Tuesday July 28th – It wasn’t forecast to be a great day weather-wise, but I decided this was the day to head off to Ely rather than leave it to later in the week when the weather may get even worse. Ely is about a 30 minute drive from where we’re staying and I remembered it as a lovely little town on the river Oast with a very large cathedral. All of the travel brochures suggest it’s not to be missed!

I was going to take the train, but then you’re at the mercy of their schedule and the fellow in the Visitor’s Bureau in Cambridge suggested it was an easy drive with lots of free parking in town. I arrived just after 10am and found a car park without any problem.

The cathedral definitely dominates the landscape! I booked a guided tour of the cathedral and bought a ticket for the stained glass museum as well. I had about 45 minutes to put in before the tour so sat in the cafe and had a coffee. Our tour guide was wonderful and shared much of the history of the area and the Saxon church that was first built on the site. She also helped us understand how the cathedral was built and all of the modifications that have taken place over the years, especially during Cromwell’s time when the church was closed but not destroyed. He grew up in Ely and his mother still lived there during his tenure as Lord Protector.

The stained glass museum is the only one in the UK and has quite a wide selection of windows from a number of closed churches and private homes. It was started in the 1970s as a repository to rescue stained glass from destruction.  The displays provide insight into the making of stained glass, an art form that has existed from the 13th century through to the present.

The next stop was The Almonry for lunch…a delightful little restaurant in the 13th century undercroft. I had a nice window table overlooking the garden.

It was beginning to look a bit like rain so I decided that rather than walk down the big hill to the riverfront, I’d take the car down and park somewhere down there. Imagine my surprise when I got back to my car to find a bright yellow plastic bag attached to the windscreen. Inside was a parking ticket for having stayed in the lot for more than two hours! So much for free parking in Ely – you only get two hours and then you get a $100 ticket. There was a sign which I missed on my way in since I was trying to avoid cars, bicycles and generally watch where I was going. There was also a sign in front of where I parked…partially hidden by a leafy green tree. Sum total of the experience is that it’s ‘free parking’ in the Short Term Lot if you’re going to be less than two hours. Otherwise, you park in the Long Term Lot farther out and walk in. Funny, I didn’t read that in any of the tourist brochures!! At that point it absolutely poured buckets of rain, so I just headed the car towards home and arrived back at the B&B for a cuppa and a rest.

The hymn festival tonight was in the beautiful Queen’s Chapel. Although the seats weren’t that comfortable it was a lovely setting and the North American group was in charge of the evening. The last hymn was “We’re Marching to Zion” and we all paraded out into the Common singing and clapping our hearts out.

 

The college is within walking distance of our B&B so we stopped in town for a hot chocolate, a treat (& a bathroom break) on our way back. As cool as it is during the day, the temperature stays quite warm making for nice evenings to be out and about.

Monday July 27th – Today was the beginning of George’s International Hymn Society meetings so we were up early to have breakfast and get him over to Robinson College. It’s about a 10 minute drive from where we’re staying and about a 35 minute walk through to the other side of town. Since it was damp and cool, we opted for the drive.

This left me with the rest of the day to myself so I took it easy this morning and then headed downtown to do the self-guided walking tour. There are some gorgeous old buildings in Cambridge with lots of history and stories attached. I think I said before that most of the buildings are attached in some way to the University. There are more than 20 colleges scattered throughout the downtown core affiliated with the university. King’s College is the largest and owns most of the central core. Every student must belong to a college (similar to U of T) although most of their course work would be done through the university with a mixture of students from all the colleges. The colleges really provide accommodation and social life.

My first stop was at the ancient church of St. Bene’t’s, the county’s oldest building. The history of prayer and worship in the building goes back a millennium! It was quite small and quaint inside but must provide for a very intimate worship space within the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peterhouse is the oldest college founded in 1284, although I don’t think this building dates back that far. I was taken by the ivy covered doorway, the lovely pots of flowers about and the balcony pots on each window. Fellows are graduates of the college, who are still involved in teaching or research or in some way, and obviously deserve a special parking spot – for their bicycle! Undergraduate students at Cambridge are forbidden to have a car within 10 miles of the university so bicycles are everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next stop on the tour was to see The Corpus Clock. The fabulously terrifying “Grasshopper Clock” on the corner of Corpus’ Taylor Library is a must-see for any Cambridge visitor. Unveiled to the public in September 2008, this extraordinary feat of new technology now stands proudly facing onto King’s Parade; its shining, 24-carat gold dial and gruesome time-keeper, a dazzling addition to the historic city centre. For more information about how the clock works I encourage you to follow this link: The Corpus Clock.

