July 2, 2022
Cambridge University!
I was super excited to visit Cambridge, a 45 minute train ride from London, because it is the very first thing listed in the 2nd Edition of 1000 Places. How fun to get Checkmark #1!
Cambridge is one of Europe's oldest universities, built just 40 years after Oxford. It is made up of 31 colleges, 16 of which are of medieval origin.
King's College, pictured here is one of the most impressive buildings to explore.
The chapel is 289 feet long and the vault is 80 feet high. The fan vaulting was completed between the years of 1512-1515. Over the next 30 years, 26 sets of stained glass were installed.
The Coat of Arms is the Royal Arms of England the Dragon of Cadwallader (Wales) represents the Tudor family of Henry VII's father.
The dark oak Screen houses the organ and was a gift of Henry VIII.
Henry VIII's initials are inscribed on the Screen as well as those of Anne Boleyn, his wife and queen at the time.
The Great East Window depicts the passion and crucifixion of Christ and below the window sits "The Adoration of the Magi" painted by Rubens in 1634 and gifted to the College in 1961.
The Fellow's Building was designed in 1724 by James Gibbs.
Exploring the grounds. The area of grassy strip lying between the backs of the big colleges and the banks of the Cam is known as "The Backs."
One of many bridges that cross the Cam.
Another view of the Cam, where you can see dozens of people punting on a nice day.
We were lucky enough to be there on graduation day! So fun to see people decked out in their graduation robes.
The Eagle, where students have hung out for centuries.
The first book was printed by Cambridge University Press here in 1583 and continued to print consecutively until 2013! This bookshop is also the longest continuously operating bookshop in all of England; they first started selling books in the 1580's.
The streets of Cambridge.
The Mathematical Bridge links the two parts of Queens' College across the Cam. It was first built without using any nuts or bolts.
VERDICT: I loved Cambridge. It's definitely worth seeing. It's so steeped in history and it's a great little town that's charming to walk around and easy to navigate. And it's a quick (~45 minutes), easy, relatively inexpensive train ride from London. COST: King's College is 11 Euros (~$13)/adult. So next time you're in London, make this one of your day trips from the city!
No comments:
Post a Comment