Residential visitor information

Please read the fire notice located on your room noticeboard. Escape route maps are also located in all the corridors. If you hear the fire alarm (a continuous two-tone siren), please follow the exit signs to your outdoor Assembly Point. Fire alarms are tested at 11am on Wednesdays.

Smoking is not permitted indoors or outdoors at Girton except in the designated smoking shelter near the maintenance building.

The Porters are trained first aiders and the Lodge is the First Aid Post. If you require a doctor please contact the Duty Porter who will arrange for you to attend a local surgery. We hope there won’t be any, but accidents, hazards and near misses should be reported immediately to the Porter.

We advise that you close your windows and lock your room when you leave it empty, no matter how brief your absence. Please keep your delegate badge with you at all times. CCTV surveillance cameras are in operation at certain points in the building, for your security. Our CCTV policy is available here.

We hope you find your room in excellent order, but if there’s anything missing or not working, or if you need additional supplies, please contact the Porters’ Lodge and we’ll rectify immediately.

A member of the housekeeping department will service your room either daily, Monday to Friday, between 9am and 2pm, or weekly, depending on your booking package. Where provided, towels are changed twice-weekly and bed linen is changed weekly.

For rooms without en-suite bathrooms, you’ll find a bathroom and WC along the hallway from your room.

Background heating is switched off during the summer months (May to September). If you feel cold, please contact the Lodge who may be able to supply you with a temporary heater.

There are recycling bins in all the kitchens (located along the corridor from your room).

There are various laundry facilities at the College: the Porter will direct you to the one nearest your room. Laundry machines are operated by tokens purchased from the Lodge. Irons and ironing boards may be used free of charge.

There is a plug-and-play Ethernet point in your room. Wi-fi is available in most of the bedrooms, and in all the public areas including the Social Hub. The conference office will issue you with a wi-fi ticket.

Meals, coffee and snacks are available in the cafeteria and the Social Hub: opening times are advertised on the boards or as detailed in your conference information. Please present your delegate badge at the till if you’re booked in on an inclusive conference package. We cater for vegetarian and vegan diets as standard, but if you have particular needs or food allergies, please notify these in advance to the Conference Office, so we can ensure we have something suitable for you.

Credit / debit card payments are accepted, but not cash.

The Social Hub bar is open in the evenings, or as advertised. Our licence does not permit you to bring in your own alcohol or food to consume in any of the public areas.

Vending machines selling crisps, soft drinks and other snacks are available in the corridor next to the swimming pool.

There is a TV in the Social Hub as well as board games, books and jigsaws, etc. and a pool table downstairs in the event bar.

Art and artefacts are displayed everywhere you go at Girton, mostly donated by generous benefactors. Of particular interest is the People’s Portraits exhibition: depicting ordinary people from all walks of life, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters’ exhibition is on long-term loan to the College, displayed along Cloister corridor, Chapel corridor and in the Social Hub. The Lawrence Room Museum, a treasure trove of important artefacts and antiquities, is open on Thursday afternoons.

The Chapel is always open for private prayer. In addition we have a designated prayer room (directions available from the Lodge).

A self-guided tour around the gardens is available from the Lodge. The route takes in the historic garden, laid out in the early years of the College and comprising the Fellows’ Garden and Pond, Honeysuckle Walk and the Old Orchard, now maintained as a historic orchard of national significance.

Girton is fortunate in having an indoor heated swimming pool available for use by residential guests. Please check at the Lodge for opening times and access. The pool has no lifeguard, so you must always swim with another person.

There is a small gymnasium with a range of equipment in Ash Court (access via the Porters). Tennis and basketball courts are sited near the Old Orchard. A squash court is located in Ash Court (access at the Lodge). Please wear black-soled squash shoes.