In Chapter 84, Strike and Robin drive to Cambridge in search of Vikas Bhardwaj, who they have been told is a doctor in astrophysics at Gonville and Caius College.

Robin and Strike park the car and walk the last bit of the journey to the college. Where they park the car is unspecified, and the name of the bridge they cross over the River Cam is not given. It seems probable, however, that they cross Garret Hostel Bridge as “the sun imparted a golden glow to the old brick buildings.”

They then enter Garret Hostel Lane, “a narrow alleyway between old brick buildings.”

“They turned into Trinity Lane.”

“… they entered Senate House Passage.”

“Gonville and Caius College towered above them, its arched entrance barred by a black iron gate and its ornate face of dun-coloured stone defying the modern world represented by the surrounding shops. Three statues of unsmiling fourteenth- and sixteenth-century men stared down at Strike from their niches. A stretch of brilliant green lawn was visible through the bars of the gate, and more golden buildings surrounding it.”

They are told that Vikas is not at the college, so they walk back to the car and drive to the Stephen Hawking Building where he is living.

“… after a short journey in the BMW arrived at a modern S-shaped building in pale grey stone, surrounded by a garden.”

“‘OK, this is wheelchair-friendly,’ said Strike. The floors were smooth and the slightly curved passage into which they turned wide, with white doors appearing at intervals.”

Outside of the university term dates, rooms in the Stephen Hawking Building are available to stay in on a night-by-night basis for visitors to Cambridge. Here is a picture of one of the rooms.

You can find all these locations on our walking tour map here: