Out and about in Cambridge

After the horrible weather yesterday it was much nicer today. It was cold at times though. In the morning I was marshalling at parkrun. My daughter was running this time along with about 100
others. The first guy was really quick and finished a few minutes ahead of anyone else.

After that we headed over to Cambridge. This old university city is famous for many things, including the punts. We have done a trip on one before, but I have not been brave enough to 'drive' one myself. When you are standing on the back there is some risk of falling in.

This time we went on a walking tour that was really interesting. We saw the oldest building in town that is a church built a thousand years ago. It is lower than the rest of the town that was raised up due to the risk of flooding

Lots of discoveries were made at the university. Some laboratories have earned more Nobel prizes than many countries. At the Cavendish the electron was discovered and they also split the atom for the first time (without an explosion).

A nearby pub has a plaque to mark that the discoverers of DNA celebrated there. Rosalind Franklin was added later as she did a lot of work it was based on, but died before the Nobel prize was given. The tour guide was very entertaining. He kept questioning our knowledge and I knew some of the answers. I made him aware that a Mars rover has been named after Franklin.

A recent addition is this remarkable clock that was designed by the guy who invented the kettle thermostat and he also donated a lot of money to Corpus Christie College.

We ended at Trinity College that was founded by Henry VIII just before he died. Famous students include Isaac Newton and King Charles III.

The students have played lots of pranks over the years and one was to replace Henry's sceptre with a chair leg. There is an apple tree next to the gate that was grown from a cutting of a tree in Newton's orchard. It does not generally produce fruit, but students sometimes tie some onto it.

We had a wander around the town by ourselves. I did not know there was a Raspberry Pi shop, but then it did originate in Cambridge.

We ate at Sticks and Sushi. They do some great food. I had a meal of several courses that included sushi.

I know some people like to check out the toilet facilities and these were quite nice.

We moved on for dessert at Heavenly who have so many tempting treats. Those bao buns are filled with chocolate.

If you visit Cambridge then I would recommend not driving into town on busy days. There is a park and ride service from the outskirts. You do need to watch out for bicycles and e-bikes when walking around. As with many places there are lots of food delivery riders around and they are always in a rush.

I have been to Cambridge many times, but there is always something else to discover.