Visited: May 20th, 2018
My father visited London for 10 days in the middle of May. He stayed around Blackfriars which was a great choice because he could walk everywhere or take one tube line to almost everything he wanted to see. I was happy he came. We visited Cambridge while he was here.
Cambridge is a smallish city which packs a big punch. Probably best known for Cambridge university and its colleges, the city also has lots to do outside the colleges including punting (riding on a basic gondola looking boat), wandering the streets filled with famous buildings where discoveries were made and lovely pubs and restaurants that you would expect in a beautiful English countryside city.
Like most of my day trips we were up early to take a train from London. In this case we left from Liverpool station and almost missed our train because my directions on where to meet were ambiguous and left my father at the wrong spot. Fortunately we connected via phone and were able to get to the train on time!
One thing I love about these days is you can randomly find things you didn't even know existed let alone think you would enjoy seeing. In this case on the walk into town from the train we ran into Our Lady of The Assumption and The English Martyrs Church a beautiful Roman Catholic Church along the main road from the train station. As mass was going on (we did come on a Sunday) we had to tip toe in and out when we took a look.
Continuing up the road towards the main part of Cambridge we quickly realized we didn't have a plan of attack. I pulled out a walking tour map on my phone and we started wandering through a random set of paths which landed us behind the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences in Cambridge. Unfortunately the museum was closed (as were many colleges) so we couldn't go in. We did see a metallic dinosaur sculpture which was pretty impressive. That said though we also realized we needed to head to the tourist information centre asap and form a better plan of attack.
When we connected with the tourist information office we decided to get a guided walking tour. We had a bit of time before the next departure so we walked around a bit more seeing a couple of the colleges as best we could given most were closed to the public due to students sitting exams. We then walked over the River Cam which is a smallish river of about 70kms running from Debden to the Great Ouse (which then runs into the North Sea).
Go Punt I say!
The highlight I would say of the River Cam is that you can punt on it. Why the boats are called punts I don't know, but it describes the flat bottom style of boat which leads to punting which is riding in a boat which is powered and steered by a long pole.
The other interesting part of punting is you get to travel under the mathematical bridge (a clever self-supporting wooden bridge connecting two side of Queen's college) and you get to see the Backs (of colleges)
From the time you arrive in Cambridge there are a bunch of students encouraging you to go punting or take a free tour with them (but please tip them). While we did neither there's no harm in either, the only comment being apparently you can't get into the key college buildings usually with the student tours.
We did sneak in a Sunday Roast lunch pre tour as well! Yum as always.
The tour begins!
Lucky us we were the only two on the tour and we were setup with a lovely retired British woman who had lived in Cambridge for I think 20 years or so, so she explained a lot about the history and culture.
First off a lot of background on the University of Cambridge which is one of the oldest in the world (4th oldest and 2nd oldest English speaking University). The University apparently grew faster than it would have due various scholars who left Oxford in a huff. There are 31 colleges associated with the University which feels somewhat like a bunch of smaller schools rolled up into the University umbrella. I now understand why the University of Toronto, my alma mater which has 7 colleges (although they are much larger individually than are most of Cambridges - as UofT has 3x the number of students).
On the way we did stop by the Corpus Clock which is a creepy looking clock with a Locus on top symbolizing that yes you will die in this lifetime and this is the ticking clock - nice reminder not to procrastinate right?
Below: Trinity College Gate, Corpus Clock, Old Cavendish Laboratory
Significant Cambridge Colleges include:
Trinity College - Cambridge's largest campus founded by H-VIII in 1546. Has taught 32 Nobel prize winners. Alumni: E-VII, G-VI, Charles - Prince of Wales, Stephen Hawking, Issac Newton, Neils Bohr
Peterhouse - chartered by Ed-I and named after Peter the apostle, it is the oldest college at Cambridge
King's College - Established by H-VI and home to the beautiful King's College Chapel which is big enough almost to be a cathedral. Covered more below. Alumni: Alan Turing, JM Keynes. Sister college of Eton (which is for high school aged students)
Jesus College - one of the oldest with plenty of renowned Alumni
Queen's College - home of the mathematical bridge
St John's College - Alumni: William (Duke of Cambridge)
Christ's - Alumni - Charles Darwin
Emmanuel - one of the oldest and best Endowed.
The list could just keep going, it's pretty impressive
While most colleges were closed for exams, we did get into the very impressive King's College Chapel built in the Gothic English Architecture Style. The chapel is very well known for its very large fan vault and large stain glass windows which were taken down to protect them during WWII.
Started in 1444 the chapel took 70+ years to complete and was finally completed during H-VIII's reign. The chapel is currently seen by many tourists each year, features many great stories inside displayed in the walls, screens or windows and is used by the well known choir and regular services.
Below: King's College Chapel and King's College Quad
The tour wrapped up with a trip around the market and some alleys (containing buildings, houses and pubs) where discoveries such as Gravity, Electron, Neptune, Evolution, Artificial Fusion among other dandy stuff.
A pint for the road
After the tour we went for a pint at a famous Eagle Pub where many intellectual discussions took place over the years and many pilots spent time even engraving their names in the ceiling (https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/cambridgeshire/eagle/). It's now owned by an umbrella pub group called Greene King but it still maintains its charm and is for a visit.
Last stop before leaving was to take a peak at Sighs Bridge named after the bridge in Venice even though it apparently does look the same. Another reason to do a punt when you go.
Below: Signed ceiling, Father and Son back in London after a long day!
All in all a great trip and some great father-son time! Then it was back to London. And yes we did sleep on the train on the way back.
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