As I moved to the UK only a few years ago, everything around is fresh and new. Lucky to have friends in Cambridge, we’ve visited them for a weekend and took the opportunity to see this lovely British city.
Our stay was short, only two days, but we’ve visited a few interesting places. What you see below is a small photo story from this trip.
The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs
This beautiful church is located only minutes walk from Cambridge train station. Walking by the Hills Rd, we’ve peeked inside and discovered a fantastic interior with amazing arcs supporting the roof.
Colleges
The University of Cambridge is one of the oldest in the world. Its multiple, self-governed colleges are spread over the city with some open public visitors.
We’ve stopped at one of them: Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge which presented itself with nice looking front court and peacefull inner grounds with fish pond and family of ducks.
View from the Great St Mary’s Church
We’ve continued our walk and step into the Church of St Mary the Great. Its tower has caught my attention, and we’ve climbed the stairs on the top to admire the beautiful panoramic view of the city.
Luckily, the weather was great that day, so we’ve managed to capture some scenic views of King’s College Chapel and surroundings.
Bridges on river Cam
For me, as an outsider, it was quite funny to learn that the calm river flowing through the city is actually called Cam. I’ve dug a bit deeper to find out more about the origins of the city name and found out that contrary that one may think; actually, the river got its name from the city.
At this time, the town was known as Grentebrige or Cantebrigge, and then ultimately as Cambridge. Yet it wasn’t known as such until someone believed, just like the young boy voicing his thoughts aloud, that the river must be called the River Cam and Cambridge must be the town surrounding it, reached by crossing the Cambridge.
Now, I’m not sure if this is also true, but I find it a bit funny!
Punting in Cambridge
We’ve booked ourselves a punting tour, and it turned out to be a delightful experience.
As we slowly moved through the river, passing many famous and historic buildings, our guide told us stories and described the history of the places around.
I highly recommend trying it!
After the punting tour and some early dinner, we’ve continued our walk alongside, enjoying golden hour light and beautiful views of the Cam riverside.
Ely Cathedral
On the next day, we’ve planned to visit Ely with the plan to see the cathedral. The weather wasn’t that good as the day before, due to Storm Ciara approaching.
It was quite windy and rainy, but after a half-hour drive, we’ve reached the city, and after a quick peeks from outside, we quickly hid inside from the torrential wind.
This building huge from outside! When we entered, it made an even stronger impression!
The Nave, with more than 75 meters length and 30 meters ceiling height, is simply spectacular. But the biggest impression left on me was by the Octagon, central tower boasting vast internal space, decorated with pinnacles and lantern above.
It looks stunning!
We’ve spent a substantial amount of time there, admiring various aspects of the building and its history. If you’re around the area, its a place you should definitely consider seeing.
After touring the cathedral, we went for a short walk through Ely. Still, the weather was getting worse, and to run away from it, we went for lunch at Ely Turkish Restaurant - they serve delicious food there.
Highlights
In the end, this was a lovely trip, and we enjoyed Waterbeach, Cambridge, and Ely. Below you’ll find a few more highlight photos from the weekend.
That’s all from this excursion. Thanks for reading!
