Mark and Jim on a bridge over the River Cam, with punts aplenty below us
After living in Cambridge, MA, for some 18 years we’ve finally made it to the real Cambridge, the one after which our long-time home was named. It was a quick two-night stop, just enough to drink in some of the ambience of an ancient university town. Ancient and lovely, I should add. On arrival we wandered around parts of the University somewhat randomly and found some gorgeous parks and lawns belonging to the colleges that were open to the public. It was really beautiful.
While some of the colleges restrict access, this area in Pembroke College was open to the public. Just a tiny hint of all the beauty behind the closed gates.
The main reason to come here, of course, was to see the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1209 by students fleeing the anger of locals towards the students at Oxford – an early version of town-gown hostilities – it is one of the great universities of the world, known particularly for its scientific excellence. Stephen Hawking, Watson & Crick of DNA fame, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Alan Turing – they all studied here. Oh, and a guy named John Harvard, whose 1638 deathbed bequest to a then two-year-old college in Massachusetts so delighted the Massachusetts Bay Colony that they named the school after him. They even decided that the village across the river from Boston where the college was formed, then known as New Towne, was renamed Cambridge in honor of his alma mater.
Thus the link between our old home and this original Cambridge is formed. One fun little fact we learned on our tour of the University was the origin of the name Cambridge itself. The city, you see, sits on the River Cam. And when a bridge was first built across the river the then-small settlement became known as Cam Bridge. Or something like that, of course, in olde English. At any rate, that’s what one of our tour guides told us, and it makes sense.
King’s College Chapel, perhaps the most famous site in Cambridge
Though we are typically not tour people, we actually took two tours on our one full day in Cambridge, one a 90-minute walking tour of the University and the other a 45-minute boat tour up and back on the River Cam. The walking tour was great. Led by Annie, who had recently finished her Master’s Degree in Linguistics there, she explained all we wanted to know about the history and structure of the University. I had been confused by the structure of a university with 31 colleges and how they relate but now that’s been cleared up. In capsule form, the University handles academics while the Colleges handle student life. Simple enough.
The river tour was less informative but wonderfully relaxing. Basically there are hundreds of “punts” – small, flat-bottomed boats with square-cut bows – that are poled along the shallow river. Here in Cambridge they travel essentially behind many of the Colleges, giving you a view of the architecture and lawns you can’t see otherwise unless you’re a student here.
Mark and our punter, a local kid going to college somewhere else, but working for the summer at home
Beyond the tours and the immediate university vicinity, the parks and walks along the River Cam were really great. Bucolic, quiet, green – everything you would want, and the foot paths go on for miles. And on the weekend at least you’d see kids swimming, canoeing, fishing, all very relaxing.
Oh, and some good food, too. Steaks one night, Turkish another, and a spectacular Indian place (Dishoom) that was so good we had lunch there both days. There are a couple Dishoom restaurants in other parts of Great Britain where we’ll be stopping and we already have them marked. Now northward to Lincoln!
On arrival the weather was pretty typical for what we’re expecting in England. Later on though it was beautiful – just about perfect in fact.
Fabulous foot paths along the River Cam
A glorious riverside reading spot
Did I mention bucolic?
Back in town, here is Mark at the Eagle, a famous pub where Watson & Crick announced the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. As they modestly described it, they’d found “the secret of life.”
Speaking of science, here’s our guide Annie pointing out where Stephen Hawking lived with his first wife and their girls. She still owns the building and Annie, in fact, lived there while she studied at Cambridge!
Out for steaks one night, this was the view from Mark’s seat
The Bridge of Sighs over the River Cam, named for the more famous bridge of the same name in Venice
The back of King’s College Chapel as seen from the river
St John’s College, again from the river. You’ll notice that the clock tower is missing the clock. The story is that they just ran out of money!