The travels of Tim and Megan: Cambridge

Cambridge

On Saturday we took the train north to Cambridge (about 45 mins). It was our first trip to Cambridge - we had tried a couple of times last year to go there but the weather got in the way! On Saturday is was a fairly sunny day but still very cold in the wind. We arrived around 11am and walked through the town centre, stopping to admire some little boutique shops and the markets along the way.

We soon found ourselves outside Trinity College, one of Cambridge University's most famous colleges. Henry VIII founded Trinity College in 1546. The main entrance to Trinity is through an enormous brick gateway (built in 1535) complete with a statue of Henry. Beyond the gate is the Great Court, the largest of its kind in the world - but don't walk on the grass!!! Grass seems to be very precious in these parts. The place is literally dripping with history - to the right of the gateway is a small tree planted in the 1950s reputed to be a descendant of the apple tree made famous by Trinity alumnus Sir Isaac Newton.

While on the subject of famous alumni, Cambridge University has produced 78 Nobel prize winners (29 from Trinity College alone), 13 British prime ministers, nine archbishops of Canterbury, as well as many scientists, poets, writers, etc etc.

The Great Court is also the scene of the famous run in the film Chariots of Fire. The impressive Gothic chapel to the right of the gate is full of huge statues of famous Trinity men such as Newton and Lord Tennyson. We stopped in the chapel for a few minutes to listen to the choir - very impressive.

After a quick look in the dining room and then continuing through to yet another square of sacred grass behind the first, we found the Wren Library. This place is insane. They allow visitors (up to 15 at a time) in for two hours a day; luckily for us there was no queue. They have over 55,000 books printed before 1820 as well as 2,500 manuscripts. The highlights included a glass case dedicated to Newton, including a lock of his hair and some letters he wrote to a friend explaining his theories; the original autographed manuscript of A A Milne's Winnie the Pooh (both he and his son Christopher Robin Milne were graduates of Trinity); one of the first ever bibles printed in the English language; and an 8th century copy of the Epistles of St Paul.

After leaving the Wren Library rather amazed by what we had seen, we wandered along the river banks at the back of Trinity College, watching people punting along the river, some better than others!

By now we had worked up an appetite and Megan had read about an excellent place for lunch called The Snug. The Snug was brilliant, it had a really nice relaxed atmosphere and the food was amazing. We had possibly the best burgers in the world, followed by an enormous chocolate brownie fudge sundae to share It was so large the people on the next tables were laughing at us, but we made a valiant effort nonetheless. If you're ever in Cambridge, definitely go to The Snug for lunch!

After lunch, we rolled down the street towards the town centre again. We had hoped to visit the King's College chapel, however it was closed for a private service until Evensong at 5:30pm. So we decided to look around the shops and go for another walk along the river to fill in the afternoon until the chapel re-opened. There are some really nice shops in Cambridge, including (unsurprisingly) some very impressive bookshops.

All of the college chapels in Cambridge are spectacular but King's College chapel is supreme. It is one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in England. The foundation stone was laid by King Henry VI in 1446 and building was completed around 1516. The king's successors, notably Henry VIII glorified its interior.

At 5.30pm we lined up and eventually made it in. We really just wanted to see this much hyped chapel on the inside so we had a look around before the service started and then stayed for about ten minutes of the service before sneaking out. It did not disappoint - the beautiful carved ceiling and stained glass windows were amazing, not to mention the huge carved wooden screen, another gift of Henry VIII, which bears Henry's initials entwined with those of Anne Boleyn, who supposedly inspired Henry's act of generosity.

From there it was back to the train station and off home to London town. Although we did stop and check out the Corpus Clock, a large sculptural clock on the outside of the Taylor Library at Corpus Christi College. The clock's face is a rippling 24-carat gold plated stainless steel disc, about 1.5 metres in diameter. It has no hands or numbers, but displays the time by opening individual slits in the clock face backlit with blue LEDs. The dominating visual feature of the clock is a sculpture of a grim-looking, devouring, metal insect similar to a grasshopper or locust. Conceived as a work of public art, the Corpus Clock reminds viewers in a dramatic way of the inevitable passing of time. It was deliberately designed to be terrifying; to remind us that time is not on our side. Disturbing, but pretty cool.

Gateway to
Trinity College