River Granta

The River Granta is a small tributary of the River Cam in Cambridgeshire. Its name comes from an ancient Celtic word meaning ‘muddy waters’ or ‘shallow river’. The river runs for about 16 kilometres from south of Haverhill to join the Cam south of Great Shelford. Maps often show the river as the Granta above Silver Street Bridge in Cambridge and as the Cam below it. In earlier times the whole river was called the Granta, until the town of Grantebrycge became Cambridge and the river took its modern name. The Granta’s name appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 875 when it describes a town called Grantebrycge, meaning ‘bridge over the Granta’. A magazine founded in 1889 by Cambridge students was named The Granta after the river. Granta Park sits on the banks of the small Granta, and Grantchester’s name also recalls the river’s ancient meaning. Scholars still debate the exact origin of the word, linking it to a Brythonic settlement called Cair Grauth. Visitors can walk beside the Granta’s quiet stretches or follow its path into Cambridge. The river’s gentle flow and muddy banks reflect its old name. Silver Street Bridge marks the point where the Granta becomes the Cam. The river’s history is visible in the names of places like Grantchester and Granta Park. The literary magazine Granta keeps the river’s name alive in print. The Granta remains a small but significant waterway in the landscape of Cambridgeshire.