Sunday, 8th March 2026
Having spent three years at a student in Oxford, I figured it was finally time to go and visit Cambridge.
Leaving London about 9am, we stopped for breakfast at the Waffle House in St. Albans, about halfway between home Cambridge. Having indulged in some amazing varieties of waffles, we returned to our car and realised we had been booked for parking in a residential parking. £70, reduced to £35 if paid in two weeks. Welcome to having a car in the UK!
Onto Cambridge, we parked at the Trumpington park and ride outside town and got on a bus to get into the city centre. The Cambridge half marathon was going on, with half the city it would seem taking part, so it took about 40 minutes to get into the city centre, because of all the traffic.
Off the bus, shamefully to say, we stopped in at Fitzbillies, as one does, for one of their famous Chelsea buns and chai Latte. Then past Downing College, where former England cricket Mike Atherton “read” history, then up past the famous Corpus clock and Kings College Cambridge, and to St. Mary’s church to get a view of Cambridge from the top of the church. The corpus clock is encased in a glass frame, and has a locust/grasshopper “eating up time” as the seconds pass. Under the clock is the phrase “Mundus transit et concupiscentia”, roughly translated as “The word passeth away, and the lust thereof”, taken from 1 John 2:17 in the bible, serving as a stark reminder of the fleeting nature of life, time, and worldly pleasures. The clock was opened by Stephen Hawking in 2008, and was a timely reminder that every second that goes by, will never be brought back again.
Opposite the church is the impressive Cambridge University bookstore which we obviously had to go into, one of my passions being reading. This bookshop site is the longest continuously operating bookshop site in England, where books were first sold in the 1580s. Beyond the book shop, we walked through the alleyways past Trinity College, founded by King Henry VIII in 1546, seeing the famous apple tree thought to have inspired Isaac Newton to discover the law of gravity. Well actually, the tree was an offshoot of the 350 year old real tree, which still stands today in Woolsthorpe Manor, Lincolnshire.
Up past St. Johns College, then up to the River Cam. Expecting to start the journey back home, we were coaxed into doing a punting trip, enticed by the end of day half priced tickets.
Along with a few others we got into the boat, expertly guided by Brian our guide, along “the Backs”, which is the back of the university colleges. We learned that Cambridge University was founded in 1209 by students fleeing the hostilities of Oxford for a more safe Cambridge. no-one quite knows the facts, but it was over 800 years ago! It is the world’s 3rd longest continuously running university, with Peterhouse, the first college, founded in 1284. Passing under the Bridge of Sighs, which connects a couple of St. Johns College buildings, we learned the Bridge of Sighs is so-called because in Venice, where the first so named bridge was built, prisoners would be escorted from the prison to the execution chamber, hence the sighing that would take place mid-way. The other famous one is in Oxford. Passing next under the Mathematica bridge, thought to have originally been designed by Isaac Newton in such a way that the self-supporting structure was built without the need for nuts or bolts, then the Clare Bridge, the only bridge not destroyed by Cromwell. Passing by Kings College and chapel, we then turned around and returned to the end of the tour place, and headed to the Eagle pub for a drink.
The eagle is the pub where in 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick announced their discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA, which explains how genetic information is stored and copied. On the roof of the pub is graffiti from RAF and USAF aircrews, during WW2, awaiting their missions, some of whom would never return. Not sure if any coincidence, but in Oxford was the famous Eagle and Child pub, one of my favourites, where C.S. Lewis and Tolkien used to meet for pints and discussion.
I would say Cambridge is the more aesthetically pleasing city compared to Oxford, especially with the River Cam and the Backs. The university has produced some notable alumni over the years, including Oliver Cromwell, Charles Darwn, Ghandi, Stephen Hawking, Keynes, Isaac Newton, Bertrand Russell, Alan Turing, Wordsworth, along with a host of Olympic meal-winning athletes and nobel laureates. Today, it is an increasingly important tech, AI and pharma hub, with many companies such as ARM and Astra Zeneca having their headquarters there.
