It was a bit cool when we pulled into Cambridge. Our AirBnB was only a 10 minute flat walk from the station so we dropped our bags off and went and explored the town.
We found the hop on / hop off bus and did a tour of the town. These are a great way to orientate ourselves when we arrive in a new place. This one had a great commentary so we learnt a lot about the town. It started to rain lightly as went around the sights of Cambridge but nothing too heavy. We did one and a half circuits and got off in the town centre.
Cambridge is a pretty town, Kim preferred it to Oxford, but Sally preferred Oxford. Like Oxford it had over 30 Colleges, some very old and dating from the 1400’s, and others more recent dating from the 1980’s.
The streets are quite narrow, you can park on the footpath, there are no tall buildings, and the river Cam runs through the town, so it retains a nice village type feel.
We walked home, which was only 30 minutes so we are quite central.
Wednesday found us back in town for a visit to Kings College Chapel, a very impressive building.
The vaulted ceiling is pretty unique and shows craftsmen at the peak of their skill.
It was started in the reign of Henry VI and completed by Henry VIII when he was married to Anne Boleyn. His grandmother Margaret Beaufort had a huge influence on the colleges of Cambridge, she donated money to quite a few.
We couldn’t look through any of the college, but could walk through the meadows and watch the punters from the bridge.
We managed to look through a few of the colleges, they were having open days for potential students so we just tagged along with the odd group. This enabled us to have a good look through some of the dining halls, bedrooms and courtyards. Some had extensive grounds with swimming pools, and one had its own underpass to connect the college.
Sally booked a trip in a narrow boat from a lovely riverside pub The Plough along the river Cam toward Cambridge. Tea and scones with jam and cream whilst cruising the river, a most enjoyable way to spend the afternoon.
Saw these cute cottages on the way
The area we stayed in had houses like this
Saw a Round Church which was modeled on the Sepulcher in Jerusalem, a concept brought back by the crusading Knights.
There was a local market in the centre of Cambridge with the stalls selling mainly food, fruit & vegetables, clothing and souvenirs. Have noticed before that they have the pricing in both pounds and euros
We climbed the steps to the top of Great St Mary’s bell tower and had a glorious view of the city centre. Because there are no modern tall buildings, you can see all the different colleges and their inner courtyards.
Another ‘near miss’ for Sean when he tried to practice his rock climbing skills coming down the tower and the brick crumbled.
Next day it was off to Chelmsford via Ipswich & Colchester. We hadn’t had to do connecting train services before but it went fine. We met this charming American from Boston who comes to Cambridge to do summer school. He’s 75 and been doing it for 15 years, he has studied a huge variety of subjects and loves the whole college experience.
Grabbed some lunch (at Wetherspoons!) in Chelmsford and took turns walking the city as one of us stayed to look after the luggage.
Checked out the Chelmsford Cathedral, this was nice and light compared to other churches we had been in lately.
Grum picked us up and we went back to his place and had a lovely BBQ (with Alex on the tongs) and some yummy salads. A lovely meal with Grum, Liz and the kids, and also Liz’s sisters family. Stayed out talking until the sun went down and the midges forced us inside.
This was just a flying visit as we were in the neighborhood, and were passing through on our way to Plymouth.
Traveling Further 