Cambridge

Cambridge is home to the Cambridge University the reason for my visit. No photos yet.

Please be patient while photos load.

They will open in a new browser window.

20230621 - Travel Filey to Cambridge

Neither of the train schedule apps were accurate today. Construction on a section of rail between Hull and Doncaster and the unknown scheduling logic within the apps seemed to underly the problem. The schedules posted at the station provided the best means to select a train. In Hull, a ticket attendant made a train recommendation that turned out to be the best option. It meant going to London and then backtracking. My attempts to avoid this route in planning were futile.

You might take notice that todays travel distance covered about 3/4 the entire length of England in about six hours.

Sadly, a hat with protection from the sun for the neck and ears went missing while exploring Hull yesterday. Maybe it was time with all the sweat stains and other trail and river rafting rash, but I'd found the hat near Patagonia after loosing the previous one and had a fondness for it. The layover in Hull along with an outdoor equipment store a couple of blocks from the train station provided the opportunity to replace it. It'll be an acceptable replacement even missing the valuable chin strap for those high wind occasions.

Three of the nearby Cambridge campgrounds required caravan membership fees before booking. The fourth campground didn't have an online booking option. Happily they answered the phone with encouraging news of availability for a tent.

The train from London Kings Cross took about an hour to reach Cambridge. Outside the train station upon a temporary stage a male singer with a guitar drew a crowd. A large choir of older woman appeared ready to perform next. A light grocery shopping, a 15 minute walk to a bus stop, a 20 minute bus ride, and another 15 minute walk brought the campground into view.

I'm kinda excited to explore the Cambridge campus tomorrow. I hope buildings like the library and some of the museums are accessible. I'm reading a casual physics book that discusses Newton's contribution to science. Sir Isaac Newton attending the university starting in 1661 and became the second Lucasian Professor of Mathematics in 1669.

20230622

The bus from Comberton to Cambridge this morning had some very chatty loud young women. The kind of kids where the joy of life remains undaunted by grownup demands.

Arriving into a place before the arrival of most people and the shops open offers a contrast to the sights, smells, and bustle that comes later. The high street shopping first greeted. Surprisingly there exists a large mall hidden inside what looks like cottage shops. Cambridge has those narrow cobblestone streets like so many towns in this old world. (They still please, but don't exact the charm at this point in the journey they once did.) Just wandering, a corner was rounded and there stood the Senate House and nearby King's College Chapel.

Across the street from these two buildings and down the street slightly is the Copper Kettle. A cafe for breakfast and coffee. A few people were already sitting out front in a rare show of activity for the time of day. I took up a seat inside primarily for the coffee but broke down and enjoyed a second breakfast comprised of a biscuit with avocado and cheese.

The Senate House was built between 1722 and 1730. It now stands as the venue for graduation ceremonies which take place by college in a specific order.

Senate House - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_House,_Cambridge

Cambridge University, the third oldest in continuous operation, was founded in 1209 (Best that CU!) by scholars that left Oxford. The University is comprised of 31 semi-autonomous colleges. There are about 25k students attending each year. Half are undergraduate and the other half are graduate students.

Walking about, the colleges are scattered all over the city. Some have grass courtyards. All that I saw were closed to the public. In fact most of the University and Colleges were closed to visitors. At some colleges one could peer through the iron gates or past partially opened massive wooden doors to see the interior grounds. There are about a dozen museums that the public can access. Many were free, but some did charge an admission.

Map of University

https://map.cam.ac.uk/The+Senate+House#52.205509,0.117522,18

I paid the £13.5 to enter the King's College Chapel (part of King's College) and also have access to some of the grounds along the River Cam. It was built at the instruction of King Henry VI starting in 1446 and finished under the third king in 1515. It lacks a building design to form a cross like so many churches - it's just a long big hall. The pipe organ located in the center of the dramatic hall stuns visually. A return trip to hear the organ filling the space with music might have to happen someday. The Chapel was under exterior renovation curtailing a full appreciation of the structure. There was a very good explanation of supporting arches one can probably credit with being part of a college.

A popular (tourist) activity on the River Cam was to go punting. Punting involves a broad flat bottom boat being pushed along using a long pole. It was about the only way to see some parts of the University. The access to the King's College Chapel let me enjoy watching many people punting up and down the virtually current-less River Cam.

The FitzWilliam museum contains a broad collection of artifacts and paintings. There was an Egyptian sarcophagus, Picasso's, ancient coins, Greek vases, tapestries, etc. The mounting and presentation of the pieces exceeded any other museum I'm familiar. It was free.

A small museum houses a collection of historical scientific measuring devices - Whipple Museum of the History of Science. You can see Charles Darwin's microscope there and a replica of the telescope used to discover the planet Neptune.