 

 

 

No walking tour in the UK would  be complete without a visit to the candy shop. A few licorice allsorts and some butterscotch candies in a bag and we were good to go. They even still have a selection of penny candy for the kids.

The next stop was the beautiful Queen’s College site of the hymn festival for Tuesday evening. The college is well known for its mathematical bridge which crosses the river Cam between their new building and the old buildings (affectionately called the light side and the dark side). The college was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou (Queen of Henry VI) and is now one of the largest. Probably its most famous graduate is Desiderius Erasmus who studied there in the early 1500s.

A popular fable is that the bridge was designed and built by Sir Isaac Newton without the use of nuts or bolts. Various stories relate how at some point in the past either students or fellows of the University attempted to take the bridge apart and put it back together, but were unable to work out how to hold the structure together, and were obliged to resort to adding nuts and bolts. In reality, bolts or the equivalent are an inherent part of the design. When it was first built, iron spikes were driven into the joints from the outer side, where they could not be seen from the inside of the parapets, explaining why bolts were thought to be an addition to the original. Newton cannot have been directly involved since he died in 1727, twenty-two years before the bridge was constructed.

Walking along King’s Parade you pass King’s College which is the most imposing structure in the area, Trinity College and then St. John’s College.

It’s time to stop for lunch at the Michaelhouse Cafe in St. Michael’s Church. The church uses their narthex as a restaurant and has downsized their sanctuary but still have regular services/prayers daily and weekly concerts. You’re welcomed to join in after lunch!

After wandering through the shopping district, you come to the Round Church. Its real name is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Built in 1130, it was fashioned after its name sake in Jerusalem and is one of only four medieval round churches still in use in England. Also down this way is the oldest section of town with its quaint stores and very old buildings.

Sunday July 26th – It’s not often that we get to sleep in on a Sunday morning…but that’s exactly what we did today. We had a nice leisurely breakfast and then sat and read for about 90 minutes before heading out for the day. Since out sightseeing time was somewhat limited by needing to get to the college for registration, we decided to go to the Fitzwilliam Museum.

Housed in a beautiful old Georgian-style building, it is one of some 16 museums associated with the university. Admission is free and visiting a museum appears to be a popular thing to do on a Sunday. The entrance was quite crowded as we arrived just after the doors opened. We were encouraged to just hang up our coat on the rack by the door and put our wet umbrellas in the umbrella stand on the other side. I played dumb and asked if there was a coat check somewhere. “Since we are traveling, I’d rather not lose a good rain coat” said I. “I’ve worked here for 20 years and never lost a coat yet,” replied the attendant, “but if you’d like I can check yours back here.” Forthwith he provided a hanger and claim check. Trusting lot, these Brits!

The museum had two displays which were quite interesting. The first was called Ruskin’s Turner and was a display of twenty-five watercolours by J.M.W. Turner. Ruskin thought that Turner was ‘the only perfect landscape painter that the world has ever seen’ and became Turner’s most fervent champion. The terms of his gift to the museum prohibits them from lending these watercolours outside the museum, so they are rarely all seen together. The second display was a collection of eighteenth-century gold boxes from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection. There were some 60 boxes on display, many with intricate and ornate carvings/inlays. There was also a fascinating display of fans and samplers. I suggested to George that if we kept mother’s sampler long enough, we’d be able to donate it to the ROM!

While lining up for lunch at the museum cafe we were introduced to the Steampunks. This refers to a sub-genre of science fiction/fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs (a rejection of the utilitarian designs of today)  inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. There were about eight of them in line in front of us and one of the women described it as somewhere between Jules Verne and the future. I gather there’s a whole range of art and literature in this style, reminding me very much of Jenn’s fantasy World of Pern.

