Mother’s Day 2027 falls on Sunday 7 March, the fourth Sunday of Lent and three weeks before Easter. That is early in the year for Cambridgeshire. Several National Trust houses and smaller gardens are still shut for winter, riverside meadows can still be under water, and most village pub kitchens close in the late afternoon. So this guide sticks to places we could confirm open on Sundays in early March, or ideas you can book or buy in the days before.
There are thirteen ideas here, split between Cambridge and the south, Huntingdonshire and the Great Ouse, and Ely, the Fens and Peterborough. Where a place does something special for Mother’s Day every year, we say so.
Details were accurate at the time of research in November 2026. Mother’s Day menus, prices and event dates for 2027 are usually announced in January or February, so please check each venue’s own website before you book.
Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire
The south of the county has the city’s hotel dining rooms and the Botanic Garden within walking distance of the station, plus village pubs up on the chalk near the Hertfordshire border. The hotel spa at Cambourne sits just off the A428, about seven miles west of the city.
Parker’s Tavern, University Arms
Indoor activity
- A British brasserie inside the University Arms hotel on Regent Street, with windows looking out over Parker’s Piece
- On Mother’s Day it usually swaps the Sunday menu for a four course set lunch, shared at the table, with a glass of fizz for every mum; the menu and price go on the website nearer the time
- On a normal Sunday the roast is served from 12:30pm to 3pm
- Afternoon tea, with scones, finger sandwiches, a sausage roll and pastries, is served on Sundays from 12:30pm to 4:30pm
- The hotel sells afternoon tea gift vouchers online, which works if you cannot be together on the day itself
- Tables are booked through OpenTable, linked from the Mother’s Day page on the Parker’s Tavern website
Address: University Arms, Regent Street, Cambridge CB2 1AD
Website: parkerstavern.com
How to book: Online through OpenTable from the Mother’s Day page on parkerstavern.com
Parker’s Tavern is in our afternoon tea guide already, but on Mother’s Day it swaps the usual Sunday menu for a set lunch built for families. The dining room looks across Parker’s Piece, and the big tables suit three generations. The shared set menu takes the pressure off ordering when grandparents and children are at the same table. It is one of the dearer options in this guide, so it makes sense for a bigger celebration rather than a quick lunch. If the lunch sells out, the afternoon tea from 12:30pm is the fallback.
The Pheasant, Great Chishill
Indoor activity
- A village pub on Heydon Road in Great Chishill, built in 1635, with wood fires in winter
- The pub says it is the highest pub in Cambridgeshire, which fits a village on the chalk ridge along the Hertfordshire border
- It says it was voted one of the top three Sunday lunches in Cambridgeshire in both 2024 and 2025
- On Mother’s Day it has served its Sunday roast with traditional trimmings in two sittings from midday, and booking is essential
- On Sundays the kitchen serves from noon to 4pm and the bar stays open until 8pm, so plan on lunch rather than an evening meal
- The pub is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
- Sunday, lunch and children’s menus are posted on the website, so you can check what is on before you book
- It is run by Nutwood Pubs, which also runs the Duncombe Arms at Waresley, further down this guide
Address: 24 Heydon Road, Great Chishill SG8 8SR
Website: nutwoodpubs.com/pheasant
Phone: 01763 299999 (option 2)
How to book: Online through the Book your table form on the website, or by phone
Great Chishill is a long way from the Fens in every sense: a hilltop village right on the Hertfordshire border, with the land falling away to the south. The Pheasant has built its name on Sunday lunch, and Mother’s Day is its busiest Sunday, which is why it splits the day into two sittings. The later sitting suits families coming from further afield, and the early one leaves the afternoon free for a walk. Inside it is low beams and a fire, which counts for a lot on a cold March Sunday. Book as soon as the pub opens Mother’s Day bookings, as there are only two sittings.
