Back to university?

On to Cambridge today, and one of the few places in England that I insisted we visit. Having never been before, I was keen to see some of the universities and their architecture.

You can see Cambridge on Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/81692166@N05/sets/72157647343129017/

After picking a (relative expensive) car park, we walked along one of the major thoroughfares for a while, coming across the Fitzwilliam Museum. It’s a fantastic collection of artwork and historical artefacts, including an Egyptian sarcophagus (which I didn’t get to see). While going and seeing it properly would have been nice, we were limited with time, so decided against it:

The Fitzwilliam Museum

Then we got to the core of Cambridge: its universities. At this point we split up, as I wanted to do some exploring, whereas mum and dad were more content to wander around the other part of town. They weren’t free to get into - I suspect that may have had something to do with it.

First up I went into Queens College, one of the smaller universities, and walked through a few of its buildings and along the River Cam. Cambridge is known for its ‘punting’ along this small canal-like river, and I personally think it is way too commercialised. There are dozens of them in a continuous chain going up- and downriver, as well as a few causing havoc in their amateurish attempts at punting:

Queens College and the River Cam

My next target was Kings College. I ended up not going in, as not only had I forgotten my student card for discounted entry, but the entry fee was enormous. I think it was 7 or 8 pounds each. Something I can leave to next time - because I will surely be coming back.

A bit more of a cruise around later, I headed back to our meeting point at the Fitzwilliam Museum, as I was out of phone credit. We ended up walking back to the car the long way, when I had the good fortune to stumble upon Pembroke College. This college was almost the smallest of them all, but with the most fantastic colour contrasts in its buildings and trees:

Pembroke College

That was about the end of Cambridge for us. Mum and dad at least - there is so much here to see that I’ll definitely be back one day. We’re staying about a half-hour north of Cambridge tonight, and we’ll journey to Dover tomorrow. The end is in sight!

Some more from today