Cambridge Walk

[don't forget to click on the photos for the larger versions]

I moved to Cambridge, 5-6 years ago before I knew it well and, at the time, I was in love with the place.
It was so ... tiny.

When you are used to commuting to work on public transport and consider 35-40min bus journey a really short distance, then a City centre which you can traverse on foot in under 20 minutes is very small indeed.

I loved the tiny streets, the tiny houses, the cobbles,  the ancient college buildings (with tiny doors and windows), the trees. It is small and quaint and cute and full of history and quirks.

It was lovely to be reminded of it's charm the other day on a walk back from the Cornish Pasty Shop on Market Hill, right at the edge of Market Square. If you get a chance, stop there, it's really comfy inside.

You can also find out more about the Cornish Pasty Shop on the Local Secrets website which gives it a proper review.

The view is nice too, although I didn't sit right at the end which overlooks the Market but at the side that looks over Rose Crescent and the French Connection.

Window Browsing From High Up.

This is what the Pasty Shop looks like from the front.   

(updated 24 March 2010 with own photo of the shop front)

Because it's so old (the University celebrated 800 years in 2009 - see timeline if you are interested about details*), Cambridge is rife with short-cut lanes, alleyways, cycle and pedestrian passages that weave through the city's innards and take you down streets you wouldn't normally visit.

This is how I ended up walking down Victoria Street which turned out to be a street of many interesting balconies and varied architecture:

I love seeing vibrant colours and pretty designs in different styles all together like this. It works.

Unfortunately, I cannot tell you anything about the history of Victoria Street. I've had a brief look online, but couldn't find anything about the street itself. However, I've found some other stuff, if you are interested.

One of the places the other stuff link mentions is the Tram Depot. Now a pub, it used to be, as the name suggests, a dispatch for trams, except that these were horse drawn ones, hence a stabley look.

I've been there once, I think, with some work people for a drink. It was ok inside but full of rowdy students and suits. The Anglia Ruskin university is just across the road and the central location of the pub means all the local businesses disgorge their employees into the vicinity come 6 o'clock.  Patronize at your own risk.



Further along, or perhaps, just before..

See - I wasn't lying about the back passages.

There is a row of garages further down, on the left hand side of the lane, which is so narrow, it begs the question of how a car can manage to squeeze through without using that squishy bus trick from Harry Potter films. I considered lurking until a vehicle came up, just to find out how they do this, but it was cold and I was tired.

Maybe next time.

Cambridge folk are nothing if not polite.

They would only ever insult you behind your back:

And this is Parker's Piece

Cambridge's green where children and adults play football, rugby or cricket, couples make out and cyclists whizz down the crisscross paths.

In summer and autumn there are circus tents, music day festivals with market stalls full of food, herbs, toys, dyes, pills, socks, hoops and snake's oil vats.

During winter, there is usually an ice ring.
The ice ring is tiny, as you'd expect, but it can still tire you out.
There is a website and everything.

That spire you see at the far end is the Catholic Church. In the height of summer, weddings spill out from it into one of the busiest junctions in town. It can be like attending a fashion show in your car.








All paths lead somewhere. If you are lucky, the path you are walking will not lead you to a dead end.

Student videos on life in Cambridge can be found  here or learn about one of the more colorful Cambridge Alumni, Lord Byron and his 19th century celebrity life here. (there are only so many Nobel Laureates one can hear about before collapsing into a boredom coma.)