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Published: July 25th 2005
Cambridge
Front Court at King's CollegeWith our passports at the Swedish embassy and vacations that we have to use up, last Saturday was ‘be an English tourist’ day. The options were many - Marlow, Oxford, Bath, York but we zeroed in on Cambridge. Often regarded as one of the most beautiful universities in the world, with an interesting history to boot, we took the train from Kings Cross (a la Harry Potter) down to Cambridge.
London is well connected to Cambridge with trains from Kings Cross as well as Liverpool Street. The fast train will get you there in 45 minutes and the normal one in 90. A cheap day return ticket will cost £17. For train timings refer to http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/planmyjourney/time_table/journey_requirements.asp?&T2ID=3052_2005725173028.
From the Cambridge railway station you can either hire a bike or hop onto the Sightseeing tour bus (£8 a ahead) that runs upto 630pm in the evening. (Most places in Cambridge shut by 5pm including the Fitzwilliam Museum which we did not get too see). Or you could take a bus to the city centre and just walk around the place.
Sudeep and I decided to take the tour bus.
Our first stop was at Silver Street. Silver street is
Cambridge
Gibb's Building - King's College your stop if you want to go punting and for Kings College as well as Queens.
On the punting first - you can either hire a self punt boat for an hour for £14. If the river is busy and you are a first time punter then it is advisable to go in for a shared, chauffeured boat (£10 a person for an hour). The trip takes your through the most scenic views of Kings, Trinity and St Johns Colleges. Most of the punters on these boats are students and will offer interesting stories on Cambridge including college rivalries. We had a lovely punter by the name of Katherina - who studies at Oxford but lives in Cambridge. She regaled us with stories about Cambridge including the rivalry between Trinity (the richest college) and St Johns (the second richest); the mathematical bridge (that is more stable when you stand on it); the bridge of sighs (from the one in Venice where St Johns hold an annual banquet).
There were plenty of minor accidents in our one hour trip as there were plenty of amateurs trying their hand at punting. Sudeep also took a go - though I suspect
Cambridge
Sudeep tries Punting it had more to do with the lovely lady who was teaching him more than his love of adventure.
We even caught an extremely determined and enthusiastic kayaker…in resplendent fluorescent green.
I strongly recommend punting to all visitors to Cambridge - the views are out of the world and you do get to see the ‘backs’ of most colleges.
Though there are 31 colleges in Cambridge you do not have to see all. The ones I’d recommend are St Johns (for its chapel and out of the world court); Kings (for its imposing and grand structure and the chapel); Trinity (again for the courts and the architecture). Most of these colleges have an entry charge (between £2 and £4 per person). Most places close entry by 5. Photography is permitted only in the open. The Great St Mary’s church is right next to Kings and therefore worth a visit.
The tour bus will also take you through the American Military Cemetery (which we gave a miss but it did look beautiful).
Do also visit the round church. It’s a small church tucked besides St Johns but is imposing even if its simple… a very different
Cambridge
Remember where Harry, Hermione and Ross learnt to fly the Broom? This is it... at St Johns side of English architecture.
A day is adequate for visiting Cambridge - however certain sections of colleges such as the Wren Library at Trinity is closed on the weekend and therefore Fridays are better. (Also because you will find less of a crowd).
Besides the colleges and the churches, the cobbled streets of Cambridge and the old town look are perfect for a day out of town. Add Cambridge to your list now.
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Mahjong
non-member comment
Good writing, superb photos
I liked Sudeep's photo-very artistic! Ok..this place looks very calm....like it:-))You wrote well - good travel journal!