Some of Cambridge’s most charming architecture is tucked away at ankle level. Since 2019, an anonymous couple has been working toward their mission of “Saving the World” by installing little portals to whimsical delight throughout Cambridge. These are the Dinky Doors. There are 14 so far—new ones pop up every few months—and I always make sure to point out a few of them on tours I give to visitors, or even to friends who have lived here a while and still haven’t noticed them. I must admit that I hadn’t made an effort to track down all of them until I was about to move away (and even then I missed one)!
A tour of all the Dinky Doors is effectively a tour of Cambridge—you can even buy a walking tour from the Dinky Doors website (and/or donate to support their mission to Save the World). There’s also a Youtube channel where the Dinky Doors couple appear (with red boxes on their heads) to update the world on dispatches from the Supreme Leader (a kindly extraterrestrial being giving Dinky Doors instructions on how to Save the World) and otherwise share their quirky humor and Dinky Door backstories. Read on for some highlights!
10 (and a quarter) Downing Street
This was the first Dinky Door I noticed (although Dinky Doors have become so ingrained into my personal Cambridge lore that I really can’t recall when this happened—in fact I was shocked to be reminded that the door wasn’t there when I arrived in 2018). That is because it’s on the Cambridge iteration of Downing Street just outside the entrance to the New Museums Site where I work, at approximately number 10. If you’re not British you may or may not recognize the prim black Georgian door as that of the Prime Minister’s residence, only this one has an ominous (or cute, depending on your point of view) purple octopus pouring out of the door panels (perhaps from the Zoology Museum on the other side of the wall). This door (like others that have been around for a bit) has been touched up a few times, including an upgrade on the octopus arms.
Fun Fact: Downing Street in Cambridge, so named because Downing College is situated along it (though it changes to Pembroke Street once Pembroke College takes over), is in fact named for the same George Downing who built 10 Downing Street in London in the 1600s and whose wealth eventually founded Downing College.
Reality Checkpoint
At the heart of Parker’s Piece is an ornate lamppost marking the “Reality Checkpoint,” where the University bubble ends and the rest of the town begins (among other interpretations). Most people whiz by this intersection of the paths leading across the expanse of lawn to somewhere else, so it’s often a surprise to people when I point out the little door at the base of the lamppost. It’s an echo of its namesake, with forest-green dolphins and red and white flowers and gold lettering. The Reality Checker is perpetually on holiday, however, so you are requested to Check Reality Yourself. If you push the dial at the top of the door all the way to “Feisty,” it lights up.
Wonder Emporium
The Wonder Emporium was pointed out to me by lab friends when we cut through Sussex Street, a walking street with shops, on the way to a pub. The Emporium is a delightful little storefront where various knickknacks can be purchased for 3p each (genuine 3p coins only)—and the stock has changed over time, which makes me wonder if they have in fact been purchased…or stolen despite the Dinky CCTV…
Market Square Teleport-O-Matic
This one took me a while to find; it’s chameleonized between two classic red telephone boxes in the busy Market Square, painted in the same red, plus industrial bronze. It can take you anywhere, 3p per 3 yards. Apparently it was once smashed to bits by an anti-time-traveler and had to be rebuilt.
Trinity “Love from Above” door
Modeled on a nearby Trinity College door, a classic medieval (?) Cambridge affair with heavy wood under a pointed stone arch (the real door, if open, almost always has a sign saying “Private, No Entry.”). I see this one whenever I visit the Saturday Art & Craft Market in the All Saints Garden. I wouldn’t have caught on to the backstory if I hadn’t checked out the online tour—the demon peeking out from the door, Mr D. Mon, has received a gift from Angie—and angel looking down from the roof above. This is thanks to the efforts of Dinky Doors to set them up on a blind date and help heal the divisions rife in the world…I must admit, I originally thought it was a nod to the reputation of the Trinity porters (who decide who to admit through college doors) to be somewhat mean, but I suppose that isn’t in the spirit of Dinky Doors.