Cambridge University Botanic Garden
Indoor and outdoor
- A 40 acre garden near Cambridge station, run by the University, with tropical glasshouses that stay warm whatever March throws at you
- In February and March the garden opens from 10am to 5pm, with last paid admission half an hour before closing
- Children aged 16 and under get in free, so a family visit costs only the adult tickets
- Adult tickets are £8.60, or £9.50 including an optional donation, and booking in advance takes 10 per cent off standard admission
- The Garden Café is open all year, with indoor seating, a terrace and takeaway
- Garden shops at both entrances sell cards, gifts and plants, handy for a last minute present on the way in
- Gift membership vouchers are sold through the garden’s website, a present that lasts the whole year
- There is no visitor car park, so come by bus, bike, train or park and ride
Address: 1 Brookside, Cambridge CB2 1JE
Website: botanic.cam.ac.uk
How to book: Online in advance for the discount, or pay at the gate on the day
The Botanic Garden appears in our gardens and family guides, but it earns a place here because it is one of the few big gardens in the county that is reliably open, and fairly quiet, on a March Sunday. Early March is between seasons outside, so the glasshouses do the heavy lifting: humid, green and warm enough to take your coat off. A gift membership, handed over on the day, turns one visit into a year of them. It is an easy walk from Parker’s Tavern, so you can combine a morning in the garden with lunch. Under 17s going free makes it one of the cheaper family outings in this guide.
ELEMIS Spa at the Cambridge Belfry
Indoor activity
- A hotel spa and health club at the Cambridge Belfry, on Back Lane at the edge of Cambourne, west of Cambridge
- Facilities include a pool, a hot tub, a sauna, a steam room, a relaxation room and experience showers
- There are seven treatment rooms and a dual suite where two people can have ELEMIS treatments side by side, which suits a mother and daughter booking
- Non-guests need to book a spa day to use the facilities, and spa days for two with a treatment and lunch are sold as gift experiences through Red Letter Days
- Spa gift vouchers are sold through the hotel’s online shop
- There is free parking for around 200 cars, with EV charging
Address: Cambridge Belfry, Back Lane, Cambourne, Cambridge CB23 6BW
Website: thecambridgebelfry.co.uk
Phone: 01954 714600
How to book: Online through the hotel website or a spa day gift provider, or by phone
Our spas guide covers the Belfry in full, so think of this as the gift version. A voucher in a card is the simplest present in this guide, and it lets mum choose a quiet weekday in spring rather than the busiest Sunday. If you want to go together on 7 March, the dual treatment room is the thing to ask for. The drive from Cambridge along the A428 is short on a Sunday. Check the spa day pages for current prices, as the hotel does not show them on its home page.
Fitzbillies, Cambridge
Indoor activity
- A Cambridge bakery and café that has been baking its sticky Chelsea buns since 1920
- It closed in 2010 and was bought and reopened by Alison Wright and her husband in 2011, marking 15 years since the reopening in 2026
- There are cafés on Trumpington Street, Bridge Street and King’s Parade, and a newer bakery and café in the village of Harston, south of the city
- A box of six Chelsea buns costs £25 and can be delivered nationwide or collected in store
- Bake-at-home Chelsea buns are also sold, which makes breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day easy
- Afternoon tea is served in the cafés and can also be sent by post as a hamper, useful if you live away from mum
Address: Trumpington Street, Bridge Street and King’s Parade, Cambridge; also Harston
Website: fitzbillies.com
How to book: Order online for delivery or collection
Fitzbillies has been baking in Cambridge since 1920, and its Chelsea buns are about as Cambridge as a present gets. That makes them a good choice for a mum who once lived in the city, or for anyone with a sweet tooth. The postal service means you can send them to the other end of the country. Order early, because buns posted for a Sunday need to leave on a weekday and sold out notices are common before busy weekends. If you are in town on the day, the Harston café avoids city centre parking.
Huntingdonshire and the Great Ouse
Huntingdonshire’s ideas are spread out: Waresley sits on the Bedfordshire border near Gamlingay, Hemingford Grey is on the Great Ouse between Huntingdon and St Ives, and Old Hurst is in farmland north of St Ives. Two of them share a village, so a spa morning and a pub lunch can be done without moving the car.
