Visit to Cambridge well worth a punt
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CAMBRIDGE'S history as a town can be traced back to the year 1AD.
The Romans arrived in 43AD and recognised the attraction of the area. They reached there by river (the Cam, of course) and built a bridge, as so many have done since.
In 1209 a group of scholars, kicked out from Oxford, arrived at Cambridge and the famous university opened in 1284 when Peterhouse College was founded. Cambridge has gone from strength to strength ever since.
A visit is memorable, which is why so many tourists roll up there each year. It is in the top three places to visit in England. For a start, there are the 11 colleges, and Anglia Ruston University, all boasting famous names and history. And history is still being made. For example, DNA was discovered here, and the list of Nobel Prizes awarded to Cambridge people for discoveries and inventions is huge. The spin-off from all this research and brain power is that there are many high-tech companies based here.
All of this activity means there is no shortage of job opportunities in Cambridge. It was noticeable that there are no empty shops. One city centre hotel had a poster in its window advertising eight job vacancies, and a great many shops, restaurants and businesses also had notices looking for staff. This is despite the huge number of students being available for part-time work to supplement their grants.
Jobs include chauffeurs on punts, unofficial tour guides, and buskers. One enterprising young man had managed to cram himself into a litter bin on one of the main streets, and with one hand and the end of his guitar sticking out, was playing and singing quite busily!
Cambridge is busy all the year round. A whole range of accommodation is available and it is probably advisable to book in advance. One of the best hotels for quality-price ratio is the Cambridge City Hotel on Downing Street, CB2 3DT, right in the heart of the town. It is a bit like the “Tardis”, small frontage but inside it opens out to a huge triangle shape of high quality rooms. The staff are excellent and used to arranging things for tourists; they couldn’t be more helpful. Call 01223 464491, or go to www.cambridgecityhotel.co.uk
The tourist office is well organised (01223 457574, www.visitcambridge.org) and sells tickets for the official walking tours (2 hours), for punts, open-top bus rides and cycle tours. Bicycles are everywhere.
With Cambridge being so flat you need to keep an eye out for them as they seem to ignore the normal rules of the road, like one-way streets or pedestrian zones. The official walking tour is well worth doing, to learn about some of the many ancient churches, including St Bene’t’s, with its Anglo Saxon tower dating from 1025 and still standing.
The walking tour includes entry to the breathtaking King’s College Chapel, started in 1441 by Henry V1. The 24m (80ft) high fan vaulted ceiling is the largest in the world. The whole chapel is 88m (289ft) long, and is spectacular. The stained glass windows are monumental, and are full of stories (for when folk couldn’t read or write) from the Bible. At the east end is the painting ‘The Adoration of the Magi’ by Rubens, gifted to the Chapel in 1961. It is so big that they had to lower the altar to fit it in. The King’s College Choir is famous and CDs can be bought from the shop. The tour also points out some of the eight museums, including art, zoology and science, and incredible libraries.
Although the town centre is closely packed with such a jumble of old and attractive buildings, there is also a great many open and green spaces, such as the botanical gardens, and the “Backs”, which are lawns alongside the river at the backs of some of the colleges; best seen from a punt. Scudamore’s (www.scudamores.com) provide a 45-minute punt tour, with six to eight people per punt and a “chauffeur”, in our case an Australian student studying sport. There are also punts for hire that you operate yourself.
It was an English bank holiday when I was there, and the place was packed, and there were so many punts it was hilarious. Crashes were constant. One family had dad on the stern poling like mad, zooming in all directions, causing chaos, and a group of four lassies wearing very little indeed were sending their punt sideways down the river. No-one was hurt, no-one ended up in the water (which is not deep) and everyone enjoyed themselves.
The Cam is crossed by several bridges, including a Bridge of Sighs, just like the one in Venice but smaller. Our chauffeur said it was so called because students had to cross it to get their exam results.
How to get there. You could fly to London airports, get across to King’s Cross or Liverpool Street and catch a train, or fly to Norwich and catch a train changing at Stowmarket, or hire a car from the airports. If you ever think of driving into Cambridge, think again. It is full of cycles and people, one-way streets and narrow lanes. Cambridge is ringed by five park and ride places. I went there by train, from Keith taking the evening train to Inverness and then the sleeper (www.scotrail.co.uk caledoniansleeper). The attendant for my coach was waiting on the platform and greeted me by name. Berths are great, and it is such an experience to go to the next carriage, the lounge car, and sit with a nice glass of wine, enjoying the scenery as the night drew in.
The cooked breakfast was served in my cabin, and it is so relaxing to know that you have time to get off at you leisure and stroll down the platform at London Euston while hordes of grim-faced, staring-eyed commuters charge past.
If you take the first-class option, you can use the executive lounge in King‘s Cross for a shower or tea. It is just a five-minute walk to King’s Cross to catch a train to Cambridge; there are several per hour. The return journey was the same, a relaxed departure from Cambridge, stroll along to Euston, tea in the executive lounge – with discussions with a foreign couple about our Independence –and then over to the longest train in the UK, a touch of Scotland in London, to again relax in the lounge car.
An Australian couple were there, eating haggis neeps and tatties with Tennents beer, and like others, commenting on how reasonable the prices are, especially compared to those on the station. In the morning it was again the luxury of breakfast in the cabin. Compare this with the stress, indignity and just plain hassle of air travel – on the train you do not have to get partially undressed and x-rayed, you can carry a penknife and liquids, and no-one cares what the weight of your suitcase is.
To go down to England, it is the only way.
I enjoyed Cambridge. You are walking through such a rich tapestry of history, and history is still being made there. Such a vibrant and bustling place, with so many students and tourists from all over the world. Well worth a visit.