Wandlebury Knight Rider Booking Book
I love Wandlebury, one of the biggest nature reserves in/around Cambridge, and I knew there was a Dinky Door somewhere, but I didn’t look for it until recently. It’s a sort of weird one—a leatherbound book for bookings to challenge the “Knight Rider”, and behind that first “page”, a spartan little office with a trap door, jousting lance, and poster for the show Knight Rider. Not being familiar with either the show or the original Wandlebury legend this was referencing, I was a bit lost, but the story is here: collected by a 12th-century writer (Gervase of Tilbury), the apparent folk tale told of a mysterious dark warrior who would appear on the hill of Wandlebury when the moon shone, whom knights could come and challenge. Now anyone can book a slot!
Jesus Footbridge Ride and Park portal
Do you want to go to Wandlebury, but it’s just a little too far out of town? It’s your lucky day, there’s a portal to Wandlebury (or alternatively Milton Country Park) right on Jesus Green! I passed this one by many times before realizing it was there at the base of the footbridge over Jesus Lock on the River Cam. Just twirl the portal to your destination of choice and get a ride to more park. Or just admire the little bird’s nest in the branches and the working wheelchair lift.
Riverside DFO
This Dinky Flying Object allegedly crashed into the side of the Museum of Technology (one place I never managed to go inside) when the Supreme Leader tried unsuccessfully to visit. Rumor has it the DFO can do the Kessel Run in a day or two.
Riverside Emailerator
I did not manage to get a photo of this one, even though it’s on the same street as the DFO. It’s a postbox modeled on a nearby one with spikes discouraging climbing students, only this one can transmogrify letters and parcels into emails for some reason. Here it is in one of Dinky Doors’ Youtube videos.
Green Street Rocket Rocket
A vehicle for going off to find the Supreme Leader, powered by rocket (arugula). Situated on a charming central Cambridge street full of touristy shops and yummy hot chocolate and college-owned flats.
Mill Rd Bridge Fotodinkymat crime scene
I didn’t manage to see the original Fotodinkymat because it was stolen—I mean, melted by Chief Mischief, the Supreme Leader’s arch nemesis—only a few days after it appeared. Now there’s a dinky crime scene on the Mill Road Bridge with the puddled remains of the Fotodinkymat and the weapon used to commit the crime. (In all seriousness, the commitment to the bit is impressive.)
Romsey OctoSpa
On a quiet residential street in Romsey, a neighborhood in the Mill Road area of Cambridge, octopi can have a full spa experience. I think this is the biggest Dinky Door, partly because it’s made from an unloved bollard (one of those poles used to block a road) painted into a lighthouse. It was actually commissioned by the neighborhood.
Cambridge Press Mage’s Pages
Outside the Cambridge Press bookstore, where they sell academic and trade books of all topics, is the source of all these books—a little book garden tended by a Bookmage. The mage’s hut looks suspiciously like an outhouse. Currently growing books include A History of Thyme, The Top Ten Vowels, and one listing founding years of the Cambridge University Press (1534, by Henry VIII), the first bookshop on this corner (1581), and this particular Press bookshop (1992).
Parkside Dinky Shrinky
The latest Dinky Door, right outside the newly retrofitted and rechristened Entopia building (the headquarters of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership), is a solar-powered shrink ray. There’s an observation laboratory too. You can even shrink unhappiness and CO2 emissions.
Gwydir St Ghost
The very first Dinky Door, a portal outside a cassette tape shop, apparently disappeared before anyone knew what Dinky Doors were.
A Dinky Tribute
My friend’s daughter is a talented artist and was so charmed by the Dinky Doors when she visited that she drew a dinky tribute to them–just as charming as the originals.
Bonus 1: Grand Arcade
As Dinky Doors has gained iconic status, Cambridge businesses have taken notice. Over the Christmas season last year, Grand Arcade, the nice shopping mall in City Center, did a collab with Dinky Doors, putting up 10 Dinky presents throughout the mall for scavenger hunters to find. Each gift box had a present representing one of the Dinky Doors, and winners of a raffle at the end of the season could win a present. I found all but one so didn’t enter the raffle…
Can you figure out which Dinky Doors they go with?
Bonus 2: Heron Heron street art
Another Cambridge street art icon: hipster herons stalking the public infrastructure, back walls of restaurants, etc, Banksy style, by Heron Heron. There was even a heron painted on the back of the Fotodinkymat before it disappeared! I don’t have a full catalogue of herons, which are much more ubiquitous and sneaky, but here are a few I’ve spotted.
