Cambridge

My wanderlust took me to Cambridge yesterday. Who would not be awed by the knowledge that Cambridge is 800 years old? Cambridge has produced some of histories greatest scientists authors and scholars, Watson and Crick who developed their double helix DNA model studied here. Charles Darwin attended Cambridge. Williams Wordsworth, Vladimir Nabokov, David Attenborough and John Cleese were also students here. I read that Cambridge was born when a group of faculty and students left Oxford, dissatisfied with the clashes there of "towns vs. gowns" (lonely planet's England), so they formed a small community of students and faculty, living together in Cambridge.
Parking on Trumpington Road, I saw the the gate to Clare College. Walking further down a nearby path, I saw this scene, Trinity College, beyond an expansive lawn. The buildings are massive.






Trinity College





Footbridge from Chesterton Road to Jesus Green and Falls
The lock is to the left of the falls, allowing the boats to travel around them.









I traveled on Chesterton Road by Jesus Green, along the Cam River. I walked along the river, enjoying the view of boats, rowers, and two girls in a chaufferred punt. In the distance, there was Jesus College.

Picture Captions:

Falls and Footbridge

Lock around the falls

Rowing

Boats on the Cam River

Tree-lined path across Jesus Creen

Punting on the Cam

Boats along the Cam River



Cambridge is comprised of very very old cottages, parks, shops, cafes and bistros - a wonderful college town. The streets are filled with students and tourists, many on bicycles. It's probably much easier to get around on bicycle than by car. Many of the streets are barely one car width. Having visited my son at Yale in New Haven Connecticut, I see the similarities in the two college towns, but Cambridge is much older and much larger.

I tried to wrap my mind around the age of the place and imagine how it might have looked in 1209 or at any time over the past 800 years and just couldn't do it. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful exploration. I highly recommend it. I will have to go back. I barely scratched the surface of all there is to see and learn there.