The Shire Hall site is situated in a prominent location on Castle Street, within a short walking distance of the city centre approximately 0.25 miles (0.4 km) to the south.
A number of the city’s most popular and historic landmarks (including the River Cam, the Bridge of Sighs and the Museum of Cambridge) as well as many of the Cambridge colleges (including Clare College, St John’s College, Magdalene College and Trinity College) are all situated nearby.
The site benefits from a significant frontage to Castle Street, which itself leads to Huntingdon Road to the north and Magdalene Street to the south (in turn becoming Bridge Street and then Sydney Street, the city’s main retail thoroughfare).
As well as being well connected to the local highway network, the Shire Hall site is well served by multiple bus routes from numerous bus stops on Castle Street.
Cambridge is one of the most bike-friendly cities in the UK, also making the site ideally situated for cycling, as well as exploration on foot.
The surrounding area is of mixed use, with predominantly residential, office, retail and student accommodation.
The area immediately to the east of the Shire Hall site (beyond the Civil War Earthworks) is residential; to the south (beyond Castle Mound) is Clare College; to the north is the Castle Court student accommodation and Castle Park office development; with the west of the site bounded by Castle Street itself.
