United Kingdom
Cherry Hinton

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    • Day 33

      Cathedral Spotting, mice, shirts, pizza

      September 24, 2024 in England ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      Another grey day dawned, but it wasn’t raining, so we decided today to visit Ely Cathedral. We haven’t visited a single one so far on this trip, and time is running out, So off we went with only one ugly roundabout junction road issue. We got to the biggest car park and found that everyone else had beaten us to it. So we navigated to the next nearest but got lost when the navigation system gave up on us. We parked in a supermarket car park and discovered I had no mobile access. I had also forgotten to preload the maps, which didn’t help. We drove by dead reckoning to the next car park and found it and the one remaining park. We walked back up the street, which was the main street, and found the cathedral - it’s pretty hard to lose a cathedral, especially this one.

      We got our tickets and went in. It’s definitely a jaw-dropping place—very big and very beautiful. It’s challenging to explain in words - so I won’t bother. Attached to the cathedral is the Lady's Chapel. That is also huge and stunning, with massive clear windows and intricate stonework. Sadly, much of the detail and decoration was smashed or removed during the reformation (talk about babies and bathwater).

      On the way out, staring at the enormous stone arches, a lady started a conversation and was interested in the fact that I came from NZ as she had a brother in Wellington. I think she was a guide. She showed me something missed by many tourists—the Cathedral Prior doors, which are on the outside of the Cathedral in a specially enclosed room and show intricate stone carvings from the 1100s—quite some time ago.

      It's an amazing place.

      Back home for another stale cheese sandwich. I then set off to solve a problem. I purchased a new rechargeable mouse a few days ago, but mine didn’t recharge. I located a branch of the retailer and managed to convince the spotty sales assistant that there was a problem. After conferring with a superior, he said that they would test it, which would take 40 minutes. So I went off and looked at the shops. In the Red Cross op shop (I was getting desperate for things to do), I found a nice-looking shirt. I then noticed it was a Superdry (posh) brand, which I liked, and it was only £7. I took it to the counter and discovered it was a new item with attached tags. I just checked, and the retail prices range from £45 to £50. Winner. So, my failed mouse had a silver lining.

      I returned to the apartment just in time to set off for a pizza in a restaurant back in town. Apart from needing food, this was a celebration dinner for Tricia’s birthday. Pizza was her choice. I found a chain that made wood-fired pizza with sourdough bases (Franco Manca) and also had vegan options. It was a good choice, and we demolished our pizzas (I had an ale with the label ‘No Logo’ - nice). On the walk back, we spotted several impressive buildings. Cambridge University and the Church have left quite a legacy here.

      I won the fitness challenge with 21,000 steps today - and my feet are not happy.
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    • A place of springs, cliffs and lakes

      November 17, 2020 in England ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

      Who would have thought that the beautiful university city of Cambridge would contain these geographical features within its boundaries?  The idea for this post came from Cambridge Critique, an occasional email on the local cultural scene, describing some local hidden delights; visiting these made for a really enjoyable few hours out and about.
       
      Springs
      Nine Wells is a small area of woodland and nature reserve close to Addenbrooke's Hospital; concealed within the trees are four natural springheads.  Hobson's Conduit was constructed in 1610 to bring water from here to the city in order to sanitise the open sewers and to provide water for the population (see Cambridge Urban Ramble, part 3); water continues to flow into Cambridge to this day.  It is a lovely place to walk around and there is also a monument to Hobson's Conduit here.
       
      Cliffs
      It is short drive from Nine Wells to Cherry Hinton, where hidden between Fulbourn Road and Limekiln Road are the Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits - a 12 hectare site.  It was astonishing to see this for the first time after many, many years of living in the Cambridge area!  It is possible to discern coloured strata in the rocks, showing the levels of ancient seas that used to cover Eastern England.
       
      Lakes
      A couple of miles away close to where Mill Road meets Brooks Road is access to a walk that runs alongside a clear chalk stream known as Cherry Hinton Brook; it is called "Snakey Path" and it was another first for me - the walk passes several designated City Wildlife Sites.  Concealed behind a fence and trees are two old chalk pits that have been filled to form private fishing lakes.  Occasionally there are some wonderful views across these impressive stretches of water.
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    • Day 4

      Chillen @ Cambridge

      July 14, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      Heute waren wir auf ganzer Linie erfolgreich! Zuerst im Linksfahren (Rahel macht das, als hätte sie nie was anderes gemacht 🤩), dann haben wir erfolgreich den weitgehend unbekannten Schilderwald entschlüsselt (ok, mit etwas Unterstützung von Freund ‚Navi‘), dann haben wir sogar die richtige Fahrspur erwischt um die Themse zu queren (eine Richtung via Tunnel, die andere via Brücke). Und dann haben wir den Camping in Cherry Hilton in Cambridge mit nur einem U-Turn gefunden und schlussendlich hat Rahels Charme bewirkt, dass wir nach der Mittagspause als erste Reinfahren & uns den Platz aussuchen durften - und das obwohl wir nicht reserviert hatten …. 😅 Und jetzt zeigen wir ‚auffälliges Campingverhalten‘ 😇 und Nayra macht auf ‚Happy Dog‘ 🥰Read more

    • Day 4

      Walk im Grünen

      July 14, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      Nach der Erholung freuen wir uns auf die nächste Erkundigungstour - diesmal zu Fuss. In gäbiger Gehdinstanz gibts gleich verschiedene Pärke, unter anderem den Cherry Hinton Hall Park. Hier taumeln sich unglaublich viele Hunde (mit netten Besitzern), Yogis, Familien und Radler. Der Park ist teils sehr urtümlich und wild und es hüpfen auch hier - zur Freude von Nayra - wilde Hasen. Durch ein idyllisches Quartier mit Häuschen an Häuschen gereiht, führt unser Rückweg dann prompt am Robin Hood‘s Pub vorbei… na denn, Prost 😋 zurück im Camping darfs etwas Bodenständiges sein… unsere Wahl fällt auf: Raclette & Kartöffelchen 🥰🇨🇭, dazu stimmen wir uns mit der Begegnung FRA - BEL auf den Match von Sonntag ein 💪Read more

    • Day 1

      I. Hate. Packing.

      July 21, 2016 in England ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

      We are all getting pretty excited about the big trip. If only we could head out without having to consider packing requirements for 6 weeks and 3 different climates. 4 loads of washing done, sunglasses found and flip flops packed. Nearly there. BA have texted to warn of a a busy terminal so we are leaving an hour earlier than originally planned tomorrow to avoid stress at Heathrow. The suitcases should all be zipped up by 9.30pm then it's gin and tonic time. Can't wait to watch 3 films in a row on the plane.Read more

    • Day 1

      Cambridge

      September 18, 2020 in England ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

      The 1 hour 50 minute journey to Cambridge was good with no traffic. Perfectly timed during Madeleine's first nap, which she unfortunately decided she didn't actually need after all.

      We spent the day wining and dining at various local establishments while taking in the sights. This was topped off by a fantastic guided punting tour of the river Cam, where we learned about the various University colleges, architecture, history and old stories. All blessed with amazing sunshine throughout.

      After filling up on prime fillet steak at a French restaurant with Emily's Uni friends Pete and Charlotte, we had an early night ready for the day of adventures ahead.
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