate Middleton has lots of fuel for events such as Trooping The Colour due to her favourite breakfasts(Image: Getty Images)The Princess of Wales is renowned for immersing herself wholeheartedly in a wide variety of activities during her royal engagements. Whenever Kate attends an event involving children or sport, she is well known for joining in — whether that be sprinting, gardening, playing hockey or practising taekwondo.She consistently makes a striking impression at public appearances as well. At the Trooping of the Colour, Kate wore a light blue tailored coat dress with white piping around the lapel, and she completed the look with a matching Philip Treacy hat. She accessorized with Cassandra Goad pearl earrings and an Irish Guards brooch. The princess holds the title of Colonel of the Irish GuardsNaturally, maintaining such an active lifestyle while remaining impeccably dressed means Kate must ensure her diet provides ample energy. She is well known for following a Mediterranean diet, which places emphasis on plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes.It also incorporates moderate portions of lean protein from fish and poultry, low-fat dairy, and healthy fats such as olive oil, while limiting red meat and sweet treats.She is also said to “love” preparing a roast chicken for her family and has a fondness for spicy vegetable curries. Kate is understood to favour high-intensity weight training sessions, exercises daily without a personal trainer, and requires adequate protein intake for optimal results.Nikkita Hope-Brown, a qualified PT and owner of Found, a women-only strength training studio in London, told HELLO!: “You cannot build muscle without the building blocks, which is protein.”To give a metaphor, proteins are the bricks that make up the wall, and strength training is the actual bricklaying. You cannot build a house without the actual bricks or someone doing the work of laying the bricks – you need to have both. How much protein we need depends on our goals and body, for muscle growth, typically 1.5 – 2g of protein for every kilogram we weigh.”Kate Rowe-Ham, fitness coach and founder of Owning Your Menopause, echoes this perspective: “You can’t out-train a poor diet. Muscles are built in the gym but need to recover and transform in the kitchen. To support muscle growth and recovery, it is essential to consume a high-protein diet, especially after a workout.”Kate said: “Include whole foods rich in fibre, healthy fats, and complex carbs to fuel your workouts and stabilise hormones.”The royal is believed to favour a green smoothie to kick-start her morning, much like her sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, made with spinach, kale, blueberries and matcha. She is also understood to regularly begin her day with a bowl of slow-burning energy oats, also known as rolled oats, which she frequently prepares with milk or yoghurt and tops with fruits, nuts, cinnamon, and nut butter.Lunchtime typically features salads and fruit bowls, with an emphasis on foods that encourage glowing skin, such as watermelon salads and gazpacho. She also likes berries mixed with almond milk as an afternoon treat and tends to prefer lighter meals throughout the day.According to the Daily Mail, Kate also has a penchant for raw dishes like watermelon salads, gazpacho, goji berries, tabbouleh and ceviche for their skin-enhancing properties. She also has an appreciation for heartier, traditional English evening meals such as substantial roasts and curries.Kate’s day in food.Breakfast: A green smoothie is a regular choice, combining kale, spinach, spirulina, matcha, romaine lettuce, coriander, and blueberries. Alternatively a bowl of slow-burn energy oats.Lunch: Salads and fruit bowls are preferred options, with particular focus on foods that support skin health, like watermelon salads, gazpacho, and tabbouleh. She also likes ceviche.Dinner: While she prefers lighter meals during daytime hours, Kate enjoys traditional English dishes or carbohydrate-rich choices for tea like roast dinners and curries.Snacks: Olives and popcorn are reported to be her preferred snacks. Drinks: She enjoys smoothies, and is also known to drink ginger tea.What Foods Does Kate Middleton Avoid?While Middleton hasn’t revealed any particular dietary preferences, sources suggest that she steers clear of:DairyCarbohydrates (or at least reduces her intake of them)Seafood when travelling (as per royal protocol)