The Duncombe Arms, Waresley
Indoor activity
- A village pub on Eltisley Road in Waresley, reopened by Nutwood Pubs in autumn 2025 after it had been closed for more than 18 months
- On Sundays the kitchen serves from noon to 4pm and the pub is open until 8pm
- The pub is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
- The menu is classic pub food cooked in-house, with seasonal menus and a Sunday roast
- The house beers are Duncombe Dogs Session Lager and Duncombe Rose Ale
- CAMRA lists a garden, a car park, a real fire and an EV charging point
Address: Eltisley Road, Waresley SG19 3BS
Website: nutwoodpubs.com/theduncombe
Phone: 01763 299999 (option 3)
How to book: Online through the Book Your Table button on the website, or by phone
The Duncombe Arms spent more than a year and a half closed before Nutwood Pubs took it on. It is a straightforward village pub rather than a destination restaurant, which is exactly what some families want on Mother’s Day: a roast, a fire, children welcome and nobody fussing. It is run by the same group as the Pheasant at Great Chishill, so the Sunday kitchen hours are similar. Waresley Park Estate is in the same village, so the two pair easily. Book early, as a small village pub only has so many tables.
Waresley Park Estate
Indoor and outdoor
- A country estate at Waresley with a spring-fed swimming lake, a beach, a jetty and a lakeside sauna
- The main house has a small spa with a spa pool and sauna that can be booked as a whole for a few hours, so a group can have it to themselves
- Single spa treatments use Germaine de Capuccini products
- The estate runs Sunday lunches, with roasts cooked over an open flame, and lists the dates on its events page
- Introduction to Cold Water Swimming sessions with a guided dip run through the winter, for mums who would rather swim than sit still
- The Bean Theory coffee shop opens from 8:30am daily
- Gift vouchers are sold online through the estate
Address: Waresley Park Estate, Gamlingay Road, Waresley SG19 3DD
Website: waresleyparkestate.co.uk
Phone: 01223 491396
How to book: Online through the estate’s website; spa slots and sessions must be booked
Waresley Park is the most unusual idea in this guide, and it will suit a certain kind of mum very well. Booking the spa house for a few hours means sisters, daughters or friends can share it without strangers in the pool. A cold dip in the lake followed by the lakeside sauna is a bracing way to spend a March morning, and the coffee shop is there for afterwards. Our spas guide has more on the lake and sauna. Pair it with lunch at the Duncombe Arms down the road, or the estate’s own Sunday lunch.
The Manor, Hemingford Grey
Indoor and outdoor
- A 12th century manor house beside the Great Ouse in Hemingford Grey, one of the oldest homes in the county
- It was the home of the author Lucy Boston, who bought it in 1939 and made it the setting for her Green Knowe children’s books
- Lucy Boston designed and sewed patchworks through the winters alongside her writing, and most of them are shown on the house tour
- Her Patchwork of the Crosses is described by the Manor as one of the ten best known patchworks in the world, with around twenty stitches to the inch
- House tours run all year by appointment only, booked by email or phone, and cost £14 for adults and £5 for children, including the garden
- The garden opens every day from 11am to 5pm, costs £6 for adults with children free, and needs no booking
- An annual garden pass costs £18 per person, which makes a neat gift for a keen gardener
- Dogs on leads are welcome in the garden; parking is in the village, with a few spaces at the house for visitors with mobility difficulties
Address: The Manor, Hemingford Grey, Huntingdon PE28 9BN
Website: greenknowe.co.uk
How to book: Garden entry on the day; house tours by email or phone through the website
This is the idea for a mum who sews, quilts or loved the Green Knowe books as a child. Seeing Lucy Boston’s patchworks in the rooms where she made them is rare, and the house itself is a remarkable survival, with Norman walls still standing. Book the tour well ahead and say it is for Mother’s Day, as spaces are limited. Lucy Boston’s old roses and irises are months away in early March, so the house is the main event. The riverside path between Hemingford Grey and St Ives makes a good walk before or after, but it can be muddy or flooded after wet weather.
