How easy is it to navigate across Cambridge (without a GPS)

[mzjo]

How easy is it to get across Cambridge NW to SE using either the roads or the cycle paths with only paper directions (no GPS, no phone for directions - no 4G coverage on mine in UK, thank you Brexit)?
For LEL I am at St Ives and between the north bound rush and the south bound trickle I should be seeing family and friends in Cambridge. I am planning to get off the guided bus thingy at its end north side. One possibility I think is Milton rd towards the centre, battling the inner ring and coming out on Hills rd. The other one is hacking it from the station to the Chisholm Trail bridge, then following the cycle paths south and after that the side streets towards Cherry Hinton rd, which will get me close to where I want to go.
Any Cambridge experts out there with a bit of advice? I will have an eTrex with me but no mount on the bike and anyway I don't trust the thing to be helpful when I need it, reality has always turned out to be the exact opposite! So paper maps and written directions the order of the day.

[Canardly]

Others will highlight the nuances but a starter for ten is...
https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/asset-library/imported-assets/Cambridge%2018%20V3.pdf

[lissotriton]

How easy is it to get across Cambridge NW to SE using either the roads or the cycle paths with only paper directions (no GPS, no phone for directions - no 4G coverage on mine in UK, thank you Brexit)?

You could download some offline maps onto your phone, before you go. Will work fine without any signal. Organic Maps is a nice simple, free option. https://organicmaps.app/

[mzjo]

Thanks that's great.
Downloading maps is definitely on, I do have a removable bar-mount for the phone (and a nav app, but that doesn't work to show maps off-line, only to record tracks - I've tried).

[ElyDave]

You can do guided busway from St Ives to CAmbridge North station, then head past that to the river, follow along the river on Fen Road and Water Street to your choice of river crossing, and follow the signs towards Parkers Piece across the commons and through the back roads.  You can then get onto Hills Road, which has reasonable cycleways alongside, and then onto Cherry Hinton Road.

One other way would be to leave the guided busway at Girton, follow through Girton to Huntingdon Road which has decent cycleways, follow that into town and you shoudl be able to head straight through the shopping district to the top of Hills Road.  This is perhaps a bit more direct.

I'd expect true Cambridge dwellers might be able to add more.

[yoav]

I’ve used the free app Maps.Me (on iPhone) which allows you to download openstreet maps for off line use and has navigation. It even gives you reasonable cycling routes if you select cycling as your mode of travel.

[Kim]

Find a local cyclist who looks like they know where they're going and follow them.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Or download a route from route planner of your preference and print it out on paper.

[Lightning Phil]

You could always follow the LEL route sheet south

[BFC]

Work out your destination town(s) and road number from Cambridge and be prepared to follow the signs on exiting the centre (when you get to the ring road - it's obvious!)). Cambridge is allegedly cycle friendly, made so by excluding most tin boxes from the central area, signage on entry is car oriented - so aim for the middle, the signage doesn't really cater for cyclists that are just passing through.

Traffic/Idiots in cars and on bikes and Tourists really depends when you approach the city  - time of year (university and school term times) and time of day.

It worked for me on my return from York (Easter Arrow).

[Lightning Phil]

For Chisholm bridge, straight past Cambridge north station on left, road bends to right (level crossing if you look left, after bend get down to river and head left to get to bridge.

[mzjo]

Just a quick return on this to say that both of those resources upthread were very useful. Organic  Maps also proved its worth on the way home when our road was blocked by a fairly massive RTA - about turn and hack it through the farm tracks of the Beauce! So a big thank you to every one for the advice.