Walking Tours

In 2008, during 'thecitywakes' festival (which ran from October 22nd-November 1st), Blue Badge guides from the Cambridge Tourist Board took Syd Barrett fans on tours around the city centre and to other nearby locations relating to Syd. These proved to be very successful.

Prior to these tours, Stephen Pyle, Warren Dosanjh and others - who had been friends of Syd and themselves had grown up in 1960s Cambridge - were asked to conduct a couple of pre-emptive city centre tours for the guides themselves. These were to familiarise the guides with the 1960s music and social venues (many of which no longer exist), that Syd and other teenagers had frequented. Of course there are many stories and anecdotes from those days, many of which have never been told or put into print.

It was strongly suggested that these city walking tours should continue. Those of us who knew Syd and - equally as importantly - lived in those influential days of a changing youth culture, undertook four successful tours during the summer of 2009.

The dates for this year's walking tours have now been finalised, and are as follows:

June 26th

On our very first tour, we had a visiting party of five Norwegians (three of whom are in a PF tribute band). They enjoyed Cambridge so much that they are returning this year with the other two band members, as well as friends and family. They are 12 in number at the last count. There have also been 4 other bookings which means that this particular tour is now fully booked. Sorry!

July 17th & September 11th

Many of you will use or have at least heard of a very good website name of brain-damage.co.uk. This is the Pink Floyd and Roger Waters news and information site run by Matt Johns and others.

Matt and I have agreed on the two above dates which we will run as special guided tours this year in arrangement with them and are now promoted on their website - this means that they may well fill-up very quickly. Matt himself will be on the July tour and that will no doubt add much more to the day. We have already taken some bookings for both of these tours, so make sure that you book your place very soon.

November 20th

In 2008 a celebration of Syd Barrett was held in Cambridge, staged by Escape Artists.

In support of the Syd Barrett Fund, Escape Artists are to hold a London event in November 2010, this time under the name Interstellar.

The London event is at an advanced stage of planning, with an exhibition of Syd’s paintings planned to be the centrepiece, and further music events to take place alongside this. One thing which can be announced is a walking tour in Cambridge for those visiting the big smoke and who wish to take a trip to Syd’s home city.

The date for the tour is Saturday November 20, and 25 percent of money made from the day will be donated to the Syd Barrett Fund.

For more information, visit the Syd Barrett fund blog or you can follow them on Twitter.



The cost of the tour is £15.00 per person and all the tours start at 10.30am from the front of the Guildhall on the Market Square.

For a comfortable, inviting place to stay where you can relax before and after your walking tour, choose Citybase Apartments. Our serviced Cambridge apartments provide a refreshing alternative to a hotel, giving you a luxurious home away from home at a great price.

As a PF tribute band it was like stepping into the cradle of PF. Cambridge - where it all began - it's the closest that I've had to a religious feeling! The walk itself was fabulous, like going back in time, reliving those long gone days from the early 60's. Warren, Stephen and Charlie seem to have a bottomless well of anecdotes. It was magic and we got to meet lots of other fantastic people like Dave Parker and Jenny Spires. If you're a PF fan or interested in early 60s music then this tour is a must. It's informal, fun, relaxing and most of all, very informative. We are already planning a return for next year. The only difference is that we will probably bring lots more people. Thanks guys.

Trond Lilletvedt - Bergen, Norway

Many thanks for yesterdays tour and I wanted to let you know what a most interesting and enjoyable morning I had meeting you guys and learning a few facts that I was previously unaware of! It was certainly a pleasure hearing it from some of Syd's old cronies in Cambridge, who can remember what it was like with him, the scene in the 60s and can convey their memories in such an interesting way. I'm looking forward to doing the tour again!

Alan Gleaves - Trinity College, Cambridge

Richard and I had a wonderful time in Cambridge on Saturday. The subject of the tour was raised on several occasions as our weekend in France progressed - there was a touch of envy from those who had not been there. It was a pleasure to meet you guys and to wander around your old haunts in such a leisurely way and in such good company. To hear the story from the horses' mouths, if you'll forgive the expression, is something really quite out of the ordinary. Your testimonies and anecdotes are literally priceless (and often at variance with the biographies). On a personal note, I'd like the tour to have been a little longer. It was fascinating talking/listening to you guys (even when off the subject of Cambridge and Syd). Being nothing of a Syd completist, there were so many things that came up that it was hard for me to put them all into perspective/chronological order and sift through them into some sort of pattern. I'm left, inevitably I guess, with rather more questions now than I had before! All the best and many thanks for an eye-opening trip in space and time.

Steve Foster - London

Can't fault the tour. It was great to meet-up again with a mate who had emigrated to Australia in the late 60s. There were so many anecdotes flying around that I may do the tour again next year! Warren has a very diverse knowledge of the 60s Cambridge youth scene. He and Steve provided a very relaxed narrative as we meandered around the city centre with hardly any question unanswered and loads of ad-libbing. Lots of stuff about Syd too, that has never been in print. Excellent.

Stuart Brignell - Spain

As a 60s Cambridge rock 'n roller I loved it! You should however mention that these tours somehow always seem to over-run by 1-2 hours. How about a packed lunch? I can't wait till next year for another great fun day. Thanks to all three of you.

Dave 'Dean' Parker (& The Redcaps) - Cambridge