Johnsons of Old Hurst
Indoor and outdoor
- A family farm at Old Hurst, north of St Ives, with a farm shop and butchers, a tea room, a steakhouse and a small zoo with a tropical house
- On Sundays the steakhouse serves from noon to 4pm, and the tea room and farm shop are open from 10am to 4pm
- Much of the meat in the butchery is produced on the farm itself
- The shop also sells cheeses, deli goods, fresh bread, jams, chutneys and gin and vodka from Johnsons Spirit Company, enough to build your own gift hamper
- Gift cards are sold through the farm’s website
- The zoo and tropical house open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 4:30pm, with tickets at £6.50 for adults and £5.50 for children, under fours free, paid at the gate
Address: Church Street, Old Hurst, Huntingdon PE28 3AF
Website: johnsonsofoldhurst.co.uk
How to book: No booking for the shop or zoo; contact the steakhouse through the website for tables
Johnsons covers three jobs on Mother’s Day in one stop: lunch, a present and something for the children to do. The steakhouse serves the farm’s own beef, the tea room is the easier choice with small children, and the zoo keeps grandchildren busy while the adults finish their coffee. Filling a basket in the farm shop with local cheese, chutney and a bottle of Johnsons gin makes a better gift than anything from a supermarket. Our farm shops guide covers the butchery in more detail. Wellies are a good idea if you are heading round the zoo in March.
Ely, the Fens and Peterborough
The north of the county is where the flat land starts, with Ely on its island above the fen and Peterborough on the Nene at the western edge. The ideas here run between the cathedral city, the farmland around Stuntney and Chittering, and the Nene valley at Wansford.
Ely Cathedral
Indoor activity
- Mothering Sunday began as a day for going back to your mother church, and Ely Cathedral holds Sung Eucharist every Sunday at 10:30am and Evensong at 4pm, and everyone is welcome
- Visitor entry on Sundays runs only from 12 noon to 3pm, so plan a visit around the services
- Visitor entry from Monday to Saturday runs from 9:30am to 4:30pm, which suits a Saturday trip the day before
- Visitor charges apply and the cathedral recommends booking tickets in advance
- Octagon Tower tours and ground floor tours can be booked through the website, and digital guides are available for a self-guided visit
- The Gift Shop and the Almonry Kitchen are run by the cathedral
- The cathedral asks visitors to check its changes to opening hours page for closures or restricted access before travelling
Address: The College, Ely CB7 4DL
Website: elycathedral.org
Phone: 01353 667735
How to book: Visitor tickets and tours online through the cathedral’s website; services need no booking
Ely Cathedral belongs on a Mother’s Day list for the oldest reason there is. The fourth Sunday of Lent was the day people returned to their mother church, and the custom of giving flowers to mothers grew from it. Evensong at 4pm is a calm hour to share with mum, and it falls after the Sunday lunch rush. If you want to see the Octagon properly, come on the Saturday, when visitor hours are longer.
Ben’s Yard, Stuntney
Indoor and outdoor
- A rural retail village of independent shops on the Stuntney Estate, five minutes outside Ely on the Soham road, opened in June 2023
- The units cover gift and lifestyle shops, homeware, handmade British furniture, a bridal boutique, hair and beauty, a farm shop and a café
- A 2.5 kilometre wildflower walk loops around the trails and the reservoir, and dogs are welcome on it
- The free adventure playground is modelled on Ely Cathedral, which keeps younger children busy while the adults browse
- Parking is free and the retail village is wheelchair and pushchair friendly, though the wildflower trails are not suited to wheelchairs
- There is also a dog park on site, booked separately through Ely Dog Park
Address: Ben’s Yard, Stuntney Estate, Ely CB7 5TR
Website: bensyard.co.uk
How to book: No booking needed for the shops; check the website for events that need booking
Ben’s Yard is the easiest place in this guide to do all your Mother’s Day shopping in one go, with a card, candles, something for the house and a bag of farm shop treats all within a few steps. The parking is free, which is more than can be said for central Ely. The wildflower walk gives you a reason to linger, although in early March it will be more mud and reservoir than flowers. Our independent shopping guide covers it for Christmas. Go on the Saturday before Mother’s Day, when the shops are fully stocked and you are not racing the clock.