Finding the college and getting George registered was a bit of a challenge but we eventually succeeded. Street names would be wonderful if present and visible! The annual conference here begins with a gala banquet, which George wasn’t aware of, but we were fortunate to be able to fit in to a cancellation for a nominal charge. Our dinner companions were Brits from the north providing for great conversation about travel plans, the differences between church life in Canada and the UK and the importance of musical education in primary schools. Following dinner John Rutter was the guest speaker. They also introduced Rowan Williams, retired Archbishop of Canterbury, who is the theme speaker on Monday.

We were able to watch Saturday’s CBC news and the end of the Canadian Open before turning in for the night. Maybe next year David. It must have been very disappointing for all the golf fans at Glen Abbey!

Saturday July 25th – This morning dawned wet and cool – “a bit like fall, really” say the Brits. After a full English breakfast at our B&B we headed downtown for a walking tour of the Colleges. We have raincoats and umbrellas but we find that many of the Brits just walk about in shirtsleeves and don’t seem to mind either the wetness or the cool unseasonable weather.

Our tour began at the Tourist Information Centre and as we meandered through our guide provided a running commentary of various interesting historical facts and sites of interest. Our tour took us into the beautiful King’s College Chapel, home of the Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight broadcast to millions around the world during the Christmas season. Having been there now, we’ll be able to picture it next year when we watch it on TV.

The first thing you notice as you walk through the door is the size. Originally conceived in 1441 by Henry VI, it was to be without equal in size and beauty. The building took 100 years to finish through a succession of wars and kings, finally being finished shortly before Henry VIII’s death. All this…and the original college only had 70 students!

 

 

 

The stained glass windows are colourful and depict stories from the Old and New Testament. They were removed during the war, but interestingly Cambridge received only minor damage because, word has it, Hitler dictated that both Oxford and Cambridge be spared. There are many theories as to why.

 

The Cambridge Summer Music Festival is on this month and we noticed in a brochure that John Rutter, a well-known composer, was speaking at lunchtime. We’ve sung many of his choral works and so off we went to hear Confessions of a Composer in the lovely Old Divinity School of St John’s College. He was quite amusing and told a number of stories of the people he has worked/collaborated with over the years.

In the evening we went to hear The Piper of Hamelin, a children’s opera composed by Rutter and based on the German folktale. It was premiered earlier in July at the International Youth Arts Festival but we’re not sure if this was the same cast or a different group of local children. It was excellent and provided an enjoyable evening of entertainment.

Home by 9:30pm we waited for the last few holes of the Canadian Open to be posted on the leaderboard, before turning in – go David Hearn! But then again maybe this tournament is jinxed for Canadian players.

Friday July 24 – Today we arrived in London after a rather rough and noisy flight. There were a number of children in our cabin section – and some of them didn’t appear to sleep. The chatter in the background and open window screens made it difficult to snuggle down for even a few hours. There was also just enough turbulence to ensure that any dozing-off was met with a jolt shortly thereafter!

Things certainly moved slower in the airport than we remember from the past. From the time we landed to the time we made it through customs and immigration, picked up our bags and finally got into our car it was a two-hour journey. We had booked a larger-sized automatic since we’ll be traveling with three people’s luggage and, if we had a standard, I would have to do all the driving. We were happy to see that a car was available – not always possible in the UK since automatics are relatively rare.

There are some features of the car that took us a bit by surprise at first…but likely are really good features for the driving conditions in the UK. When you stop for any length of time, the motor shuts off and then restarts when you take your foot off the brake. A bit scary when it first happens – especially on the motorway – but definitely fuel saving. The other feature is quite neat since you used to have to do it manually – the mirrors fold in when you lock the car. Because of the narrow roads, I’m sure this feature has saved the mirrors on many parked cars. We’ll certainly have our parallel parking skills down pat by the time we leave here.

It took about four hours to get to Cambridge as the weather was quite inclement and the traffic quite heavy. We arrived just at rush-hour and, of course, one wrong turn took us right through the centre of town – a controlled area, where one is not supposed to drive without a permit. Fortunately, we weren’t stopped and we made it to our B&B without incident.

Cambridge appears to be quite a walkable city – mostly just a University town – and like most UK cities now, discourages traffic in the downtown core. I think we’ll be doing lots of walking!

After a brief rest we walked out and found a Mexican restaurant for dinner. Tiredness overtook us and we were both sound asleep by 9:30pm.