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Suse suggested we go to Cambridge for a day trip, as a sort of goodbye
outing for her (she leaves in a month or so!). It was a fabulous day for it, one of those rare English days with
clear skies and hot sunshine! We caught the train from Kings Cross (and checked out platform 9 and 3/4 while we were
there!), and it was only 45 minutes to Cambridge.
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| Suse in the grounds of Kings College |
Suse, Christine, Megan and I arrived in time to buy sandwiches for lunch
which we ate on the banks of the river (in the shade cos it was too hot!) and watched people punting down the river.
We then did a walking tour which was really interesting. I wanted to learn about the colleges in Cambridge: there are
31 colleges. To be accepted at Cambridge University, you have to be accepted by one of the colleges (usually after interviews
and your exam results). You are then a student of the university. But your allegience is always to your college,
which is where you eat, sleep and study, and where your social and sporting life will be organised.
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| Trinity College |
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While the colleges do not have specific subject specialities, some may
have a tendancy to have more, say, medical or arts students. Our guide said Trinity College tends to think of itself
as being the most prestigious college, as it has had about 31 of Cambridge's 80-odd Nobel prize winners in its college.
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| Trinity College |
We got to go into Kings College, one of the oldest colleges, with the largest
chapel. The chapel took over a century to build and was completed in 1547. The tour was fascinating and the guide
gave us heaps of information about the stories that could be seen in the carvings and windows.
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| Punting on the river Cam |
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