Britain Magazine November/December 2021

Page 77

city guide

TOP 10 CAMBRIDGE

Great minds and beautiful architecture meet in the historic university city WORDS NATASHA FOGES

PHOTO: © IAN DAGNALL/ALAMY/ILLUSTRATION: © LIZ KAY

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olleges, cobbles and punting on the Cam – as university towns go, Cambridge is a fine specimen. Founded in 1209, Cambridge University is the second oldest in the English-speaking world (after Oxford), and many of the colleges are palatial. Aside from academia, the museums and gardens are world-class, and the quota of bookshops and bicycles imbues the town with the nostalgia of a bygone age. These days Cambridge is inextricably linked with its academic status, but before the first students arrived, this Fenland town, with its easy access by river, was a busy trading centre. Once the university was established it became equally well-known as a place of learning, and soon students were arriving in large enough numbers to set up hostels under masters, forerunners of the colleges. The 31 colleges give the town its unique distinction, from Peterhouse, www.britain-magazine.com

founded in 1284, to the newest, Robinson, opened in 1977; many are so grand that they could pass for stately homes. Almost all can claim eminent graduates, including more Nobel prize winners than any other university: poets John Milton, William Wordsworth, Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Ted Hughes; numerous politicians, including Oliver Cromwell, leader of parliamentary forces in the English Civil War; and scientists Isaac Newton, Francis Crick and Charles Darwin. Each of the colleges has a distinct feel, and students and alumni are loyal to their own. Book a tour of the architectural highlights with a student or graduate (just don’t step on the lawns – a privilege reserved for fellows); or take the romantic route with a punt tour along the College Backs, enjoying a privileged view of colleges, sweeping lawns, historic bridges and trailing willows en route. BRITAIN

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Britain Magazine November/December 2021 by The Chelsea Magazine Company - Issuu