Cambridge, England
Our minds have been on the warm weather day trip we took out to Cambridge. Home to one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious universities, Cambridge is an easy hour’s train ride from London’s Kings Cross Station and an effective antidote for those fed up with the hustle and bustle of the city. We arrived at 9:30am with blue skies overhead and set off to explore the city center.
Our first stop was Market Square where vendors were selling everything from clothes to food. We opted for some fresh strawberries, made our way to Queen’s College Park and scoped out a bench to enjoy our snack and people watch. There were quite a few prospective students visiting the city’s colleges which gave the city a distinctive buzz. With the strawberries gone and our feet itching to explore, we walked along the River Cam, passing the famous Bridge of Sighs and Mathematical Bridge. Walking the pristine grounds of the universities along the gently rolling water of the river was the perfect way to spend a summer day.
We looped back around and made our way to King’s College Chapel. The chapel is a sight to behold, with large stained glass windows and highly intricate detail work in the ceiling. It’s an equally nice experience outside of the chapel as the grounds are beautiful and offer striking views of the chapel from afar. We wandered along the river some more before settling on the bank to watch the boats go by. Most entertaining was watching the boats commanded by tourists and otherwise unskilled captains—on such a beautiful day the river was busy with boats, causing all kinds of small accidents! We were inspired and joined a guided boat tour of our own which was an excellent way to see the city and learn a bit more about its history, especially the interesting stories about and between the universities, some of which are bitter rivals.
After lunch at Fitzbillies, we wandered through the streets some more. As the day drew to a close and our train back to London beckoned, we stopped one last time for crepes at a food truck (Nutella and banana for Rico and Nutella for Britt) and then made our way to the train station. There are plenty of excellent day trips from London and Cambridge certainly is one of them. If you can make it for a clear summer day we would highly recommend it!
