Sunday morning rolled around, and we had another quick discussion about where to go. We finally ended up opting for Cambridge, and so off we went, although I didn't see any neat town names on the way there, at least nothing so neat as Nether Wallop - I need to find out where that name came from.
A bit of history - Cambridge is actually celebrating it's 800th anniversary this year, which makes it a bit younger than Oxford, the story being that general unrest between the scholars and the townspeople in Oxford led to some of the scholars leaving and founding Cambridge. At any rate, we managed to get into Cambridge before lunchtime, and wandered through the grounds of Christ's College before stopping for a bite. Christ's College is home to a mulberry tree which is where John Milton supposedly wrote one of his poems, although I can't remember which one at the moment.
After eating, we stepped into the Round Church, built by the Knights Templar, before heading to the River Cam, where we signed up for the requisite 'punting'. I suppose it was at some point while drifting down the river that I came to the regrettable conclusion that Cambridge is more attractive than Oxford, although my heart will always belong to Oxford, if only for the fact that Tolkien taught there for so many years. So, we were chauffered down the river which saved me from wondering whether I could actually punt down the river without falling in, as there didn't seem to be an aptitude test for renting a skiff. Along the way, we saw the Cambridge version of the Bridge of Sighs (somewhat more impressive than Oxford's, if only for the fact that it actually spans the river rather than a street), and the Mathematical Bridge, which supposedly is built such that it could hold together even without nails, bolts or nuts.
Afterwards we made it to Trinity College, where Henry VIII now proudly holds a golden orb and a chair leg, which was put up there by a student as a prank some years ago, perhaps as a reminder of who really is in charge - at least in Cambridge. We also got to see an apple tree believed to be a direct descendant of Newton's apple tree, among other sights. All in all, I think we could have given Cambridge two days, rather than the one, but our visit, although short, was still good.
2 comments:
I spent a couple of weeks in Cambridge as a summer student about a million years ago in college, and it was beautiful. I was with a criminal justice group, and everyone knows criminal justice students are the most likely to get in trouble, so it was fun in ways that I don't share with my kids just quite yet.
It's good to hear you guys are coming back to B'ham. I hope we can get together.
Would love to get in touch once we get back - it seems like ages since we've seen eachother. I agree - Cambridge is gorgeous, although it does also have the feel of a happening college town. I'm envious that you got to spend so much time there.
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