Cambridge in Autumn

After a mild summer in London, along comes Autumn where the temperatures drop rapidly and the hours of daylight quickly shorten. But, along with these comes the beauty of the season change. Leaves turn from iridescent greens, through oranges, then yellows before being dislodged by the breezes, and scattering away.

We head for Cambridge on a cool Autumn day under overcast skies. Ninety minutes by train and we are there walking through a small city that is steeped in history. This is the home of the University of Cambridge founded in 1209 and rated among the best universities in the world. It’s also a city where architecture, arts, streetscapes and open fields seamlessly meld into one another. The architecture is a blend as well and includes Perpendicular Gothic examples such as Great St. Mary’s church, the King’s College Chapel in its English Gothic style, and neo-classical design style of the Fitzwilliam Museum. To that you can the round church and you have a full bag of classical buildings.

The River Cam weaves its way through the heart of the city and can be traveled upon in wooden punts with able bodied chauffeurs steering the vessels using long poles. We didn’t partake on a cruise this time, but we did see Ronald McDonald struggling to control his punt while negotiating his way under the Mathematical Bridge.

Wandering around the city is easy, with plenty to see and do. This is the home of the Corpus Clock which is quite unique. It was built and put in place in 2008 and has a reputation of being very difficult to tell the time on, which would be the primary purpose of a clock. The secret lies in the three LED rings that show the hours, minutes and seconds moving outwards from the centre. These replace the hands and dials of a traditional clock. The cricket on top also distracts you as it counts the seconds away.

The surrounding parklands were full of colour on the day, but the grey skies didn’t help with the photos. I would think as a university student, you could quite easily find a quiet spot to study or, as we saw when we met an arts student on one part of our walk, there are vistas well worth painting.