The Cambridge Flower School, Chittering
Indoor activity
- A floristry school that has moved from Newton Hall to The Old Grain Store on Ely Road at Chittering, between Cambridge and Ely
- Beginners’ taster days run on Saturdays each month, cost £210 in January 2027, and you take home everything you make
- Seasonal workshops include Christmas wreaths on 30 November and 4 December 2026 at £95, a good test run before a spring booking
- Gift vouchers are sold through the website, so mum can choose her own date
- Wedding floristry courses and a five day career course for people thinking of floristry as a job run in 2027
- Booking is online through the school’s website
Address: The Old Grain Store, Ely Road, Chittering, Cambridge CB25 9PH
Website: thecambridgeflowerschool.co.uk
Phone: 01223 655661
How to book: Online through the website, including gift vouchers
A floristry morning is the present for a mum who would rather make something than be taken out. You come away with a hand-tied bouquet or an arrangement and a few skills to use again, and doing it side by side is a good excuse for time together. The school has moved out to the edge of the Fens at Chittering, on the A10 north of Waterbeach, so it is just as easy to reach from Ely as from Cambridge. Watch the website from January for spring dates. A voucher is the safer gift if dates are not yet listed.
The Haycock Manor Hotel, Wansford
Indoor activity
- A historic coaching inn hotel at Wansford, just off the A1 west of Peterborough, which says it is open 365 days a year
- The Haycock Kitchen, a new brasserie, gives a more relaxed option than the hotel’s fine dining room
- Two afternoon teas are offered: a traditional tea with Taittinger champagne, and a traditional tea with a signature cocktail
- Prévost, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, serves five and eight course tasting menus with wine pairing
- Wansford station on the Nene Valley Railway is across the river, so lunch and a train ride fit into the same day
Address: The Haycock Manor Hotel, London Road, Wansford PE8 6JA
Website: haycock.co.uk
Phone: 01780 782223
How to book: Online through the hotel website, or by phone
The Haycock is an old coaching inn on the former Great North Road, and it is used to big family occasions. The new brasserie is the more family-friendly choice for a Mother’s Day lunch, while the afternoon teas suit a smaller group. Our afternoon tea guide covers the teas in full. Stone walls, gardens and a village setting make it feel further from Peterborough than it is. Book early, as Mother’s Day is one of the busiest Sundays of the year for hotel dining rooms.
Seasonal Highlights
Spring: Mother’s Day on Sunday 7 March 2027, Easter Sunday on 28 March 2027, lambing at Wimpole’s Home Farm, which the National Trust lists from late April into early May, and daily 2pm tours of the Manor at Hemingford Grey through May.
Summer: The Botanic Garden stays open until 6pm from April to September, and the lake at Waresley Park opens for swimming.
Autumn: Christmas wreath workshops at the Cambridge Flower School on 30 November and 4 December 2026, the Christmas Gift and Food Fair at Ely Cathedral on 19 November 2026, and the Christmas Market at Johnsons of Old Hurst on 28 and 29 November 2026.
Winter: Introduction to Cold Water Swimming at Waresley Park on 12 December 2026, the Botanic Garden closing from 24 December 2026 to 1 January 2027, and the royal portrait display at Ely Cathedral until 5 March 2027.
A Note From Inside Cambridge
Mother’s Day does not need a big restaurant booking to mean something. A box of buns posted from Cambridge, an hour of evensong or a morning arranging flowers together can be remembered for longer than a three course lunch.
Most venues release their Mother’s Day menus in January or February, and we will update this guide as they do. If you run a restaurant, spa, shop or workshop with Mother’s Day plans for 2027, or you spot something here that has changed, please get in touch.
Before You Go
- Mother’s Day 2027 is Sunday 7 March; most pub and restaurant kitchens in this guide stop serving at 4pm on Sundays, so book lunch rather than dinner
- Book Mother’s Day lunches as soon as menus appear, as popular village pubs can fill their sittings early
- Order posted gifts such as Chelsea buns or hampers at least a week ahead, as many couriers do not deliver on Sundays
- Many National Trust houses, smaller gardens and seasonal tearooms are still closed in early March, so check opening dates before driving anywhere not listed here
- Riverside paths along the Great Ouse and the Nene can flood in late winter, so check the Environment Agency’s flood warnings before a walk
- Ely Cathedral’s Sunday visitor hours are short, from noon to 3pm, so go on the Saturday if you want time to look round
- Gift vouchers for spas, workshops and garden memberships are the safe choice if dates for 2027 have not been announced
- Cambridge city centre parking is limited, so use the park and ride or the train for Parker’s Tavern, the Botanic Garden and Fitzbillies
