Getting around
Northstowe is ideally placed for Longstanton Park and Ride and the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway that links Northstowe with Huntingdon, St Ives and Cambridge. Buses will also run regularly between Northstowe and Cambridge. A new access road will connect the town to the A14, which joins the A1(M), the M11 and goes east to Ipswich. Train services run from Cambridge to London's Kings Cross and Liverpool Street stations in just over an hour. For air travel Luton Airport is 47 miles away.
A trip to the shops
Northstowe will have a buzzing town centre with a range of retail outlets all designed around an attractive, open-plan square. The nearby villages of Longstanton and Willingham have local shops, a post office and convenience stores and there's a 24 hour Tesco Extra four miles away at Bar Hill. For city shopping it's a short trip by The Busway or car to Cambridge with its colourful, daily markets, independent retailers and three shopping centres. The Grand Arcade with its flagship John Lewis has 60 famous name stores and the nearby Lion Yard Shopping and The Grafton provide more choice. If you fancy some retail therapy in Oxford Street, London is just over an hour by train.
Taking time out
Northstowe is being designed so that leisure and sports facilities are never far away. There will be civic spaces, sports facilities and play parks catering for all age with cycle paths and walkways an important feature of the town. Currently you'll find many sports and leisure activities in nearby villages, from tennis and bowls to martial arts and ballroom dancing. There's a community sports centre at Swavesey Village College, while Impington Sports Centre has fitness classes, a gym, sports and a swimming pool.
Education
The Pathfinder Church of England Primary School will be the first to open at Northstowe in Autumn 2017 and three more are planned for the town including a secondary school. Hatton Park Primary at Longstanton caters for children aged 5 to 11 years and for senior pupils Swavesey Village College, about 3 miles away, takes students aged 11 to 16 years. For further education Cambridge has two sixth form colleges and Cambridge Regional College has academic, professional and apprenticeship courses.
